rather than to you, and whose only real method of connection is a well-crafted chorus or 10." Mandle did disclaim that there "is nothing gravely wrong" with Ritual and offered praise to the album's production and hooks, saying "the grandiose production style of Alan Moulder is also put to good use, and in addition to the album’s crisp, gleaming sound." Mandle gave Ritual a three out of five-star rating. Gregory Heaney of Allmusic also offered a mixed review of the album. Heaney did offer praise for Ritual having a more distinct sound, allowing for White Lies to "step out of the shadow of the likes of (contemporary bands) Interpol and Editors". Heaney did offer compliments to the breaks in the album's tense and ethereal content saying that the band's "ability to break up the gloom with the occasional soaring moment" is impressive. Writing for Pitchfork, Ian Cohen panned the album summarising Ritual as "wildly overwrought and painfully dull". Cohen dismissed the album as poorly written, and with cringeworthy lyrics. Describing the sound of the album, he compared the album to bands like Glasvegas saying that "once you've lived through Glasvegas and such, so you should know the drill by now: guitars whoosh and whir to sound exactly like synthesizers while the actual synthesizer goo provides the empty calories required for nearly every track on Ritual to reach its completely arbitrary five-minute length." Describing the instrumentation, Cohen said "The constant hi-hats and thrumming bass are meant to imply some sense of urgent momentum, and the inevitable half-time chorus lets McVeigh over-sing even more. Take all these ingredients, mix them together, and voila-- instant UK buzzband." Cohen ultimately gave Ritual a 2.5 out of 10. Stacy Anderson of Rolling Stone also was critical of Ritual critiquing the vocals on the album. Anderson said "when McVeigh beats you over the head with his bummed wail on "Bigger Than Us," you'll want to slip him some Wellbutrin." Anderson gave Ritual a two out of five-star rating. Personnel White Lies Harry McVeigh – lead vocals, guitar Charles Cave – bass guitar, backing vocals Jack Lawrence-Brown – drums Additional personnel Alan Moulder – production Max Dingel – production Charts Weekly charts Year-end charts References 2011 albums White Lies (band) albums Fiction Records albums Albums produced by Alan Moulder