Truth Be Told

Typical post-punk vocalists often try to fill in each open verse or space with chants and absurdist non sequiturs. In an attempt to create lyrical poetry, they forget to tell a story within the melody. In contrast, Dale's vocals present a flowing and intriguing narrative structure. Rather than play the tempestuous, angry singer or the detached observer, Dale buckles down and tells tales with his lyrics. He admits, "I think a lot of musicians have words written out before they write a song, then they do their darndest to make the words fit the music, and that never really works."

Instead, the cherubic singer writes lyrics based on the mood of each song's melody. "For this album, I wrote each song about a specific person. Each song is about a specific girl that I've known -- which [makes it] strange that the record ended up sounding so depressing," he laughs.

Considering the band's lugubriously paced songs and narrative lyrics, its live shows tend to be less than acrobatic. Rather than emphasize showmanship, the Lies prefer audiences to focus on the intensity of the music and the group's emotionally charged aesthetic. "Most of our concentrated effort goes into writing the songs," Sadie explains, "so when we play, we're more focused upon what we're doing. Our music is slow and somber, and that's what I want to be playing."

Sawyer goes on: "We're all socially awkward people anyway, so when we're up onstage, that's accentuated." Self-effacing criticism aside, the Lies admit that the music itself dictates their stoical live shows. "It's hard to dance around [onstage] to the style of music that we play," says Sawyer.

Sadie tries to imagine the ideal presentation of the songs. "I don't know what my dream performer would do to present our music," she wonders. "Certainly not flailing around and smashing a guitar or anything. I definitely don't want to look like I hate being up onstage -- that's not at all what I feel."

The Lies conclude that the band operates on an unspoken agreement centered on its socialist aesthetic and its performers' sense of purpose. As Sawyer suggests, the band's sonic symmetry is "indicative of our personalities and how we all relate to one another. No one likes to overshadow anyone else in the band."

Or, as Dale explains in his characteristically self-deprecating manner, "We all equally don't know what we're doing." As we ought to know by now, that's probably a lie.