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Music

Charles Cave from White Lies Drops His First Solo Song - "Reason to Drive"

Wanna feel like a character in a John Hughes movie who's just spent a long time making out on the dance floor? Well then listen up.

Oh man. Well this is a surprise. Charles Cave—one third of London's White Lies—has only gone and penned a solo song that will make you feel very much like a character in a John Hughes film. And maybe that character's just made out with another Hughes character, as the lights from the discoball play across their cheeks. Maybe, when they've stopped kissing, one of them grabs the other's hand and whispers, "Let's go," and they run out of the school dance, keys poised to slot into the ignition so they can speed towards their endlessly unfurling future. Premiering below, "Reason to Drive" has just the right amount of Billy Idol / Simple Minds romanticism to it. But what does this tune mean in relation to those glower-pop indie rockers White Lies? Obviously we got in touch with Cave to find out more.

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Noisey: What's up with this? Are White Lies on hiatus?
Charles Cave: Well you wouldn’t be wrong to expect a solo effort from a band member during a fallow season for that band, but no, I’ve been writing a White Lies album all year with the guys and we’re ready to record. Strangely, the process has been leaving me full of ideas when I arrived home most evenings and, with the encouragement of some loved ones, I decided to start work on some solo material. These songs are, knowingly, of quite a particular type… I experienced nearly all music in a car as a very young child, and whilst my Dad played a huge assortment of tapes or radio, there were certain songs that stood out as great companions to that feeling of being on a journey in that unique sensation of privacy and safety. Then I would keep seeing these TV adverts for compilation records called things like The Greatest God Damn Driving Album In The Universe EVER, EVER, EVER Volume 9 and would get a kick out of hearing soaring chorus after soaring chorus from I think bands like REO Speedwagon, The Cars, Tears For Tears, Foreigner and whilst it was many years later that I actually got into some of those bands, when I started to listen to them out of choice it felt like some of it was already part of me and my taste. In some ways I feel like these songs I'm writing alone have been in me for an equally long waiting period. So what started as me playing around at home this year, and teaching myself to sing and to record music to a “releasable” quality, has actually turned into something I’m really proud and passionate about and so am continuing to write a full album for next year. You said next week you’re also putting out a Christmas song. Do you love Crimbo?
My reasoning for trying to write a Christmas song, is that for me, it's a time of year saturated with some incredibly intense emotions. It's ripe for the picking and there is so much to write about but perhaps due to the commercial and surface level visuals of the whole shebang, a lot of music made comes away sounding as kitsch and trite as a 15-foot anamtronic Santa. Everyone knows the best Christmas song is "Fairytale of New York" because it is the most perfect juxtaposition of misery and mirth. I wanted to write a song that has the melancholy that I must admit I do associate with Christmas, but also the utterly 'pinch of salt' cheese that surrounds it too. The music is pretty saccharine but I think the wry but honest sentiment in the lyrics offsets that to good effect. We shall see! It's definitely a strong move to put out a Christmas song so early into a solo career! The song is called "This Fucking Time Of Year" and I'll put it out next week. "Reason to Drive"—spill the inspiration behind this song please.
I can't drive. And I have little intention of learning, but I think because of that I still view it in a really romantic way, and maybe it's my way of clinging hold of my youth by not having this skill that feels perpetually "adult." But I suppose I'm also equating my lack of being able to drive with a lack of possessing an adult grasp of my emotions and fears. I still feel like a child a lot of the time, in not a very good way… so there is some longing and just wanting "to do good" in the song. On the surface it is very romantic, but the "you" could be quite an abstract. And I think I see it that way. Is there more where this came from!?
Yes, absolutely. I’ve got five tracks for the album already (one of which I seriously can’t wait to put out as I think its one of my favorite songs I have ever written), and I will be working hard in all my spare time to get something significant out there next year. I’m releasing this now via Bandcamp to try and raise the bit of money I need to finish a record and put it out. I’ve done everything myself and would like to continue that way as much as possible. It’s refreshing, and in 2015 theres little excuse for any artist to not have all hands on deck—recording, mixing, artwork, video—you name it. I’m working, I'm working. It feels good.