Chvrches (yes that’s churches spelt with a “v” rather than a
“u”) are a synth pop trio from
A lot of the songs on this album are what you would expect synth
pop to sound like: lots of synthesizers, catchy vocal hooks and simple melodies
that you can sing along to as well. “The Bones of What You Believe” defiantly
ticks all of these boxes and also offers a lot more too. Firstly, the album is
fantastically produced and whoever did the work on all of those knobs and
buttons on the soundboard deserves a medal or something. The synthesizers sound
massive, the vocal samples pan from left ear to right ear perfectly and the bass
and drums make the songs sound way more danceable. Secondly, lead singer Lauren Mayberry’s voice is
amazing. It’s unique and truly sounds like a breath of fresh air. Plus the
obvious Scottish accent is really interesting to listen to as well.
Lead singles “The
Mother We Share”, “Recover” and “Gun” do everything electro pop singles should
do yet all of them offer something different to each other. “Gun’s” song
structure builds up brilliantly, each section of the song sounds catchier than
the last. The pre chorus could even be a catchy chorus for another song it’s
that good, and if you thought the pre chorus was good, oh baby wait until you
hear the main chorus. The synth chord stabs blend so well with Lauren Mayberry’s
vocals that it’s an absolute treat on the ears. “The Mother We Share” sounds so
anthemic in terms of its instrumentation. The steady bass line and synth chords
from the verse suddenly turn into this really big chorus filled to the brim
with synthesizers. The vocal melody is also catchy enough to match the
instrumentation. “The Mother We Share” would probably sound absolutely
incredible live if everyone sung along to it. “Recover” sounds slightly sadder than
the other lead singles but it’s not depressing and slow. Weirdly it still sounds like
something you could dance to even though the lyrics are clearly about needing
comfort in bad times. Perhaps Chvrches were going for an optimistic kind of tone.
There seems to be
two kinds of songs on this album: slightly slower, more quieter songs that
build up to a huge climax towards the end and those that follow a more traditional
song structure. Examples of the songs that build up would be “Tether”, “Under the
Tide” and the album closer “You Caught the Light”. These songs spend ages
building up to climaxes but they are rather underwhelming when you get there.
It takes about 2 and half minutes, and by the time you get to that point you end
up becoming quite bored of the song. “Tether” is the only one that builds up
decently but it’s still just an ok track, nothing truly spectacular but it’s
enjoyable enough.
However, the
songs that follow a more traditional structure are brilliant. “Night Sky” is a pulsating
beast of a song that will surely get people dancing at parties. “Lungs” has the
sort of catchy melody that commercial girl bands would die for, but it has a unique
instrumental tonality that stops it from becoming too corny. “Lies” kind of has
an Egyptian type vibe and if the slaves that built the pyramids were listening
to this song whilst they were working, then they would've got it done twice as
quick because of the songs energy. “We sink” is a good, catchy synth pop tune
that could be a potential future single. Also “By the Throat” has a lovely airy
chorus that sounds absolutely delightful, its quite a contrast to the name of the song title.
Apart from a few
underwhelming moments, “The Bones of What You Believe” does everything a synth
pop album should do and more. It has its own distinct modern take on a genre that
was quite popular in the 80’s. So in answer to the questions from earlier: “The
Bones of What You believe” sounds great and Chvrches do indeed live up to the critic’s
hype. Top album.
OVERALL RATING:
8/10
BEST TRACKS: Gun,
The Mother We Share, Night Sky.
WORST TRACK: Under The Tide.
WORST TRACK: Under The Tide.
No comments:
Post a Comment