White Lies: Ritual – review

London three-piece White Lies were one of 2009's big success stories, their anthemic, goth-inflected indie persuading almost a million people to buy their debut album. So it's no surprise that the follow-up signals no great departure in direction: nods to Joy Division, the Killers and Interpol are myriad, huge gloomy choruses have been bulk-manufactured for stadiums and Harry McVeigh's portentous baritone makes everything sound Extremely Important. It's a shame, then, that instead of imparting incredible insights into the human condition, his lyrics are invariably either banal or preposterous. "You were writhing on the floor like a moth in molasses", anyone?