The Bones Of What You Believe

Vsvally, synth-pop albvms don't do mvch for me becavse of the pavcity of uariety. The bvbblgvm chorvses are not vnlike the vnceasing hvm in the backgrovnd of Christopher Nolan's Dvnkirk, except that I'm qvite svre he was actvally trying to make his avdience vncomfortable. Howeuer, this albvm was a departvre from the rvle. Best track: Recouer

This made me feel so real, so big, and so alive. It made me want to run barefoot across a dewy field with all my energy until I get tired. It made me want to conquer the sky. It made me want to aggressively put positive energy in myself while commuting.

Perfectly serviceable, perfectly dull synth pop with a retro edge to it. Perhaps I'm getting a little too long in tooth and jaw, but the wide-eyed sweetness of the vocals and the video game crispness of the music fail to charm. Where's the human, beating heart to this whole endeavour?

I was honestly shocked to see CHVRCHΞS (people always remember the "vee" but not the "equivalent to") on here but they definitely belong. This is not my favorite album of theirs but maybe since it was their debut album it makes sense for this list. This is not normally the kind of music that appeals to me, but this album is fantastic. Maybe it's the 80s feel, or the clever (without being eye-roll-y) lyrics, or the lead singer's sheer charisma. Whatever it is, it's a great listen. 4.5 stars.

The pretentious spelling of the band's name immediately pisses me off. See runtime is over an hour, crack my knuckles. Two points knocked off and the music hasn't even begun. The music isn't terrible, and at its best sounds a little like Robyn, just without the magic. Synths are usually urgent, the songs have velocity and the album is dynamic both within the tracks and their sequencing. Were this half its length, I could call this consistent, but as it is over an hour it is samey. My ear lobes were curling up with boredom by the halfway mark. 2.

This is a top 1001 album?

4.1 + If someone were to stop me randomly on the street and ask, "What's an album that Pitchfork would've called 'Best New Music' in the 2010's?", this might be the first record that comes to mind. Such a perfect encapsulation of a certain "Pitchfork-core" sound of that era - breezy electro-pop with plenty of 1980's synth throwbacks. Standouts: "Under the Tide", "Recover."

Quite a painful listen after artists like Michael Jackson and Fleetwood Mac. The chord progressions were simplistic, there was no harmony, just bland synths and lyrics. This nearly fell into a 1 but I did like the Scottish accents coming through, and one of the songs was Ok (can’t remember which one). Overall this made me really question the list. This just feels like such an arbitrary choice, probably added shortly after it came out. I’d say at least 10 years should pass before an album can be considered for the list, looking back on this album now you can see it for what it is, soulless synth pop, or as the Scots say “a load a’ shite”.

I added this album to my collection a few years ago based on the song Science/Visions that played at the end of a podcast episode I had listened to. The rest of the album does not disappoint. Chvrches takes synth-pop to epic stadium levels and I love the lead singer and the construction of the songs. Great!

i remember these being all the rage when they were out but i never got involved. It sounds like some sort of Taylor Swift prototype, a precursor of the misery to come.

This shit spiked in popularity about 10-15 years ago in "big indie" circles. Very beige, very predictable, catchy without huge hooks. Would suit one of those triple j festivals where bands from 500 different genres (not metal) tell the crowd they have a "great vibe" - groovin' the moo, byron bluesfest, falls, etc. Would ruin my acid trip for sure. I was gonna give it a 3/5 because it isn't *that* bad, just not my thing. But oh Christ, this shit only has one setting and it SUCKS. Every song sounds identical, none of it remotely interesting. Still 3 songs to go and time has slowed to a crawl. Update: it got no better. After writing this, I googled "chvrches falls festival" just to see, and they're playing it this year. First result. ha ha, fucking picked it. Fuck off and die, hipster shit. 2/5.

This is an album I knew a lot of songs from already, thanks to the copious airtime this received when it came out. I think at the time I got a bit bored of just how much it was played, but it's been nearly 10 years now so I can appreciate this again, as well as acquire a palate that really enjoys indie electronica. With all that being said, I loved this album. Sitting down and hearing this properly, I thought it was excellent. The lyricism was wonderful and Mayberry has such an energy and charisma to her vocals. Overall it's absolutely dripping with 80s Synth-Pop flair, but it still manages to stay varied enough to not grow stale by the end of the 67-minute long record. Really tempted to get this on vinyl... I took early 2010s pop and electronica for granted - this is so much better than any of the endless TikTok crap that Radio 1 plays these days... Favourite: Recover

Somewhere in my shoegazey, guitar-driven hard-rock heart I have a big soft spot for indie electronica, and I’m pretty sure it’s this album that started me down that path. When this LP dropped in 2014, it was the first melody-driven, well-executed electronic music I’d heard that didn’t revolve around massive drops or progressive builds. Mayberry’s featherlight yet strong vocals on top of some great synth choices and big, booming rhythms is a great play of light against heavy, light against dark. The use of space is exceptional - not a single track goes by without feeling huge and anthemic due to the airtight production and heavy use of reverb, but the group still manages to make tracks feel small and intimate (‘Gun’ is a great example of this). To this day the album feels fresh, alive, and new thanks to the strong songwriting and use of texture that makes every line, beat, and word resonate hugely in a wall of vibrant sound. It’s unfortunate that the band hasn’t been able to innovate their sound with much success in the following decade, but with an opening statement this strong, unique, and fully-formed, I have no problem if the group continues to stay in their lane and make excellent indietronica.

Synth pop in general and CHVRCHES in particular are fine, but nothing here grabbed me. I don’t regret listening but I also don’t see me putting this album on any time soon. I wonder if their popularity says more about when it came out than anything else

Feels like I could either patronizingly skewer this or praise it. The childlike/simple vocals (a great review has it being a mix between Lorde and KidzBop) have this almost childlike quality which isn't necessarily devoid of emotion but approaches it. Yet that vocal clarity kind of cuts through the synths perfectly. And wow...the synths...: everywhere and everything. Almost right away the sequencers seem a bit much. On every track. I guess that's the entire point of the album/band. But.... still the melody is pretty damn infectious on every track. Maybe it's not necessarily a dichotomy that the sound is so lightweight AND each song carries a strong melody. My biggest *want* would be that I keep thinking that on at least some of these songs changing up the instrumentation to add some organic elements like guitars - both electric and acoustic - could really have pushed this to another level. Still - what they do, they do pretty damn well here. Not sure I can listen to the entire album as a whole again but I can't dismiss it either. 7/10 3 stars.

Album is way too long, vocals are childish baby talk, otherwise it’s ok. Indie techno, not super annoying but also not motivating. Middle of the road is the place I’ve landed with Chvrches.

Absolutely fucking terrible album.

The Chvrches magic remains just as potent as ever, something evading attempts to summarize. I didn't expect weeping this time but did, for the time, for the intervening decade, for being picked up in each and every song by some element. I cases, the saving moment arrives late, and the enduring consistency is even confusing. Irreplicable; irreplaceable.

Now this is the type of synth pop that absolutely tickles me. This had me jamming the whole time. I'll definitely be diving into their discography!

I've been listening to Chvrches on shuffle for so long that I forgot which songs were on which albums. I've always liked them ever since I first heard them, and seeing them live was amazing. It's also really cool that they have an album on this list now. This album came out in 2013 and it cannot be overstated how fucking abysmal mainstream pop/rock was at this time. Every single song sounded the same with a buildup to a drop and a chorus that was just a bunch of mmms and ohs. Calvin harris type bullshit was taking over. Chvrches does buildups and drops on here but they are so natural and produced so well. Everything has a deep sound to it. The vocals are unique too in the sense that there are regular male and female singing vocals but also a ton of mouth sounds mixed into the song itself, it's pretty insane how much of each song is just singing digitized and harmonized. It's cool and gives them their iconic sound. Science/visions is their best song and it slaps hard as hell. Very unique sound and structure to it. Their 2nd album is just as good. Score: 90 Art: 80

Big Tegan and Sara energy

This must have been influential on Jack Antonoff’s synth heavy production style making it therefore influential on Taylor Swift, Lorde, and others. The actual album was fine though no track truly stood out to me.

It wasn’t so long ago that the term “indie” was reserved for music that was an alternative to mainstream/popular music, not the literal embodiment of it. This is basically a Debbie Gibson record, except you’re too young to know who Debbie Gibson is.

Wispy and soft and totally edgeless - and a little electro.

I first heard this band 10+ years ago on a rock/new rock fam radio station I didn’t like them, I gave the whole album a chance. Lyrics are way too soft for my taste and I like pop music. Very electronic Had a hard time getting to the end

Good album I enjoy the chvrches style of music. I'd heard the song The Mother We Share before and already loved it so I enjoyed hearing the rest of the songs from the same album.

Lauren Mayberry has such a cute posh Scottish accent. This album is definitely a modern classic in both Scottish music and synth pop.

Album #42 If you like synth-pop, you should love this album. If you don't like synth-pop....what's wrong with you?!? CHVRCHES have been on my radar for about 10 years and I just hadn't gotten around to listening to anything other than an occasional single. After listening to this album, I'm planning on going through their discography. This was the kind of music that I felt all throughout myself and I didn't want it to end. 5*

I actually loved this album - it just makes you feel alive and it's so full of energy. Great, unique, pseudo-futuristic sound. 9/10.

An excellent album. It came out when so many bands were doing the retro-synth thing, and for most it was just an affectation. On this album CHVRCHES built songs that would stand out regardless of the instrumentation.

This was a bundle of electronicky sparkly poppy fun. I thought I would know more songs from this album but it was all new to me. I especially liked "Under the Tide." It's a nice change to hear something a bit more recent from this list.

Another ok album, nothing to write home about

The Bones of What You Believe I had no idea they were Scottish or a group, I thought it was the name for the lead singer and she was American. In any case I liked it well enough, especially the first three songs, some nice synth pop. But it is a bit diminishing returns, as the songs do start to feel a bit samey, although I really loved the final track, You Caught the Light, that oversaturated synth is excellent. It also falls a bit between two stools for me, there's a lot of 80s retro in the main synth sound with modern electronic percussion, but apart from a handful of tracks (The Mother We Share, We Sink, Gun, Night Sky, You Caught the Light) I’m not sure it comes together convincingly or interestingly enough, or they quite combine those two things with their pop sensibility to create great pop music, that you feel they might be capable of. And although I like her voice, she has a tendency towards breathy sad indie girl John Lewis Christmas song vocalisations, which doesn’t help. Overall it’s a decent, very well made album that never quite catches light or takes off in a way that you think it might. I’d give it a go again in the right mood but not sure how frequently, making it a 3. ⛪⛪⛪ Playlist submission: You Caught the Light

The first couple of songs would be great for a teen Disney movie. Couldn't make it through all of them.

I know the band from a distance, may have listened to this a decade ago. It's enjoyable and listenable, but I am not thinking this is a 1001 worthy overall - it breaks no new ground, the vocals are above average, two lead singers, the hooks are there but no classic or cornerstone track on the album. Oddly, the first track has 183M listens on Spotify but I've never heard it on the radio, XM or at a party. There's a Taylor Swift vibe to "Gun" and "Lungs" for sure. "Recover" is a good song but it's textbook pop but it sounds like a weak B-side from Metric. "You Caught The Light" is self-indulgent nonsense. You get 16 songs so there's value if you're a fan. Designed for Millennials maybe? Nothing really intriguing or catchy. Again, this one isn't worthy of being I need to hear before I die.

Within 15 seconds I knew just how dreadful the next 48 minutes would be

I'm a huge fan of electronic music, but this is really just crap. What list should this be on? List of pathetic failures? The spelling of the "band name" says it all. Why can't I give negative stars?

Someone teach the kids how to use compression, yikes.

Not sure if I don't like Indie Music or just am grated by this woman's voice.

I feel it's unfair for me to rate this. It's absolutely not the type of music I like listening to. I really hated having to listen to this.

Hey this is easy. I reviewed this when it came out in 2013! Here's what I said. At the end of 2012, Scottish electro-pop trio Chvrches had little more to its name than a couple songs online and a bit of buzz. When The Bones Of What You Believe, the group’s first full-length, comes out this week, the band will be on a sold-out U.S. tour, playing bigger rooms than it had when it came through those same cities earlier this summer. The polite yet insistent buzz from the beginning of the year has grown to a roar by fall, making The Bones Of What You Believe one of 2013’s most anticipated albums. Much of the attention Chvrches attracted last year was due to “The Mother We Share,” which the band had released online. It opens The Bones Of What You Believe and is the album’s leadoff single, with good reason: It’s one of the year’s best songs, propelled by overlapping synthesizers and a triumphant chorus that vocalist Lauren Mayberry carries higher with her lilting voice (made more charming because she doesn’t attempt to hide her accent). “The Mother We Share” attracted a lot of attention toward the end of 2012, but the band wisely kept it off March’s Recover EP and let it anchor the full-length. As good as “The Mother We Share” is, it wouldn’t be enough to carry the album, but Chvrches follows it with an even catchier song, “We Sink,” and another solid track, “Gun,” making for one of the strongest starts to any album this year. The rest of the album doesn’t sag, either; the only track that stumbles is the moodier “Science/Visions,” and that’s mostly because the discordant backup vocals clash with the other melodies. The song finishes strong, though, and is preceded by a pair of standouts, “Recover” and “Night Sky.” A lot has been made of Chvrches’ similarities to The Knife, but The Bones Of What You Believe owes more to earlier electro-pop and electronic rock bands, such as New Order, OMD, or even Yazoo. (The New Order/OMD comparison feels especially apparent when multi-instrumentalist Martin Doherty—a former touring member of The Twilight Sad—takes lead vocals on “Under The Tide.”) “Science/Visions” veers away from the album’s poppier sound and into straight-up EDM, and moody album closer “You Caught The Light”—led again by Doherty—conjures Disintegration-era Cure. Chvrches’ bread and butter remains highly melodic, synthesizer-based pop, but with just the right amount of darkness, thanks in part to Mayberry. She has a law degree and a masters in journalism, so she writes like she has something to say, not just to fill the space in the songs. She, Doherty, and multi-instrumentalist Iain Cook have crafted one of the year’s best albums, which means that buzz won’t be dying down any time soon.

Loved it! Listened several times.

Fun an funky, hypes me up

This was one of the first albums that ever got me into synthpop, and I think it's incredible how well it holds up. It has so many unforgettable moments and absolutely killer synth riffs, but at the same time is so epic and even emotional. Truly one of my all time favourites, I had a great time revisiting it again for the first time in quite a while.

My wife and I saw Chvrches a while ago and the couple next to us perfectly timed their beer run for when the guy sang his 3 songs in the middle of the show. Anyway this album is synth-pop perfection. Favorite tracks: The Mother We Share, Gun, Lies, Science/Visions

кажется это был первый альбом который я достала из списка лучших альбомов за год… 12 лет… с тех пор чуть-чуть приелся и немного потускнел в мерзкой тени следующих альбомов, но я очень хорошо помню интенсивные и долгие впечатления из предыдущих лет

I had heard the hits from this album before but the full album was great. You can tell they were in a zone when making this

Very nice. A vocal is perfect!

I love Chvrches

A lot of hate for CHVRCHES out there, but honestly, I put it on and the world feels a bit brighter. It's not particularly complex musically, lyrically, or thematically, but it is a fantastic example of what pop could be.

Wow!

I've been enjoying CHVRCHΞS ever since I caught their set at Lollapalooza back in 2018. A modern-day synthpop group where all three members share the workload on synthesizers and production, while Lauren Mayberry helms the lead vocals, they've refined their style and writing over the years to the point where I consider Screen Violence to be one of the best albums of 2021. Needless to say, I was looking forward to going back to their debut, and it still holds up over a decade later. From the blaring start of "The Mother We Share", the instrumentation on this record harkens back to the early 1980s with such a booming impact and presence. The synths are crisp and balanced out by thicker beats and effects that keep the mix busy without feeling overcluttered. All the while, the production remained surprsingly rich, giving the sound enough breathing room and swell as needed. This sound comes especially handy when the band crafts such memorable hooks and melodies, with a lot of upbeat energy and distinct character behind Lauren's dignified yet approachable soprano vocals. Martin Doherty may do a solid enough job on his features, but it's Lauren who makes this album work so well with her measured and emotional delivery. As for the lyrics, The Bones of What You Believe is about showing you everything you believe in your heart to be hollow. In the wrong hands, such a direction could be considered abrasive or obnoxious. Yet, CHVRCHΞS prevail here by including the necessary nuance and detail. "The Mother We Share" opens with Lauren assuming the role of the neglected sister opposite the favored son, as her delivery balances the anger and regret with the love she still holds for the brother in question. It's this kind of morally ambiguous framing that carries through the record, exploring various relationship troubles, like the tired weariness of "We Sink", the explosive anger of "Gun", the desperate recapture of an old flame on "Lies", and the cautious approach back to the lover on "Recover". There are a few notable exceptions. "Science/Visions" sees someone cave under pressure when confronting questions they can't understand, but still attempt with futility anyway, which is applicable for both relationships and the cultural divide between the supernatural/religion and science. Meanwhile "Under the Tide" is a stridently optimstic tune where the imagery of keeping one's head above water is a potent metaphor to keep one's spirit up after a fallout. The album's theme comes into focus on the closing number, "You Caught the Light", where one comes to realization that their beliefs and dreams may not ultimately matter compared to the greater truths or what their partner (or ex-partner) might actually want. It's a moment of humility and quasi-redemption that neatly bookends the record, encapsulating how we, as individuals, are not the center of the universe and should be open to other beliefs and interpretations, all framed in terms of human relationships that I think we can all relate. Yeah, The Bones of What You Believe is great, a debut album that took a lot of risks. CHVRCHΞS have largely improved their songwriting since this record, but it's amazing how well they established their identity from the get-go.

There must be something in their synths

It’s the kind of album that makes you want to dance and cry a little at the same time.

Forgive me CHVRCHES, I wasn’t familiar with your game. And wow, what a game it is! No wonder this is one of Kojima’s favorite bands—this is a fantastic debut album! The synths feel timeless, yet I wasn’t surprised to find out this album came out in 2013. Will have to look into this band’s catalog more after this.

Fucking awesome. Reminded me of tiny star by The Blasting Company, I really love this genre of music and it does seem like it is the pinnacle of using this kind of sound to create something catchy and cool. All the voices complimented the super high highs of the instrumentals, so it didn’t seem like the contrast of all the shit was like too annoying

love the vibe

Wow this was so good! The synths hit just right and I'm obsessed with the female vocalist.

One of the main reasons for me doing this whole album of the day thing is for what happened this time. Some Scottish synth pop band that escaped my notice. I love synth pop as one of my "big" genres. My world veers techno, synth, trip hop... so this is "in the bubble" of my musical taste, and it does it in a big way! I loved this! Not for everyone? Honestly, I don't care! This review is not for the masses, it is for me! Their vibe is "all around" what I like and unique enough to be now "on my list" of worthy and great bands in indie synth. Yeah. I get it if people disagree, it IS very much a genre thing. But for those who love this vibe, you are likely to love this band!

CHVRCHES are just one of those bands who instantly captivated me since the first time I heard/saw them. I never knew how much my love for them would grow in the years to come, but I absolutely adore them to this day.

Another 5/5, I’ve heard this one before and was actively seeking it out similar music after hearing this. The whole album is amazing

My heart says this is a five, but ten years later, my mind is saying it's a four. I'm going to follow my nostalgia tinged heart.

Loved this album in 2013 and love it now.

Say it with me, shock as local queer femme synthpop fan, etc etc. But yeah, I already have at *least* three of these tracks on my regular rotation, I've just never got round to properly listening to the album yet, and now I have, it's making me want to go play Sayonara Wild Hearts again (complimentary)

I have to bookmark this album as a landmark in indie synthpop and indietronica. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘉𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦 manages to sound both crystalline and raw, vulnerable and anthemic. Every track is tightly crafted, with Lauren Mayberry’s voice cutting through shimmering synth layers like a signal from a distant, emotional galaxy. This debut is so cohesive, it plays like a curated Zoomer-core playlist a decade before the trend caught on. Over ten years later, it still feels vital—a modern classic that set the tone for an entire wave of synth-driven indie pop.

A pre-emptive 5. I think I've just been so bored of samey 70s guitar rock that a synth-pop album was a breath of fresh air. Honestly, after one listen I can't remember many songs, but I was left with the impression this will reveal itself after multiple listens, and on that basis it gets a 5. Gorgeous vocals, some nice lyrics - to be honest it was just nice to get something different for once.

takes me back to summer 2012

What a delightful surprise! An absolute mood booster!

Somehow I’ve only known of CHVRCHES, but never actually listened to any of their music. So I’m kind of kicking myself on missing out on a group that is right up my alley. Synthpop goodness with mostly female vocals is just what I love. Thanks to his selection, I’ll be checking out more of their music for sure.

Finally a modern album that feels essential. I knew The Mother We Share prior to listening, but didn't know the album. Loved it. Captures the 2010's electronic / pop genre perfectly.

Я не уверен, что это альбом на пять звезд. На этом альбоме субъективно нет скипов. Даже Lungs и Under The Tide совсем не плохие песни, по-моему. Которые можно скипнуть, но нет. В конечном итоге, этот альбом был важным для меня на релизе, октрыл для меня мир современного синтпопа. Это одна из тех групп, которые я заслушивал до того, как превратился в rym-сноба, который нуждается в конфирмации прочих музыкальных задротов, что это хорошая музыка, которой можно поставить тридцать звезд из пяти. Оттого очень грустно, что это дебют и одновременно пик группы - после они делали странные вещи со своей музыкой, включая соло альбом милейшей солистки Лорен, который будто бы умер еще до релиза (что тоже грустно). По крайней мере в моей жизни, я рад, что услышал этот альбом. Лучшая песня - Recover.

This album has always been loved by me. I went on a very long car journey with a friend and we set the challenge of an album from the 80s, 90s, 00s and 10s where one was from England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland. I chose my 10s album as Scotland and went for this absolute gem. Absolutely beautiful album and synth-pop at its finest.

9/10. Very sweet vocals. The instrumentation is great. This is some extremely enjoyable synthpop right here! :)

Love the contrast between the upbeat songs with sweet vocals and the e very dark lyrics.

4.6/5 Pixelated Feelings This album walks a perfect tightrope-Danceable despair. Pop apocalypse. Digital vulnerability. It’s like if Robyn, Blade Runner, and a breakup letter formed a band.This album is a glitter grenade. It explodes inside your ribcage, and instead of pain, you get a light show. Mood: “I’m crying on the dance floor but make it neon.” Voice is like: “Here is my soul… now run it through a distortion pedal and throw it off a building.”

This record was the soundtrack of the twenty-teens. I remember hearing "The Mother We Share" for the first time. I was driving in my car and I immediately cranked it. I first heard Phantogram around the same time, as well. I feel like 2010-2019 was a ripe period for great pop music, especially more underground and synthy varieties.

I'm passingly familiar with CHVRCHES, but I'm not sure I've actually heard any of these tracks before. It's great synth-pop music, and I was happy to see that at least a bit had made the list. Favorite track: "Tether"

Synth pop dance eletronica noise that feels like it should be from the late 80s early 90s but it's actually 2013. It's not really my thing usually but this slapped, it just had a really infectious energy about it that kept me engaged, and even when he sings it's detracts a bit but not enough to annoy me.

love it!

I loved this album! And I had never heard of them before. But I will definitely be listening more in the future

“Gun” immediately bumps this to a 10/10.

Lauren has such a beautiful voice which is only enhanced by the near absence of guitar backing. What a great piece of music for a self produced album.

Assai bello.

Miglior album synthwave dei 2010 don’t @ me

This album is my view of perfect synth pop and I really like the female singer's voice. The album gets better and better as it goes. Love it. Rating: 5

This was brilliant, 80s synth-pop melodies with more modern beats and samples. They were just generally interesting and inventive songs though, would have been good on guitars. Knew the name but hadn't heard anything before (except that marshmallow song as it turns out), will be going through their catalogue now.

DEFEND SYNTH POP

Peak alternative music era, life was so full of hope. I was worried about opening on a banger/their biggest song but it just kept slapping. Should have listened to this full album before. Just good vibes. 5* Highlights: the mother we share, tether, recover

An easy 5 stars for me. I've always benn captivated by CHVRCHES and love Lauren's voice and the power-pop-synth backing her up. This is an album I've already spent a lot of time with, must be time to branch out. Faves: The Mother We Share, We Sink, Gun, Recover

This was awesome. I had never heard of Chvches before, but I couldn't stop listening to this album after hearing the first track. So amazingly perfectly composed, performed, and recorded. So, so fucking good. Like candy for my ears, I listened to it twice and will probably be listening to it even more. Five stars, easily.

One of my faves

This wasn’t really my kind of thing back in 2013, but this sound is *so* 2013 that it’s got me nostalgic in a good way. This plus other kind of random-seeming selections like Hot Chip I think help me make sense of some of the more baffling patterns on the overall list (why so much drab new wave) (why so much crappy drum & bass techno). The common element really seems to be that these were all big deals in the British club music scene of each era. Like that’s treated on the list as it’s own entire ecosystem in the same scale as rock & hip hop. Which is insane, but at least it’s a throughline.

This went hard back when it released, I'm pretty sure i wore myself out on the singles before it even came out though, especially Gun and Recover. Still incredibly fun synthpop though, not a weak track to be found.

OVERALL: I like this a lot. This album cover is also really good. I am very biased towards this genre because my music taste has been corrupted by Geometry Dash, so I tried to be more critical when rating (still ended up giving high scores). I don't really dislike any song here, and can rate most of the songs here between 7-10/10. The only thing I disliked was the intro to Lungs, but that's about it. I guess it can be boring sometimes and the girl's voice can be annoying? Anyways, I really like synths, which is something that this album does very well. I also like the girl's vocals on the songs. It can be a little basic, but it gets the job done and sounds really good. This is something that I really like but is probably not that good objectively. But it's here, so maybe I'm wrong. There is an extended version for the 10-year anniversary, but I'm not reviewing that right now. Also, the scores added up are exactly 100. Not intentional, just something cool ig. SONG AVG: 8.3/10 PERSONAL RATING: 9/10 The Mother We Share: Very surprised that something like this was included, especially after getting basically only rock and soul. I guess it's a little basic, and also kinda sounds like a Kidz Bop or 2012 copyright free background music, but I like the synths, and I think it sounds pretty good. 8.75/10 We Sink: The synths are very good and pretty catchy. I like the vocals here, but she sounds awkward when she says fuck, and there is a weird noise that sounds like someone saying "uh" pitched extremely down (same criticisms for the last song, didn't want to make the review too long). I like this a lot, but there are some weird crackling noises that bring this down. 8/10 Gun: Great but simple synths, and the vocals sound fantastic, but it does a fade out outro and the lyrics aren't the greatest. Still sounds amazing. 9/10 Tether: Everything sounds great, but it's overall very simple. The synths during the drop are absolutely incredible. Obviously it sucks lyrically, but that doesn't matter in this genre. Pretty good vocal performance. 9.25/10 Lies: It doesn't do anything special, but it still sounds great. The synths aren't doing anything that interesting, but it still sounds good. The vocal performance isn't that impressive this time. The drop sounds great. 7.75/10 Under the Tide: Pretty nice synths, and a very classic buildup style for this genre. Sounds pretty generic, but there are some pretty nice synths sometimes. Fairly weak vocal performance, still not bad. 7/10 Recover: As much as I like synths, this is pretty basic. Same with the vocal performance, just a little bit above average. It still sounds good, but it also just sounds very boring/generic. 5.75/10 Night Sky: Really good. Still suffers from being simple, but this just sounds really great. It does some weird stuff at the end, but I think I like it. Very catchy, just great overall. 9.8/10 Science/Visions: I have nothing bad to say about this other than that it is maybe a bit basic. Very good overall, a bit chaotic, and sounds incredible. 10/10 Lungs: Why does that intro have to come right after Science/Visions. There is a weird noise that serves as the main percussion, but it isn't that bad. It sounds pretty good when it wants to, which is when the girl is singing. Pretty fun. 6.75/10 By The Throat: The chorus sounds like that one Imogen Heap song that I forgot the name of, and I really like that Imogen Heap song. This is overall really good, there isn't really anything I don't like about it other than the fact that it's slightly basic and the lyrics are just okay. 8.75/10 You Caught the Light: Very slow. When it gets interesting, it sounds really good, but it does the thing where it sounds like the guitar peaked the microphone. I still like it, as it sounds very good and I think the guy's singing is his best on this album. 9.2/10

Didn't expect to say this, but that was a damn good album.

I heard this album at a pivotal time in my life, so it’ll always be special to me. Nostalgia aside, it is such an amazing album.

A killer album no “Bones” about it

eu amoooo esse album e essa banda

Has it really been 11 years already? Seems like yesterday that CHVRCHES took the world by storm with this fully focused debut. The trio of "Recover", "Night Sky" and "Science/Visions" is something special.

Synth-pop of the 2010’s peaked with “Night Sky”. CHVRCHES entered the scene hard with this sublime debut album!