White Lies cap off a two night stand at Manchester’s ornate Albert Hall in support of their latest album, Night Light.

I’ve said it a few times now: The Albert Hall is an inspired venue with a rich line-up for 2026. Tonight, the gothic stained-glass windows welcome White Lies back for the second time in a week, as the London-born trio continue to road-test their latest album, Night Light.

SHE’S IN PARTIES

White Lies are supported tonight by She’s In Parties, a band whose popularity is sharply on the rise – and on the basis of this set, it’s easy to hear why. Their shoegaze‑leaning, ethereal but high‑energy sound peeps through the curtains as they bounce through their songs, all haze and hooks.

Lead singer Katie Dillon engages relentlessly with a crowd that grows warmer with every track; her tale of overcoming a back injury in time to perform is met with genuine appreciation from an audience now bulging into every corner of the venue. Dressed in tartan and switching from keys to guitar with ease, she underlines not only her own musical strength but the breadth of the band as a whole.

Any support act closing their set with a synth solo is worthy of both noise and ink, and their Cure/Cocteau Twins‑tinted sound proves a perfect fit for the venue’s stretched intimacy – and a perfectly judged accompaniment to the main course.

WHITE LIES: RED STRIPE

A sell‑out crowd, limbered up by the support and dinted cans of Red Stripe, eagerly welcomes the band to the stage. White Lies arrive with a rich back catalogue and open with All The Best from their latest studio offering. The crowd’s instant reaction underlines the strength of the new material and how easily it translates to the live stage.

It’s Farewell To The Fairground that truly kicks the gig into gear. Any song that lends itself to a singalong riff is always going to land – especially in a musical hothouse like this – and the band plays it with assured swagger and, noticeably, wide grins. It’s hard to tell who’s enjoying it more: the band or the crowd. There Goes Our Love Again and Hurt My Heart keep the swaying masses in full voice. My Lover, a bonus track from the latest album, offers a brief lull for the braying crowd but is warmly received and brings a more dynamic intimacy to the set.

FRIENDS REUNITED

Harry McVeigh introduces Don’t Want to Feel It All in recognition of the ten‑year anniversary of their magnificent Friends album. Couples in the crowd nod in perfect sync, arms around each other, soaking in the 2016 love they felt both then and now. To further mark the decade, White Lies follow with Is My Love Enough, which receives similar adulation from a crowd now fully drawn in by the band, the synths and the lyrics – proudly singing back, “If I could make it right, I’d make it right now.”

McVeigh’s vocals have lost none of their punch and range in the intervening ten years and, as he reaches back to take a swig of his brew, you sense the seasoned assurance behind them. When the band reach The Price of Love later in the set, it’s those vocals – and the emotion behind them – that ring out whole and true.

Tokyo, 2019’s Five, prompts another rapturous choral exchange from the thronging acolytes. A band with a smartly designed setlist, White Lies keep the crowd on edge, anticipating each chord progression, bass lead and drum rip; their live show is a study in tension and release – live performance as an art form.

Time to Give, also from Five, sounds tailor‑made for these ornate arches, while I Don’t Wanna Go to Mars lifts the seated to their feet as Jack Lawrence‑Brown dominates the soundscape. Almost twenty years in the game will do this to a band, but they seem as energised now as they did then.

SOMETHING OLD, SOMETHING NEW

Juice sounds like a track from deep in the back catalogue, yet it sits firmly in their new release and has already established itself as a crowd favourite. Few White Lies tracks, though, attract the same wholesale adoration as Big TV, and if it sounds good on the album then it’s fully vindicated live. Those pushing towards the barrier do so with more vigour, more arms aloft and, inevitably, more phones in the air.

Slamming straight into To Lose My Life, the crescendo of the main set is in full swing; “Let’s grow old together and die at the same time…” feels every bit as big now as it did in its debut year. As Bigger Than Us rips through the chorus, a small contingent near the barrier fancy a mosh; they’re defiantly committed to it despite polite protestation from those nearby. This is 2000’s indie and they’re going to have at it!

By the time the encore kicks in, everything is OK down the front. The band use the final stretch to bring Everything Is OK, Night Light and The Middle from their latest studio offering to the stage. The first is an intimate, keys‑led moment with McVeigh stretching his arms out as if to embrace the crowd. The Middle is a live gem that showcases the true strength of this band: their ability to transfer an excellent studio sound to the stage with exemplary musicianship. Nestled between them is another classic White Lies track, Death, which receives a huge roar of recognition. There’s no will for this to end; it’s been a triumphant night for a band who know their place and, more importantly, know their sound.

RIFF RAFF

On the way down the winding, steep stairs of The Albert Hall, clusters of the most avid – and most lubricated – White Lies fans are still singing back the ‘Fairground’ riff, and there’s palpable joy in the air. Most of those leaving are couples who have grown up with the band and their sound. That shared history – and the way these songs continue to evolve onstage – is what will keep White Lies going, and growing, for a good while yet.

White Lies: Website

She’s In Parties: Website

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