Chvrches are here to stay with strong sophomore record
The Scottish electronic pop band is at a defining moment in their career. The release of the always important sophomore record. The trio stormed the internet in 2013 with the release of the singles ‘The Mother We Share’ and ‘Recover’ and a while later their debut album The Bones of What You Believe followed. It landed in the top 10 in both the UK and Scotland and of course they hope to do even better now, two years later, with the follow up called Every Open Eye. Judging on this second record my prediction is that Chvrches is here to stay.

Lead singer Lauren Mayberry and Ian Cook and Martin Doherty started the promotion for the second album in July when the catchy and poppy but unmistakably Chvrches sounding ‘Leave A Trace’ came out. It’s an accurate representation of the rest of the record that’s full of characteristic electronic pop with in your face beats and soaring choruses. The productions and instrumentations sometimes lean towards a more alternative style, but Lauren’s vocals and the catchiness of it all, makes the overall sound still quite poppy and we all know there is absolutely nothing wrong with that.

Take the song ‘Clearest Blue’ for example. Production wise it has a big build up with prominent beats. After two minutes a big drop follows for a glorious finale. ‘Empty Threat’ is a big and fast uptempo number with a shouty in your face chorus and most of all, an irresistible hook. The same goes for poppy songs like ‘Keep You On My Side’ and the second single ‘Never Ending Circles’. On ‘Playing Dead’ they slow down the pace a bit and give some room for some emotional story telling and vocals with a hard hitting chorus of huge proportions. For ‘Afterglow’ they strip everything down and it’s all about Lauren’s mesmerizing vocals. This brings enough variety throughout the record and things don’t get samey halfway.

One other factor that brings in some fresh air are the tracks with male vocals, which definitely belong to the highlights of Every Open Eye. ‘Follow You’ is a beauty of a midtempo, but especially ‘High Enough To Carry You Over’ impresses with intense vocals and a hit worthy melody. Chvrches managed to create a close to perfect sophomore effort with electro pop at its finest!

Must listen: Clearest Blue, Leave A Trace, High Enough To Carry You Over, Playing Dead, Empty Threat