Reviews (page 3 of 8)
The Bones of What You Believe has that glossy 80s synth-pop DNA lathered all over it like butter on flapjacks, but avoids the "assembled in a clean lab by robotic labor" sound inherent to the time. It’s bright, catchy and full of movement. The whole thing has a nice little shake to it. It bops, it swells, it pivots just enough to tickle on me grapes. A few times it creeps into that techno-adjacent zone where I start searching for the exit, but never actually loses me. It stays warm, melodic, and just human enough. Pretty fun, pretty different, and honestly just a very easy record to enjoy!
oh ok ok, i like it! this is not what i expected at all. bouncy 80s synth, but with modern fresh vocals and softer delivery - fun mix!
i love this album, and it was probably one of the albums of the year when released. would not, however, list it on 1001 albums. melodies are great, but this sometimes feels too detatched, too disparate to make a truly great album. every open eye is probably the better album. or screen violence. using my judging hat, i can only give this a 3. a very strong one though.
Es muy fresco y juvenil, me recuerda las calles de UK
Hard pass
Not usually big on synth pop but this was quite pleasant to listen to
A good pop album. But not much stands out.
i enjoyed it, but electronica isn't really my genre. maybe it would grow on me the more i listened to it, but overall it was aight
I really like a couple random chvrches songs and I did enjoy this album but they use a similar synth sound on almost every one of their songs. It’s fine when just listening to a single song and gives them their own “sound” I guess, but in album form, at least change up the sound of the synth every once in awhile.
I absolutely love this album. I always find it so easy to get lost in the synth beats and jam out, it’s an album I consistently come back to a few times a year. The Mother We Share is really the only big “hit” on this album, but there’s some really good b-sides added in. There’s also something about Lauren Mayberry’s voice that gives me that little ear tingle and I can’t get enough of it. I think this album is realistically a four, but my personal bias is rounding up this review.
I loved CHVRCHES sound and vibe. This album is right up my alley. "The Mother We Share" and "Recover" have been in my playlists for years now. The rest of the album is solid and consistent. Check out their album Every Open Eye if you liked this.
great vibes cyberpunk
This was really good. Wasn't sure what to expect. But I ended up really liking it. Want to check out more from them.
I can see the popularity, and I see the use and market for it, but it’s just not my thing. Decent standard synth pop is not something I gravitate towards right now.
Definitely something I feel like Beca from Pitch Perfect would love to blast through her quirky headphones. Unfortunately she and I do not share the same tastes.
Synth pop
jus mid ass 2010s electropop. its not bad just nothing very interesting. You know its bad because ppl love to pretend now a days that their so nostalgic for this sound, and yet you hear no one talking about chvrches ever. that felt harsh, this album is fine mb
Me hizo retroceder al 2013, un año donde la música y la moda de contrastes mezclando la nostalgia grunge con una estética pop electrónica, vibrante era tendencia en esa época. Solo eso
House electronica and indie rock mix Favourite track: Tether
All songs were the same. I already had heard before some and Tether was in my liked songs
I like! solid album, no real 'stand out' tracks but the that's partially because the whole thing was just a nice listen
album #26 completely agree with this being on the list, despite being initially surprised that it was LOL. this album is beautifully written and really captures the indie-electronic scene of the early 2010s. the scots know how to make tunes! i love the lyricism in this album, it really feels like you're in a move. it's so striking and i love it! such an incredible debut album and absolutely deserves it's place on the list, it's indie synth-pop magic and chvrches simply do not miss. IMO the people who disagree think the list should only include certain genres - ur boring! ꩜ average track rating: 4.2/5 ꩜ favourite track(s): the mother we share, gun, under the tide ꩜ least favourite track(s): recover ꩜ album rating: ★★★★★ ꩜ number of albums left to review: 1,063 ꩜ number of albums from the list that i agree with being on the list: 13 (+1 The Bones of What You Believe) ꩜ albums from the list that I would consider on my list: 5 (+1 The Bones of What You Believe) ꩜ albums from the list I won't include on my list: 21
Decently cool synth pop but a bit too bubbly for my taste.
Singing is a bit weak, especially in the first half. It might just be the production aspect of it too. The schtick does tire itself with the same synth-pop sound. Nevertheless, this record foreshadows the greater 80s revival in the next decade.
So this is CHVRCHES, the lady singer had big CRJ energy which i loved but the songs led by the man were not nearly as fun or energetic. Still a very enjoyable listen overall and i reckon one i would repeat (without wanting to risk sounding like a 30yr old inner west straight man) ((is that the chvrches cliche or just the inner west straight men i know??))
Millennial pop lover as charged!
I wasn’t cool enough to listen to CHVRCHES back in the day, so this was really my first exposure to them. Objectively, I can get behind this album, but on a purely subjective basis I don’t like the way the music makes me feel (electronica/adjacent always has a weird physical effect on me; I cannot listen to Flume for this exact reason). The stretch from Tether to Recover was my fave
One of my favourite artists and albums! I was thrilled we got to listen to this (also a pleasant surprise considering this list does not seem to especially like women, electronic music or pop). This came out within the same month as the debuts from HAIM and Lorde (also right before starting the HSC, and all three went on to define my personal listening habits for the rest of the 2010s, so safe to say this was a huge album for me. This kind of synthpop and Lauren’s gorgeous vocals are also my musical sweet spot, and I would listen to endless variations of these songs. They are all hits, each track is full of hooks and there’s lots of interesting lyrical ideas (conceptually, referring to the mother we share is so weird and very Knife-esque). I think I slightly prefer their second album Every Open Eye but I think this perfectly established their sound and aged so well. Each of their four albums have lots of songs that I still listen to regularly My faves: The Mother We Share, We Sink, Tether, Lies, Recover, Lungs
first indie sleaze adjacent album i’ve gotten. incredddd
bro idk
The Mother We Share - 4.5/5 We Sink - 4/5 Gun - 4/5 Tether - 3.5/5 Lies - 3.5/5 Under The Tide - 3/5 Recover - 3.5/5 Night Sky - 3.5/5 Science/Visions - 4.5/5 Lungs - 3.5/5 You Caught The Light - 3/5 Strong Hand - 4/5 Broken Bones - 4/5 Gun - KDA Remix - 3/5 The Mother We Share - We Were Promised Jetpacks Remix - 3.5/5
this was a pretty generic electronica album. Its pronounced, "Churches" right?
It was ok.
It was ok. Nothing special
A band I would read about and think I would like. And then don’t
Banger
tumblr ass music tbh
Euphoric!! Great sound - loved this!
This was painful, I have nothing redeeming to say. It was just… toothache inducing vocals with synths that I couldn’t care less about. Plus simply too long of an album. Season: 2012 Favorite Song: Tether
Saw them on this album tour! Listened twice!
Maybe I overlooked this album a bit when it came out. The radio plays are the standouts, but it's still a pretty solid album, if a bit repetitive. I don't feel it really broke a mold, but just did a lot of little things different enough to get notice.
Fast, loose and free summer vibes, like Massive Attack with balls. Perfect soundtrack for when you're riding to work three hours late the day after you were told you're gonna be laid off. Don't ask me how I know that.
My favorite thing about the generator is the musical diversity it exposes me to. But in a world where we’re fine leaving Jets players out of the pro bowl, we sure as shit don’t need representation from whatever the fuck this genre is. This is horrific. This makes me pine for the Fleet Foxes
The banality of 2010s Chainsmokers pop
This is a layer cake of synth with surprisingly sad/dark lyrics for pop. But ultimately, this is the fun dip of music, pure crystal sugar, no substance, and more than a little one note.
I could swear I've heard The Mother We Share before, or maybe a cover of it? Or maybe this one is a cover? Either way, great song. We Sink was pretty funny. Gun, Recover, and Night Sky were nice. Tether had good music. The rest of the album was all right. Overall, a fairly decent album with a few breakout hits. Best song: The Mother We Share
myslalem ze bedzue gorzej ale dobre
Lepsze niż się spodziewałem
I previously heard Chrches on their follow-up Screen Violence. Honestly I have to be in the right frame of mind to enjoy this. The vocals and instrumentation gives it a dreamy vibe but if I'm half asleep as it is it just makes me want to for a nap.
I wasn’t expecting to vibe with this album. Each song brings something cool to the table. The voice is hypnotic and charismatic. I ignored theseguys in the past, but now I’m paying attention
This was just not good. My hearing just isn’t tuned to millennial music. The production; no depth, no dynamics, and wouldn’t know a natural high-fidelity sound if it came around, bought the drinks, turned on its natural charm and then …. Maybe on follow up albums they Could you know, even compress it a little bit more??? Bland repetitive pop of the most formulaic nature possible. No generation likes the pop music of the generations that follow, and tend to think it’s shit, that’s because this is shit. Likely appeals to its target audience but Complete waste of however long that was for me to listen. 2 Star.
It was OK - but that was about it. The Chvrches have a few good tracks, and my favourite is the one that was on the game Death Stranding. Apart from that, they are a little vanilla pop for me
Reminded me a little of The XX, and a little bit like Sylvan Esso - except that I really like Sylvan Esso! CHVCHES didn't quite hit the mark for me.
It was engaging and didn’t sound terrible but I won’t listen to this again.
I don’t really care for synth pop in general. This is pretty average for the genre. Seems like it’s from the 80’s. Lame
This did not get me at all. Throw back synth-pop with seemingly nothing new to say. Not badly written/produced, just pointless.
Synthpop was so cool in the late 70s and early 80s. As this genre was so experimental and groundbreaking. Today synthpop is not so cool. You would think after 40-50 years with the advancement of technology that this genre would be unreal. But instead you just have these modern pop bands that have a simple computer device to re-create old synth sounds. I wanted so much for this to be good, but instead it just came off as recycled, as most modern music.
I like the beats and the vocals are great too.
This album felt inescapable when it came out and yet I had forgotten it existed until now. I don’t know when the last time I saw any mention of this band, so I think perhaps it was premature to include it here. That said, it is enjoyable, but I never really got into the hype surrounding it.
Pleasant enough electro-pop. But I find it unremarkable and it does not move me at all. Goes in the drawer where the likes of Lorde, Taylor Swift etc. sit, and that drawer stays shut. A 3 because I feel generous today, and it does have a charming sound. Why is this on the list?
Legal
I struggled with this one. Mother We Share is such a killer song and I was so sure I would give this AT LEAST a 4… it just dies down a bit as it progresses. I lost interest about halfway through unfortunately.
enjoyed listening; would play again
Bloody close to a 4. It grew on my the longer and louder I played it
10/10
I recognised the first song. It was played quite a lot at the time. Not bad, but over the course of the album I found the sound a bit repetitive. Synth, indie pop.
The mother we share - 3 We sink - 3 Gun - 3 Tether - 3 Lies - 3 Under the tide - 3 Recover - 3 Night sky - 3 Science/visions - 3 Lungs - 3 By the throat - 3 You caught the light - 2
This is another win. An artist I was unlikely to encounter on my own, & almost certainly would not have given a chance based on the elevator pitch. But it was great! I really liked it. Not a fan of the saccharine pop vocal. But after a few songs that kinda faded away & I could focus on the bits I liked. Definitely deserving of my attention & added to my library. High five! I wanna say 3 & 1/2 stars, but we're rounding back down because of the singing. *EDIT: Nah, fuk that. This is great. That was cranky old man talking yesterday, the singing is fine. The album is great. Revised rating: 4 & a quarter
I'm not usually a big fan of electronica albums, but this rips. I was honestly pretty hesitant just from looking and reading the Wikipedia blurb, but the first song rips so hard, that it wrecked all my biases. I don't listen to a lot of electronica albums, so I don't have very many educated comments to make on this album. But it slaps. I had a great time. There are some songs that I didn't really enjoy. Most of them were when the guy was singing lead. But it was a really good album beginning to end. Favorite Song(s): The Mother We Share, Strong Hand
I had heard "the mother we share" of course but never thought more deeply about the band. Had a lot more fun with this than I expected to. Probably only need one album from them but definitely vibed out.
Sehr cooles Album, klang voll nach Florence and the Machine
positiv überrascht, guter Sound, vor allem die ersten drei Lieder.
Was für ein Überraschungsalbum für mich. Geile Stimme, geile Synthie-Beats. Das werde ich mir mit Sicherheit mal zum chillen/arbeiten oder zum Laufen anhören! Geil!
The opening track, The Mother we Share, is great. The rest didn’t live up to that.
Incrivel
I'd listen to it again
Pre-Listening Notes This album came out when I was in college, and while I was still very enthused about music for the time, CHVRCHES is a band I only read about and nothing more. Didn't know anyone that listened to them or brought them up at all compared to MGMT or Passion Pit. As a late stage millennial, I suppose it's my turn to hear them. Post-Listening Notes OOoff. No. This was a miss for me. Let's go with the classic psychological method of reasonable criticism, the positive-negative-positive. Kids pay attention, this is something incredibly important you should learn that schools will never teach you, as soon as you let Gemini or ChatGPT/whatever summarize this review to understand it. Alright, here we go with the positives. The synths and the production quality of the album are great for the most part. It's quite emblematic of that millennial electronic indie pop era. Shoutout to the DSI Tempest for being the most 2010's sounding stereotypical synth sound behind Massive. They love the Tempest, and it's a fun synth that isn't the easiest to control or use. Lauren is a good singer with an interesting high pitch voice that doesn't squeek. The band clearly has the chops to do anything! The negatives. Well it's quite emblematic of that electronic indie pop era. I can't stand that shit. It's so on the nose and stereotypical of "what would millennials and older Gen Z kids listen to in high school" for the early to mid 2010s music. Sort of like OneRepublic or One Direction for the music that was at their heights when I was in high school. Unlike those aforementioned bands, CHVRCHES clearly has the musical chops to go in some creative direction like shoegaze or happy hardcore or even post punk, and they instead make music that sounds like everybody else of their time and fail to innovate in any musical way. They're so fucking early 2010s that they even do a fucking drop in one of the songs, it's that bad. The Bones Of What You Believe is just way too poppy over the cool electronic/synth beats and drum machines. My ears aren't good at hearing vocals for the first time in songs even with some high end set-ups with good acoustics, so I can't say too much about the songwriting and what the songs are about for pop music. But when I mean it's too poppy for its own good and it's too stereotypical to go well for me, I think of Lady Gaga's early music. I don't care for pop but she made it all work into some great records that age well, and she's even more millennial than this band! There's music talent in CHVRCHES for sure. This is very much a band that checks off the criticslop factory for me. The universal praise from critics because they have to shut off their own personal biases and assume everyone still wants to listen to pop records because it's the default genre and picking the bands with the best inoffensive songwriting and talent, while ignoring the finished product. The synth hooks and Lauren could convince you that they can do something anything different or more creative and be just as good. It feels like it's a waste of something that can translate better with a different presentation. No this band didn't win a grammy despite me calling it criticslop or critic bait, but let's not pretend those are valuable. And we circle back to the positive-negative-positive. We cheer up the target I mean client and/or person to psychologically reaffirm ourselves that an optimistic outlook really helps us all out as a human species. Dick Van Dyke said that's the one reason he's lived to be 169 years old as of time of writing this review. Anyways, I thought Lies and Science/Vision were pretty good on their own. Guns almost had it, but that's okay because the band tried. CHVRCHES are certainly popular enough for the talented musicians in the band to make a living doing something they love. Even if that means playing the most stereotypical millennial/old gen z bullshit alive I----sorry. Even if that means playing the music they do which is absolutely not meant for me or possible future listeners, they won the musician lottery of actually doing what you love for a living and getting paid enough not to barely make ends meet. I'm gonna stop talking and unclench my teeth of which that refrains any further negative comment. Peace
It's very cool, sounds different from what I usually listen to, lots of the melodys and harmony are pretty interesting as well as the synths and vocals. Songs do sound a bit similar at times but lots of songs are very interesting. I really enjoy the sonic atmosphere and that almost dreamy feel but synthpop wouldn't be something I listen to on the regular. It is a good record, just not for me. 3.5/5 on Rym. 3/5 on 1001.
Ok, decent
Best album of 2013 and one of the best of the decade.
It's been done before and better by other artists
Great pop album.
I liked this album. Like a 10% influential derivative of ‘the knife’ made be a very young Scottish twang band.
I don't know what to tell ya, buddy. I just love electro-pop.
Bra synthpop. Sjukt att få höra originalet av en eric prydz-remixad låt
It's like I listen to a 80 ies girl popstar but it is a band from fuckin Scotland acceptable
I enjoyed this a lot. Quite a bit of variation from track to track, and yet, consistent. The female vocalist is great.
Very pleasantly surprised by this one. Very nice synth pop, not exactly earth shattering but landed nicely on my ears.
I am not anti synth. But if you're going to synth, you better fucking synth. Like this.
An okay listen. Started to sound repetitive and too similar to other artists.
Kinda liked it. I could see myself listening again.
Is this a perfect album? No. Is it the perfect album to listen to while running a 10k today? Yes. I bought this with an iTunes gift card back in college. This was on heavy rotation while I biked around and went to the beach and day drank. I was supposed to see them at outside lands in 2014 when they pulled out for some medical issue. I may or may not be a little bitter. Points here for fun and nostalgia
I enjoyed it. But after sleeping on it, I can’t remember any song so the best I can give it is a three.
Good stuff
This was ok, but I probably won't listen to it again or seek out other albums by this band
I find it funny how I've never being a fan of the 2010's synthpop / electropop, but know it has become quite nostalgic for me. What I like about this album is that it allows me to disconnect my mind, something that I needed, thanks to the songs being very similar, so I didn't have to really think about what they are doing different in each track. In addition, the captivating and catchy female voice and the spacey synths very influenced by vintage synthpop from acts like Kraftwerk, also contribute to the ability of getting lost in the music. If I have anything negative to say about the album is that not all songs stick, the ones that do aren't super impressive, some can feel repetitive and overall it is a bit formulaic. Fortunately, I don't think there is anything in here that ruins the experience or that is dramatically bad, so in the end, it is a nice experience. The best way I can describe this album is to call it a vibe, a good and catchy vibe that is very reminiscent of the 2010's mainstream electropop music.
Ok ok ok...
Worth noting: the two guys in this project (Ian Cook and Martin Doherty) were previously members of or affiliated with a Scottish post-indie rock band called Aereogramme. Which sounded nothing like Chvrches. Unfortunately. I was really excited about the new project, then heard the first songs, and found it wasn't for me. I mean... They do have their own sound, when a song of theirs comes on, it's easy to tell it's them. I just find this genre and the songs themselves a bit bland, I'm afraid.
Not my style
2013-me probably would've like this album/band. Current me just cannot get into it despite being a fan of synth music. The music sounds very dated, like you can tell that it came out in 2013. Some of the melodic choices in some songs also just clash together and take you out of the song, like it feels like some tracks weren't polished or just should've been scrapped altogether. Disliked the female singer's voice quite a lot, she sounds like a child singing and I just found that really unappealing on a primal level. Didn't like the male singer either, I don't think their voices match well. Also the lyrics are so juvenile and simplistic in a way I didn't enjoy at all.
quite cool modern synth stuff, doesn't quite live up to my favourites in the genre but for what it is, it's good
i feel like it’s good when i was at a particular age when i went “huh cool electronic female led band” but nowadays i’m a bit more “meh” on it. it’s solid here and there but not really something i’d run to nowadays.
When this one came out I was at peak Tapped-In-ness with SiriusXMU and Pitchfork. So I remember a number of these songs. I LOVE the first two then they get really inconsistent. The sound design of the synths is really great all the way through but it's not enough to make it something I love a lot .
Probs more like 3.5 for the whole album. Don’t dislike just quite repetitive
This album is a bit of a disappointment. I quite like the high energy, positive beats of The Mother We Share but this is as coherent as the album sounds. A few reasonable tracks but a lot of it just seems directionless and noisy. Misfiring.
At times its like listening to a slightly techno baby babble (like when you get cracking on the first song). I just dont find it particularly genuine as the vocals tend to be overly glossy and barby like. You then get synth popping in the background which is just a simplistic formula which does little to elevate this. I notice some interesting lyrics but any darkness or feeling is entirely absent as far as I can tell. I really dont understand the appeal of this form of pop. I can just about tollerate this so will be kind.
Another one that makes me question it's inclusion. What on earth is this supposed to be giving us that we haven't heard a hundred times before? At worst it's generic, over-produced pop music. At best (being generous) it's like a fusion of 80's synth pop and Alanis Morisette. Music for people who like 80's pop but don't want to listen to "old music".
I get it, I may really be into dream pop. But this is more like a teenage girl lip-syncing to her hairbrush along with her MySpace 2013 Hot100 playlist. Very nice, but not my thing. Need some nerve-shredding Youth Code to dissipate my annoyance.
This one wasn't really my style. I have a hard time getting into the ethereal stuff. Made for decent background music driving around town and a couple tracks got a head bob from me with a dancy beat, but overall I didn't find it super interesting.
Pretty good. Reminded me of some songs off of the Cyberpunk anime sound track.
Hm. Don't like that.
Fell asleep. Admittedly I was a bit tired but this is pretty monotonous
It's fun synth-pop.
Looking back this really does have 2010’s vibes. Great album
Loved it very atmospheric and enjoyable the whole way through
I enjoyed this. Great voice great beats. I’m not usually a synth pop fan but I would listen to this again
This album is kind of a time capsule for me because it is one of the last if not the last iTunes album I bought before someone finally explained what Spotify was to me and I stopped buying digital musical files altogether (it always seemed weird to do that). This was one of my favorite albums of that year yet I've barely listened to it since then. I like it now more than ever.
This is tough to get through. The longer it goes the more I hate it Will I listen to again: 0%
Meh
It was a perfectly good synth pop album. For the length especially I felt it needed a bit more variation. It was a bit too same sounding. Also I was really not in the mood for it, which also affects my rating. 3.5/5 in a different mood I may like it more.
Forgettable
Chvrches' albums never quite match their live performances IMO, although the synth-pop and loops make for enjoyable listening. Lauren Mayberry's lyrics often strike a sharp contrast to the upbeat sound.
I liked this. Good to have something from this century. A bridge from the 80’s
I've thus far refrained from criticising the demi gods that selected the 1001. But how the fudge can this be deemed 'important' let alone 'influential' (granted, it does meet the criterion of 'in popular music'). I get that it may have been inspired by important or influential albums from the 90s. But to my ears it's just generic, occasionally enjoyable, pop. Maybe it's just the offensive spelling that's got my goat - it's not as if the album text was chiseled by hand. A spiteful 2*.
Never really got me hooked in any way. Its decent music but it doesn't stand out among the other albums for me
Not my cup of haggis but I can see this being someone’s cup of haggis. The production value is there, I am just not into the genre of fake 80s. You can’t replicate the 80s there will always be tells that give away modernity in the music vs the genuine sound that came from the 80s. 5/10
Lauren Mayberry, my beloved. The voice of an angel.
Interesting album which I really enjoyed. It is very pop-music-y but still nice.
Millennials ahoy
Oooh, you are awful but I do like you. That's basically the way I feel about almost all overly earnest female vocalist over droning synths and pop beats. Basically, something has happened in the last 12 years or so to make this very much my jam, possibly against my will. Still, there are some specifics that I do like here - the hint of Scottish accent, and the vocal style being very close to Let's Eat Grandma. I also really like the male vocal on the rare occasions it enters the fray - it's a nice counterpoint and brings a less pop sensibility.
The Mother We Share 2.7 We Sink 2.8 Gun 2.7 Tether 3 Lies 3.2 Under the Tide 2.7 Recover 2.5 Night Sky 2.5 Science/Visions 3 Lungs 2.4 By the Throat 2.5 You Caught the Light 3 Score: 2.75
Some really nice sounds here. Maybe a little bloated as my interest wained somewhat by the end.
FANTASTIC
Totally fine, but it suffers from pop's problem - the songs don't go anywhere. It's more listenable than most in the genre. 2 - a good album just not my thing
I adore this album. I get to pull my hipster card with Chrvches as I knew them before this came out and they got big. The Mother We Share was on many a playlist back in the day. Saw them at the Hydro once, which was an incredible light show. Musically, this album is a bop. Jumpy, danceable tunes with easy sing-a-long lyrics. There's too much personal love for me to be objective, but even if I try to be unbiased it's an incredible album.
Baustelle, Gerstetten, Deutschland. Tolle Scheibe!
p937. 2013. 2 stars. Deacon Blue for the millennium. Jaunty Scottish synth pop, well done of its kind, but no standout tracks and nothing to set it apart from the rest of the pack. The rule still applies: if people aren't talking about it 5 years after it was released, it isn't essential listening.
Pop Electro. Not bad. 2.5 album rounded to 3.
Just not for me
This felt a little too joyful for a synthpop band. I needed a little darkness - I mean their Scottish for fucks sake!
warum machen christen immer so gute musik... keine ahnung ob ich es scheiße oder gut finden soll... perfekt 2016 vibes gecaptured, ein bisschen electronic aber ich mag es... vibes
I find too many people form opinions, and then never revisit them. There is no downside. Approached with an open mind, periodic checks on things you assume are "so", either provides space to update your opinion, or to verify that the original was, and continues, to be correct. In this case, I didn't love synth pop the first time around, and this renewal doesn't grab me either.
Sounds like 2013, which was a good year
Enjoyed some songs, most were forgettable Standout songs: We SInk Lies Science/Visions
didn’t listen to this one under a microscope, but even at a casual level it’s clear how well executed it is. The songwriting is tight, the production is polished without feeling empty, and the emotional tone feels thoughtful rather than manufactured. There’s a real sense of intention behind it. It’s not necessarily my musical lane—I tend to gravitate toward more organic, groove-driven records—but I respect what this album does. The synth textures and hooks are strong, and it manages to be both immediate and controlled without feeling disposable. Not something I’ll live inside, but undeniably well crafted. A strong four for execution and intent.
I liked this one. It feels like disposable vaporware-adjacent 2010s pop music more than an enduring classic, but I'm going to embrace it anyway. It's certainly of its time, but not quite as 'of its time' as a few of the other records from this time on list (The XX, so much landfill indie, etc) I was interested to see that I already had "Recover" saved to my Spotify "Liked Songs" and I still believe that's the standout track on this record. "The Mother We Share" was the big hit and should be familiar to anyone who lived through this era, but it's not the better song.
Flawless album, even the song where they let the guy sing
The most interesting thing about this album to me is that the only real instrument is drums. Often electronic drums but still, like a real dude playing them rather than programming them into a computer. Everything else is digital. It grounds it a little I suppose. While this isn't really a kind of music I would listen to all the time, I did enjoy this album for what it was. I really liked the vocals a lot, great voice and it fit in very well with the music. Minimal auto-tune which is always a good thing, and seemingly mostly used for effect rather than obvious correction. A hard one to rate for me. I liked it, probably wouldn't listen to it again but wouldn't be upset about throwing it on now and then. Would I buy it if I saw it in a record store? Yeah maybe if I was in the mood that day. But this is another example of why we need scores out of 10 or the ability to give half stars. This one would be like a 3.6 (7.5/10 maybe) but I just can't see rounding it up to a 4. So 3/5 it is.
I remember liking a few tracks on this and then it being a bit too poppy or similar for me. Same thing again I guess.
4/5
Bop.
3+
This album did not age well.
Gran gran disco. Nunca lo había escuchado completo y vaya pedazo de disco que me estaba perdiendo. Definitivamente de los mejores discos que he escuchado de la lista hasta ahora. Todo es genial en este disco, desde la inmejorable musicalidad armónica y rítmica, así como melódica de las capas y capas de sintetizadores que se usan, hasta la gran voz melódica y relajada de Lauren Mayberry que funciona como contraste y equilibrio en ese ambiente tan energético, electrónico y synth/pop de cada pista. Los acompañamientos corales de Martin Doherty y la ejecución instrumental impecable tanto de el mismo Doherty como de Iain Cook hacen toda la diferencia. Cada pista tiene un carácter y un estilo único. Por último, las letras son increíbles, te enganchan desde el principio y sumado con el ambiente musical tan potente y autentico, cada canción se siente como un gran sencillo. De hecho, definiría este disco como un disco lleno de sencillos. Cada canción es genial. Pero bueno, amo a esta banda, igual estoy siendo un poco subjetivo. No importa, me encanto el disco. Joya de disco. Joder es música.
Some songs are fantastic and are great architypes of pop songs but other songs seem forgettable. The inconsistency of the overall album is disappointing but when a song is fantastic, it is truly fantastic. I would highly recommend parts and pieces but not the whole body of work.
its a tough listen up until the 3/4 song on the album the rest is pretty easy. i did think it was gonna be totally my vibe based on the genre but i mostly liked the 2nd half better.
Yeah, I just knew I wasn't interested in this shit and 30 seconds in my instincts were correct. Any band that that uses a V instead of a U can just get fucked. Whoever is singing, her voice has no presence...it's light, airy and just not great. The synths suck, this sounds like video game music, but at least video games are fun. Oh, she's dropping f-bombs. So edgy. This is music for Tumblr kids at festivals from the early 2010s.
5/10 On an initial background listen of this, there were promising signs. I actually quite like the aesthetic of the sound, with its synthwave edge and attempt at constructing deep and evocative atmospheres. Unfortunately, as I listened closer, and as the album rolled on, I often found that the actual musical compositions that the musical content that the production built around we’re actually pretty thin, a little lacking in really engaging hooks, and at certain points, became just a bit boring. It also feels a little bit half-done, in that while the overall atmosphere was decent, it felt like they could have spent more time working with dynamic and timing subtleties to introduce a bit more of an organic and human feel to it. As it was it just felt a little bit cold and uninspiring. Not that it didn’t have its moments. There were times when I started to sink into the vibe a little more, and when it did begin to wash suck me in, it was actually fairly enjoyable, but they definitely stretched the material too far and there were too many times where I felt like I was a bit stuck in an endless loop of arpeggiations and reverb. Neither of the vocalists were particularly special either, and I never felt like they were able to capture me with their delivery, which may have helped with my general appreciation of the music. Not to say that Lauren is a bad vocalist, she’s just a little bit safe, perhaps. I feel like I’d have maybe enjoyed this a little more if they’d work to add a bit of extra dynamic and variation in tone, not just in individual tracks, but across the album as a whole, and the fact that it was fairly stylistically flat wasn’t helped by its length. Overall, I’ve sort of found myself floating somewhere in the middle here, which is a frustrating place to be after listening to an album three times through. It doesn’t feel right to say it’s bad, because it’s not. I don’t feel like it ever really drifted into that zone, so as a whole, I can’t mark it down too far. But it’s also not really for me. The Mother We Share - There’s a fairly retrofuturistic synthwave sound to this. It’s got some decent melodic elements, but it all feels a little bit obvious and derivative without adding a vast amount of anything new. It’s not bad, though and you can definitely hear the anthemic sound that they’re going for coming through. Atmospherically, it’s not bad either. We Sink - The tempo to this isn’t bad and there are some promising bits of synth programming and sequencing, but it’s very harmonically static, despite the momentum of the programming. It does lift itself a little during the choruses, but it’s quite dynamically limited and a little too insistent even during the breakdown section. I feel like there could be something more if they’d given a bit more space and variety to the different elements. Gun - Again, the programming to this doesn’t provide much subtlety and dynamism to this, it’s all very dynamically flat and rhythmically fixed. It’s not bad, necessarily, but I feel like it could do with being a bit more organic. I was pleased to hear a little bit more saturation to the synth tones to begin with, but that distorted synth tone really isn’t very pleasing on the ear and jars with the rest. She’s a decent singer, but struggles to command attention for me. Tether - They’re trying to build something a bit more atmospheric here, but again things are a bit too robotic, not in a hypnotic, Kraftwerk way, but in a way that just feels a little bit flat. When things get moving a bit more, the drum beat is crap and the arpeggiated synth is just super 90s dance cliché and drags on for too long. It’s also very harmonically thin. Meh. Lies - This is very rhythmically stilted. It actually manages to build a decent bit of a danceable groove to it despite that, but it’s all very repetitive. Even when they do transition to slight variations, the changes are fairly limited and there’s nothing particularly hooky about any of the melodic composition either. I mean, there’s a core sound to this that appeals, but I don’t feel like it’s fully or particularly well developed. Under The Tide - More static arpeggiations and beats. Martin Doherty is less inspiring on vocal duties than Lauren Mayberry, sounding really quite generic. I can see what they’re going for here, but as with a lot of the other stuff, it’s terribly repetitive and dynamically limited. I’m kind of struggling with this a little at this point. Recover - Sometimes you hear an album where you feel like a lot of it comes from the preset synth patches for whatever synth they’ve got hold of, in this case, I assume a Prophet (yep, turns out it’s a Prophet 08). This is one of those albums. It may not be the case, but they definitely program the kind of sounds that sound like presets either way! And the fact that I’ve rambled on about synths says more about this track than whatever I might have written otherwise. It’s ok, the melodies aren’t bad, but are quite repetitive and stilted. It’s much in the same vein as the rest; atmospherically ok, but quite one dimensional. Night Sky - There’s a little bit more dynamic range to sections of this, which is nice. I quite like the vocal melody in the chorus, and the vocal edits in the breakdown section are pretty tasty too. There’s a bit more of a throbbing pulse to the rhythm here that gives it an extra element of tension. This isn’t bad, if still a little repetitive here and there. Science / Visions - The arpeggiated synth line that persists through a lot of this has got at least a little bit of tweaking going on to give it life, but it’s a very short sequence that gets repeated for too long. Martin’s vocal part is crap. I really do think there are some elements of quality in a few of these tracks, but everything feels a little bit underdeveloped. I’m just finding it a bit boring, to be honest and it’s not sweeping me up in the anthemic grandiosity that the production indicates that they’re trying to achieve. Lungs - This is a good, hooky pop melody, and it’s finally grabbing me. It feels like there’s a bit more consideration been put into the programming and it feels a bit more fluid and groovy than some of the other stuff. There’s a bit about a minute and a half that’s really beefy, but unfortunately it’s a bit too fleeting and only reappears at the end. Sadly, they don’t really take the core concept of this track very far, because what’s here is actually really good, but it just feels like it could have been expanded on to make an excellent track. By The Throat - More dance-music inspired stuff built on synth presets. It’s a bit limp to begin with, built it’s building to something, I think. Hang on, where the fuck is the bass after that build up!? They really pulled their punches there and it’s so unsatisfying. Eurgh. All it would have taken was a thumping bass and it could have really worked, but a miss is as good as a mile. Some of the synth parts here are really nice, but it’s so lacking in something to give the required punch to the gut. You Caught The Light - We had this distorted synth tone earlier and it’s just a little too harsh against the rest of the sounds for me. It’s really close to working, and it probably would if they’d avoided such a clean sound for the rest of the production, but as it is, it jars. Martin’s back with his beige vocal delivery. There’s some more good atmospheric production here and there’s a nice bit of dynamic range to it, but it’s just a little bit too dull again, and his vocal just doesn’t have the charisma or energy to achieve what it sounds like they were going for.
Bright, tightly compressed synth-pop grooves built from shimmering arpeggiators, punchy electronic drums, glossy bass pulses, and clear, front-facing vocals move this synth-pop album like staring into a perfectly lit digital display—catchy and efficient, but so polished and emotionally uniform that it can feel more functional than deeply engaging.
Len Houmous has never been to church! 3.0 1/12 The Mother We Share
I was a tween in the 10s and I hated this kind of music so I cannot give this a good review it reminds me of puberty in the worst way.
ehh.. säkert någon som tycker det är bra..
Not unpleasant, very samey
Bit repetitive
Some songs I love, some grated a little. I like that their sound is original and different. They have a modern post apocalyptic sound. Taking a little club music fusing with a Bjork vocal sound. I don't think I need to come back to the album as a whole but i will enjoy some of the songs individually.
This has been recommended to me before by fellow Gen X-ers. I’m glad it is here now. I enjoy the modern bubbly 80’s style synths and the songs are catchy AF. It still sounds very 2010’s indie. 3.5/5
I really loved the synthy dancy sounds in this album. I didn't totally love her voice, it's pretty childish sounding and somehow made the music and the vocals feel a little disconnected from each other. But overall, I still really enjoyed the richness of it all.
Modern synth pop. Pretty decent listen instrumentally; don’t know that the lyrics are really something that apply to me/that I would rally around but it sounded great.
Had my doubts going in but was pleasantly surprised, didn't notice i had the remaster on so I though it was from 23 and I was like oh it kinda tracks with some other stuff I listen too like The Midnight, but oops, it was the 10 year remaster, really cool to learn that this maybe helped set the stage a bit, good listen overall as well
Chvrches are really great but this album is kinda whatever to me
Actually a pretty solid record.
Listenable
Mai fand die gut
A band i was only passingly familiar with before today. I really, really liked this one! Definitely interested in listening to more from them.
Feb 8, 2026 - i feel transported to my 15-year-old self lmao
(57/100)
very glossy and catchy and well crafted but the more down tempo songs don't do much for me (especially album closer You Caught The Light which is a big ol skip, put Lauren back on the vocals!) and i just don't think it has the staying power to be a regular listen for me, but i gotta give it up for just how many of these songs i knew despite never specifically listening to chvrches
I'm pretty much just a no for the whole idea of synth-pop.
I’d never given this a fair shot before because the female vocals made it seem like a teen pop star trying to make a nostalgia synth record and it doesn’t work for me. And that opinion has not changed, but the songs You Caught the Light and Under the Tide work better for me. 2.5⭐️
The most 2013 album
Started off pretty well, felt like it lost steam halfway onwards
A little confused as to how/why the mother we share became the hit that it was.
Chvrches is another group I hadn't heard of, and so far I'm pretty sure I haven't heard their music until now. They are a Scotish synth-pop group and I'm really enjoying their sound. Overall I think it was a pretty good album, nothing really stood out to me as really amazingly good or bad, but it was definitely a good time.
Pop, but with a little more depth. I like the electronics and vocals.
Lovely synth very nostalgic
Overall, I enjoyed this album. A lot of it is breezy, safe synth-pop that doesn't sound much different from a lot of the synth-pop from the mid 2010's. The first song that really caught me was Science/Visions, and I feel the rest of the album was much stronger than the early tracks. Maybe the sound was just settling in for me. But the early tracks have that bouncy, arpeggiated, dancy beat that make it sound like every other band from the time... the later ones are more retro and are more interesting to me. It would be a 4 if the whole album was like that.
Unremarkable synth pop with unexciting lyrics and bland vocals. No idea why it merits a place on a 1001 all time albums list!
I don't recall hearing Chvrches although I recognise the name of the group. I perhaps should have checked them out because the album is pretty good. Not stellar but definitely listenable. Not sure what genre it's classified as, perhaps electronica, but it's a style I enjoy for background listening so I'll probably look at their other albums now.
I like their vibes but didn't save any tracks.
Soundtrack for the 1980's pop-centric material girl, neon pop, glam dressing crush you had when puberty started slapping you directly in the feels.
Reminds me of the music we would listen to running down Santa Monica Blvd in West Hollywood in the mid teens. For that I suppose I'll bump it to a 4
Thoughts before listening: I believe this is some sort of poppy indie rock type of a thing. I remember when they were making all the best album lists in the 00s, but I never really paid much attention. I'm sure this will be fine. Review: So this is 80s throwback new wavy pop I guess. This is perfectly fine, non-offensive music, but also just not really for me. I'm pretty bored actually. I'll give this 2-stars.
8/10 Favorites: The Mother We Share We Sink Gun
Pop synth energy! 3 for Jon, 3.5 for Al. Not quite a 4.
Te electonisch voor mij, niet mijn ding
Niet mijn stijl
The triumphant return of synth-pop to the mainstream. I remember hearing a lot of CHVRCHES back then, but never really delved into them because I was still listening to what was popular in 2000 (nu metal and pop-punk). Well after expanding my taste since 2013, and since 2021 when I first listened to the album in full, I can confidently say this is a masterpiece. An utter masterpiece. Choruses hit every time, and sometimes choruses upon choruses upon choruses ("Recover") just take over the whole soul. I was jumping out my chair at that post chorus. And it is so well produced, it sounds beautiful in my headphones
Solid 2010s sound, not bad but not too memorable
You had (pronounced, L-O-S-T) me at Scottish synth-pop
I do like this one and it is very interesting and unique. I don't think I liked it more than a 3 though.
Felt very nostalgic, and like any of the songs could be used in a 2010's romcom or coming of age movie/show.
Total time capsule of a more optimistic time. There was a golden age where pop and EDM had some fantastic crossover and this is a nice stop along the way. One of the GOATs? No, but a nice little slice of life and a very nice record.
This is fine enough but I can't help but feel that it's one of those ones that seemed more important at the time and was dropped from later editions.
not my thing
Probably the most modern album ive had so far. This had passed me by when it came out as indie pop and a listen doesnt prove me wrong. But its half decent. The energy and drive across the album is nice and gives it a really a really consistent upbeat feel. Her voice is fine but lacks variety after a while.
I've heard of CHVRCHES and know they are supposed to make decent music, but have for some reason never checked them out... I don't mean this in a bad way, but this album feels very much like the late 2000s - early 2010s. Something in this particular synth-pop sound makes me think immediately of the likes of Owl City, MGMT, Phoenix, M83 and any number of other acts from that time. As with any soundscape there were obviously some who did it better than others. And surely the legacy lives on... On this album I feel like they strike a decent balance, keeping the production mostly interesting while appealing to traditional pop forms. I think at it's edgier it succeeds (or at least connects with me more). At its worst I think it comes across generic. Highlights for me were Lies, Lungs, and We Sink. But there were some tracks like Under the Tide that felt pretty boring. All said, the synth-pop sound is one that I can certainly vibe with; I love the aura and layering and I think it makes for fantastic background / soundtrack music. In this case, I'm the soft end of a 4.
Never listened to this one all the way through, looking forward to it. Mother We Share is another top 100 song. We've had a lot of those as of late. Great voice, lovely synths, great energy overall. Could use a little more complexity and depth to really drive home a 5 star rating, but it has a great synth pop sound that I will always enjoy. I like the singers voice a good deal, but it felt like every song was the same with her. Square 4, expected to like it a bit more, but not upset at all.
Always have heard of CHVRCHES but never listened to CHVRCHES. That was an incredibly fun dance poppy kind of album with some sweet electronic features in it. Each song sounded really fresh too. This is a strong 4 and will likely be relistened to very shortly
I've seen the name CHVRCHES around for awhile now, and may have even tried listening in the past. I keep seeing RATM's album cover for Renegades when I glance at the album cover based on the colors. A few songs in and it's more pop leaning to me. Not bad but not a band I'm usually gonna go out of my way to listen to. Way too much interesting synth-pop in the world to listen to this. The vocals are also kinda annoying to me and uninspired. Reminds me a ton of some of those generic vocals on some EDM songs. I do like some sounds in By The Throat. I was a bit disappointed with this. Was hoping to like it and while I liked some moments, it really fell short for me.
YESSSSS
I love that this list includes such a synthy, dreamy, hyper pop bubblegummy record. I absolutely adore some of the tunes (like The Mother We Share and Gun), but I find the whole album to be a thin wash of energy without much musical depth. While some of the singles are generational classics, the remainder fades into the background. I wish they had selected an Alvvays record if they were looking for a synthy pop band with a cool spelling to their name. 4/10
Okay, I liked 'Lies.' Now I'm.digging 'Undet The Tide,' This didn't start well for me. I'm not sure it's something I'd go out of my way to play, but it grew on me a bit as the album progressed, and there were definitely some tasty moments. At start this was two stars at best, at a few.points it was almost four.
The band reminded me of a poor man’s Arcade Fire. The music was fine , the songs all tend to blend together but I think that’s the intent.
3*
really great record top to tail
Very surprised to see this included, great album but their second one is better
Okay then! I like this one too!
First 2 songs were terrific, then the next 5 tried to do the exact same thing. Could have done with 2-4 cut songs and resequencing
My wife's favorite band!
Honestly, pretty boring, but not awful either. Stand-outs - The Mother We Share - Recover
im biased, this album is too important to me
When I sat down to listen to this album I did some time traveling to try remembering hearing it for the first time 13 years ago. Honestly I think I must have been a snob back then because I remember not liking it. Specifically, I remember not liking the twinkly synth and the lead vocals and putting CHVRCHES in pop jail with Ellie Goulding or whoever else I hated in 2013. My favorite song back then (and today too) is "You Caught The Light", but now I feel bad because I missed out on the rest of the solid jams on here like "Science/Visions" and "Night Sky". Maybe there's something inherently misogynistic about writing off the other songs because I didn't like the female vocalist but then praising the song at the end where 'the guy sings finally.' I'm glad I had the chance to relisten and appreciate a solid record.
So tempted to give this a 5/5. Such an incredibly nostalgic album for me.
not really my thing but a greatttt 2013 album
I did not like the lead singers voice. It didn’t sit right with me
not my jam.
I would rather sit through Cats twice than listen to this again.
Amazing debut album, I have listened to another album by them, but not the first one. It's filled with a creative sound and distinctive themes and vocals. All great all around.
Torn between a 3 and a 4. On the other hand this band has some songs that I absolutely love, on the other, I didn't feel this as an album. I'll round up as the synth work is good and the vocals lovely.
I don't mind this, but I have no need for it either. As a general direction for popular music permeating the airwaves I actually did mind it very much, and abhor the race to the algorithm-friendly bottom. But that's not their fault, I suppose.
8/10
Very nice atmosphere all throughout the album, nice varied sounds and beautiful voice on the singer. Best song Tether, will listen to the album again.
This was a really pleasant surprise. Have not heard any of the bands work before and this album really improved my mood. The synths were really good as well as the beats. I also loved the lead singers voice, just stunning. Best song was We Sink.
Ratings: 5: I will happily play this album anytime 4: I may occasionally play this album of my own free will 3: I will happily listen to this if someone plays it in the background 2: I will tolerate this if it is playing in the background 1: I will leave the room if someone plays this in the background Well executed synth pop music. Bland as hell.
Synths so good. Gun was my favorite track.
- .... to quote Neil in The Young Ones ... "BORING. BORED, BORED, BORED! ... 1.5 rounded down because it's so completely, boringly derivative. -
Honestly this paints a perfect picture of "camp" in my head in a very good way. Electro-pop trios of a girl and two dudes is such a classic combo wish I found these guys earlier. It predates EMOTION by CRJ but that's the closest thing this reminds me of. The second half can be a bit filler but it ends fine. Very cool overall.
Hur NÅGON ens typ 2016 kände att det här var ett album man absolut MÅSTE höra undgår mig helt. Än mindre idag! Jisses vad hela den här indietronica genren har åldrats dåligt. Gillade ändå det här albumet back in the day (eventuellt lite FIFA-skadad) men nej låt mig slippa mer sånt här tack. Hade kunnat va en trea om typ Robyn var på vocals istället men fasiken vad hon saknar kraft och range i rösten. Svag tvåa
Jag mindes detta som ett bra album. Tänk vad ens musiksmak kan ändras på ett drygt decennium.
Tycker inte det är så jäääävla dåligt egentligen, är väl peppig helt ok pop! Men helt sjukt att det här albumet är med på listan då jag inte tycker det uppfyller några som helst kriterier för att vara det. En etta i protest.
Haha alltså att denna rackare letat sig in här... Gillade detta när det begav sig och det har ju NÅT men det är verkligen inte nog för att ta en plats på den här listan. Småsnitsig och snygg electropop men vad mer? Vad bidrog detta med? Men blev trots allt glad när The Mother We Share öppnar plattan. Stabil tvåa. Hoppas innerligt att detta försvunnit/försvinner från senare upplagor av boken för mr Dimerys värdighets skull.
Som italodisco-vän är det här bitvis toppen, men stör ibland ihjäl mig på indie-fraseringen och indie-uttalet. Brasklapp att det kanske snarare är skotskan som ger det intrycket och inte den vidriga ”låta-som-islänning”-sjukan. De återanvänder samma drop-trick en gång för mycket möjligen men när det är bra är det bra. Fina Ken Laszlo-aktiga syntljud emellanåt. Stark 2a eller svag 3a.
Neeee gillar inte sången, synthen är väl ok... men finns noll substans här
Hade riktigt svårt för det här, speciellt rösten. Bubblegums-pop blandat med helt okej synth typ. Uuh
detta är för poppigt för mig, jag vill ha min syntpop MÖRK och DEPRIMERANDE
Klassisk ebismusik! Mediokert.
Wasn't bad, wasn't great.
I think that if I asked the maker of the OG list why they included this album, they wouldn't know. That's how bland and shrug-city this album is.
very repetitive tbh, but i liked a few songs so it was alright…
I really like this one, Chvrches was a fresh punch of pop leaning in on synth and electronic sounds but with vocals that pull it higher.
- I’ve always loved this album; I’ve listened to it so many times and been to a few of their shows. - Love Lauren’s voice, and the synths are great, in their own right and as a compliment. I also think the lyrics are great and poetic. I’m just not that into the guy's voice - it’s just a little bland. - I think about half of the songs are complete bangers. The others are not as compelling to me, and I do skip some of them, so this feels like a 4.5 to me. I’m going to bump it up, though - nostalgia and it just hit so hard when it first came out. - My faves are “The Mother We Share”, "Gun”, “Lies”, “Recover”, “Lungs”, and “By The Throat” (almost every second song, lol).
An album I haven't listened to in a long time, always liked it, songs have a really anthem feel to them, pretty consistent throughout.
Did not enjoy very much- just not my fave style.
pretty cool
The album was interesting but a lot of songs sounded the same. I liked the synth but the album was just alright.
Halsey vibe!! 4,5/5 i think
Cool dance album. 4 stars
The first track was good, so much so that I was expecting to really enjoy the album. It fell flat after that though, nothing unlistenable, but very morose and repetitive aside from 1 or 2 tracks. One good track does not make an album good, in my ratings at least.
I was mentally prepared to write some snarky review of how the 2010's are such a poor decade thus they had to rely on an album like this. But this is good, not just for the 2010's but actually good. Recover and Science/visions are especially amazing tracks. 4/5
I didn't love this, but also didn't hate it.
Oh, I'm coming back to this for sure. This was great!
meh
Grating
I knew the track "We Swim" quite well due to it being on one of the FIFA games back in the day (13 or 14, can't remember which). The rest of this album was new to me, though it felt like something I'd already heard hundreds of times before as it gives off TV advert vibes. A vaguely catchy in patches, but chiefly uninteresting retro-futurist synth pop album, it's sorely lacking in humanity - the whole thing just sounds so manufactured, whilst the lyrics largely comprise that "I'm not like the other girls!!" slop which I've no time for.
zzz zika za pozadinu u slastičarnici... zakaj je ovo na popisu?
Very nice, I think this might be my favorite so far. One of the songs that sing “golden” multiple times made me feel as if I was in a movie + the sunlight was shining perfectly in my face and my hair was blowing around in the wind. It was truly a 10/10 experience, I loved it.
Synth-y, froth-y. Nowhere near essential. 2.5?
Not good
This was a cool listen, although im not sure I am going to listen to their other albums at the moment. I liked Recover and Science/Visions the most. It made me think of neon lights and futuristic scenes, but a lot of the song sounded the same.
This does no-oh no-oh no-thing for me.
I had no idea this group was so poppy, and I think that’s my main problem with this album: Despite song titles like “Gun,” “Lies,” and "Broken Bones," it’s saccharine and artificial-feeling, a mix of bombastic, icy synth effects backing a vocalist who sounds like she should be fronting a Top 40 act. I like my synth pop with more darkness, danceability, or at least melody. Not my thing.
I will paste my review of Beach House verbatim : This was perfectly pleasing while I was listening to it, but a few hours later I couldn't remember one lyric, riff or hook. Then I listened to it the next day and had the same experience.
Electro-Pop, 2013 -> 2
Quite the pleasant surprise! Electronic beats, catchy melodies and clever lyrics. A very fun album!
Interesting sound, but it gets old pretty fast and the positive mood doesn't convince me. Too plastic fake for this list.
Captures the good vibes energy of the electro canon. Now only a little cold and blue. Not as washed out and bleak as those that followed. Some of the eviscerating honesty of this music in its moment has been lost and so the songs now need to stand on their own - which they do, just less proud 3.4
Yeah, all the songs sound about the same, but I thought it was fun.
4/5. Love this band
80s Style synthie Party mugge
There was a period in the late aughts / early tens where millennial hipsters decided they had EDM fomo despite being too cool for it. To my ear, this is very much riding the end of that wave. Although I enjoyed the first half or so, I wasn't blown away, and nothing really stuck. Moreover, it really started dragging after that point. In cases like these, I try figure out if the album makes up for lack of raw enjoyability with novelty. Although I am admittedly out of my element, I don't really understand what this adds to the conversation that hadn't already been by Animal collective, MGMT, M83, etc... Not to mention earlier waves of electronic synth-pop that influenced those bands. Strong 2
Low/mid 3. Strong start and surprisingly bjork influenced but nothing other than the first track really jumps out
Influential in the synth-pop revival, The Bones of What You Believe by CHVRCH☰S, masterfully blends 80s synth-pop with 10' electronic dance beats. I really enjoyed Lauren Mayberry's voice and appreciated the memorable lyrics. I added "We Sink" to my workout playlist.
A modern album for a change. Only 12 years old so a mere baby. Loved the immersive sound and the vocal. An 80s inspired sound in the noughties. 4½
Throwback to high school! This album still holds up after over a decade.
I’m surprised this is on the list, but I don’t mind it. Great synth pop, interesting vocal chops, clear leads. Not a genre I typically listen to, but I enjoyed it. I had fun imagining the synth programming. The first track was my favorite.
It's like every annoying pop cliché done with a generic synthpop aesthetic. At the midpoint and I'm thinking, it's gonna get worst isn't ? Recover probably has the strongest chorus, it's not a great song or anything, but it felt like the strongest payoff There are way worse pop album out there, it takes talent and creativity to write a pop song that works even if it's not like amazing, and this does it's job, I want to punch them in the face, but I get why someone would like this, it's ok I suppose. I skipped by the throat, those backing vocals were just too much at this point Final track and I thought this was fucking Chris Martin on this, this makes sense because this sounds like a bad coldplay album, which is mostly all of them
I thought I was never going to have heard any of this, then I got to the chorus of the first song and realized I knew it. I generally enjoyed this, it sits right on that 3/4 border for me but falls slightly on the wrong side of it.
Enjoyed it more than I thought I would.
the only compelling criticism ive had of chvrches is they sound too much like chvrches. if this is their debut then i can forgive that. favorite track is Gun or Lies or Recover. also really like By the Throat
Rating: 7/10 Obviously a lot has changed in the realms of synthpop since the release of the CVHRCHES debut so this album really serves as a time capsule to this moment when this particular sound was the sauce. Truly the mid 2010's millennial pop rock band in style that just uses electronics and drum machines. Almost every song hits for me until the last 3 tracks or so start to lose some steam. The first track is probably the best but my deep cut favorite is Recover
BIASED REVIEW ALERT: I like this album a lot, it's pretty good 7.4/10
Kind of just background bangers. 8 take you to church out of 10 wizards of the coast
Great record. Glad we are getting something a little more modern on this list too. Favourite Track(s): Gun, Broken Bones Least Favourite Track(s): You Caught the Light
So painfully 2013…
Recency bias.
chvrches é legal mas cansa rápido né puta merda
ou, o emotion da carly rae jepsen realmente influenciou uma geração de artistas pop né. e o desgraçado do autor nem colocou na lista pqp mto burro dito isso, nn esperava chvrches por aqui. eh bacana, mas um pouco cansativo!! não eh mto natalino também
I liked the first few tracks and there's nothing offensive for sure, but it wasn't really special either
It's alright for some modern synthpop, but I don't see it lasting in music history.
Forgetable electropop that won't stay in the history of music at all. Why am I listening to this here?