Reviews (page 5 of 8)
Honestly I kind of like the synth pop nature of this album . I don't think they really push a lot of boundaries in the genre either but it is a nice energetic listen. (7.3) ★★★½ I also think I like their 2018 album *Love Is Dead* slightly better... That's a higher 3½
3.5
There's nothing obviously wrong with this, but my hipster lenses also prevent me from seeing what merits its inclusion on this list. Every song starts out great, then quickly had me wishing we could move on to the next.
3.5/5 Bastante pop y entretenido, pero solo algunas canciones las volvería a escuchar
Years after the rise of Chvrches (at least among my social circle), I'm listening to The Bones of What You Believe and recalling the songs that my friends played trying to get me into them. It's only that I like my synth-pop in limited quantities, and that container is already full. And yet this is an immediately likable representation of its genre — I don't have any complaints for what it is. That's the thing you have to ask yourself after the first track: is this what I want?
the singer is really good, but i only like a very specific type of synth-dominated music, which shines in "lungs", but of the rest, some are decent like "we sink", "tether" "under the tide" and "recover" the mother we share: 72/100 - like the theming we sink: 73/100 - also like the theming gun: 45/100 - just don't care for it at all, skipped it halfway through tether: 74/100 - singer works really well with this slower but intense melody, dont like the instrumental synth part as although the melody is good i think it would've worked better if it was dominated by the guitar and drums, but overall pretty solid lies: 30/100 - its honestly worse than gun, really don't like this even though it has some instrumental similarities to tether under the tide: 77/100 - this singer is just ok, but i genuienely enjoyed this, not too much else to say recover: 66/100 - also not much to say, its alright night sky: 68/100 - didn't realize until this track, but the simple lyrics work incredibly with the singer, solid track science/visions: 50/100 - whatever, honestly was actively forgetting what happened earlier in the song while i was listening lungs: 88/100 - genuienely loved this one, everything good from the tracks preciding is consolidated here, like the backing vocals in "science/visions", the simple lyrics in "night sky", etc. love the synths here too which i don't think i've ever said about a track by the throat: 74/100 - honestly a lot of what i said about lungs i also enjoyed here but to a lesser degree you caught the light: 79/100 - great finisher, but the intro is a bit too long for my tastes
This was alright, some really nice synth sounds and her vocals are cool... But it was a lot, there wasn't much in the way of dynamics and I felt some of the interesting synth parts didn't have space to breath because of it. I think if it was a bit more stripped back on places the differences in the tracks would have stood out more, but as it is I found it hard to pick them apart. As an individual track I think I'd like these, but as an album it felt pretty samey.
Some good tracks
Flat
Synthpop is my jam always but I enjoyed how well they captured the 80s vibe and at times were adding what sounded like dub step influence
Nice sounding Synth-pop album, she has a nice sounding voice
I'm not that far into listening to the albums, but of all the albums I've been given this is the one I have the hardest time understanding why it is essential to listen to. It seems like good synth pop, but it is pretty unremarkable. I appreciate that they brought forward the sounds of the 80s into 2010 pop, and maybe that's the simple reason they are here - this album as an archetype of that particular moment in music. Completely listenable, but altogether pretty just...fine.
Strange giving Netflix show Musik aber nicht schlecht wundert mich das es bei 1001 dabei ist kann man sich geben aber nicht ganz mein Geschmack Best song: The Mother we share Rating 3,6
It's fine synth/electro-pop, but I just have never been able to get into Chvrches or understand how highly they are rated by others. I don't think the hooks are strong enough or the music stand out quite enough or the songs being unique enough from each other or other music out there.
Strange mixture of the awful and the awesome.
Good. Then long.
The Good: We are not limited to one Chvrch! The Bad: We don’t understand why… The Ugly: Having your believes be compared to a femur… Okay, so the above is silly, and makes little sense… kind of like this album being part of the 1001 list. Then again, it wasn’t bad, it just wasn’t great either… and here I sit, realizing that it just is all about believing, and bones, and chrvches… I will say this, for now, and I’m over 500 albums into this list, I will argue that this is my favorite 2010+ album, so there’s that! 3*
One of the most pop sounding albums I have encountered on this list. It isn't really my thing. But even I can hear that it is very well made and the musicallity is definitely there.
This was ok, I mean like it could’ve been worse but it was really samey and super poppy and I didn’t particularly care for it. It was an ok album
Kinda sounds like something I should dislike because I think a lot of electro-pop from that era has aged really badly but I have to admit that this is well done and just a good time. Uplifting, fun, anthemic, but maybe better in small doses because it does get kinda tiring. The songs are good individually but doesn't work that well as an album.
Quite different from what we have heard before here. Lots of the songs sounded the same but I liked the sounds and vocals.
Qualifies for the category of better than expected
Went from Gary Numan to this. The evolution of Synthpop. The Mother We Share is the best song on the album. It's feels overly long and got a bit samey towards the end. 3/5.
Good listen - 3/5
Synth-pop is pretty hard to hate. Well-crafted bops with an absolute angel of a voice by Lauren Mayberry’s which I fell in love with. Something about the soft, fragile, little singer fronting such a wall of sound that works really well. I liked the album. It was fun, upbeat, introspective and well crafted.
joa ganz nett
i usually love slutty synth pop but this was a lil too slutty
This is pretty good overall. It IS overlong, and it does start to feel a bit samey at times, but then a decent, upbeat track will hit and I'll be more on-side again - or a track will land with a different kind of energy or atmosphere to it. There's some decent synths and soundscapes in here. 3.5 rounded down.
Fun and energetic album.
Nice, very even, indie-synthpop album. Certain songs are quite good, though listening to them in album form, can start to feel rather "same-y" after a while.
Enkelte greie melodier. Likte ikke innpakningen.
Kinda reminds me of Paramore.
Начало очень даже бодрое, ближе к концу больше медленных песен и от музыки уже устаёшь. 6 из 10.
Never listened to this band before, and while the genre isn’t really in my wheelhouse, this is so exceptionally executed that it gets a solid thumbs up even if I’m unlikely to ever spin it again. This is arena filling electronic pop with huge melodies and hooks it’s impossible not to have worm their way into your brain. Fun record
Not bad, the first song is definitely the best. The album has a nice sound overall.
This album started out strong: I like synth-pop, I like the singer's voice, the songs are catchy enough in that way that the more ambient-sounding T Swift songs sound. Now I'm on track 6 and I feel like this should be over already. I'll power through, but my attention span is not built for this type of music.
Can confirm that this was a hit in Belgium. So maybe it's something in our waffles that makes us predisposed to indie electronica from scotland. The lyrics are very clear in the mix which helps with making it get something of an anthem vibe.
I enjoyed this a good bit, it can start to get samey after awhile. Standout track for me was Lies. The Mother We Share was the one song I was familiar with before listening this time.
Interesting listen. A lot of the songs start to blend together as the album goes on, but i really enjoyed the production quality. The electronica melodies are infectious and the performances are solid. Wouldn't hate hearing some of the bigger songs on the radio. Top tracks: Gun, Lies, Recover
I see what they are going for. It's pop, edm, rock, all softly done and it's fairly catchy. Just would prefer if they lost one of the tags or leaned more on one than the other to give the band more identity.
This one's cute, interesting, not in a bad way. Idk what it is but it reminds me of a mellow version of The xx. Science/Visions was quite good out of them all
It was a nice listen to, nothing stood put as ground breaking but I relaxed to the vibes
From what I had heard from radio play I did not think I would like this album as much as I did. It is a liitle more pop sounding than is my taste but it has a lot soulfulness for a mostly synth-pop album. The singer's voice is captivating in a waifish kind of way and the arrangements quite nice. Lots of hooks as well and a good sense of melody. My issue with this kind of music is none of those melodies stay with me after the listening session is over. 3.5 stars
I do like the CHVRCHES sound, but blown me down with a feather if it isn't sonically identical across the entire record. I guess that's the aesthetic they were going for. Quite middle-of-the-road in songwriting too. Lovely Scottish vocals though. Favourite tracks: The Mother We Share, Gun, Tether, Recover, Night Sky.
Definitely not the kind of thing I prefer to listen to. But, it wasn't horrible and didn't offend my senses.
Surprising good.
Listenable but does not merit to be on this top list.
Great!
Good. College dance party vibes. Too relentlessly positive for me, tho.
Man I loved this record when it came out. Looooooved it. Was still in the first half of my twenties, which is the absolute perfect stage of life to enjoy this album and ones like it. Made me feel like running, driving at night, crying on the phone, laughing with friends, etc etc; essentially this album, to me, is the sound of youth. Now that I’m aging and significantly more bitter, I can still detect all that when I listen, but it’s just not the same. Why is the sound so muddy, even in the remastered version? Aren’t the melodies and lyrics a little cliche? Don’t the songs kinda sound the same a lot of the time? Of course part of this could be because IMO they never reached beyond this record. The album after this is also quite good but it’s a lateral move, not progression. And what came after that isn’t really worth mentioning (except for that one song that features Robert Smith, which is cool). This album has a spark to it. It’s bright and attention getting and it can open your heart. The only problem is, it’s temporary and will burn out at some point.
First track a banger, but really started to mesh together. Wish there was more variety.
Cool at the start. Smart electronic but then it spiraled into the same thing over and over.
Generally really catchy, but vocals began to grate a bit towards the end
6/10 not really a fan of this genre, but I guess it was well made it certainly takes talent to make music like this even if I don’t really appreciate it
I have never understood what ‘minor key’ means, but the vocals on this album sound like what I imagine it to mean. I like it, but it needs dialling up a bit.
Not my jam but it was a decent listen.
I'd be happy enough to watch this band down the bill at a festival but it never really truly excites me. Lyrics and music are fine but the vocals are a little too twee in their delivery.
Curioso que el primer álbum que me recomienda es de una banda que vi en directo como teloneros de Coldplay en Barcelona. Buen disco electro-pop con mucho sintetizador. Le doy un 7/10.
A serviceable Ladyhawke knockoff synth album. I wish the lead singer of Churches were a bit kinder and did not criticize men quite so much in her personal life. It is a bit of a disincentive to enjoy the band. I don't mind the spelling. I presume in today's search keyword culture it was probably chosen to make it easier to find the band on streaming services, etc. I thought the strongest of the tracks was "Science/Visions". There are bands and albums from the 2010s electronic, dance, and synth pop categories that I were more impactful and relevant for representing that time period. I would cut from this list Hot Chip, Churches, and Hookworms and replace them with albums from below. Gary Numan SAVAGE (2017) Ladyhawke WILD THINGS (2016) Walk the Moon TALKING IS HARD (2014) awolnation HERE COME THE RUNTS (2017) awolnation MEGALITHIC SYMPHONY (2010) The Glitch Mob LOVE DEATH IMMORTALITY (2014) The Glitch Mob SEE WITHOUT EYES (2018) Skrillex BANGRANG (2011) Van She IDEA OF HAPPINESS (2012) Daft Punk RANDOM ACCESS MEMORIES (2013) Portugal. The Man WOODSTOCK (2017) Carly Rae Jepsen EMOTION (2015) Walk the Moon WHAT IF NOTHING (2017)
Considering I'm not a fan of most synth pop, this album was actually something that I enjoyed the experience of listening to. I'll likely never own it but I'd definitely be ok with hearing it again sometime.
I'd happily put half of this album on a playlist and listen to it occasionally. Close enough to the music I like to be enjoyable once in a while.
Fun beat, just not my sound
Really nice vibe to this album
First song is a banger
Another good unknown that I will be adding to my listens
Recuerdo cuando lo escuchaba de adolescente y me gustaba mucho. Aun así, considero que tienen discos mejores. Ahora si escucho más de tres canciones seguidas me duele la cabeza, me hago mayor.
This album has the same vibe as a lot of ‘essential’ indie music from the early 2010s. This album was okay, It’s not my usual cup of tea as I’m not the biggest fan of this type of synth pop. I think even though there’s variation between the tracks, their foundation is still all synths and a driving, boom clap drum beat, it gets a bit stale once you’re about half way through. There are some highlights, I like the glitchy vocal sample on Gun and the atmosphere and distortion on You Caught The Light is nice too. Fav tracks - Gun - You Caught The Light
Favorite track: the mother we share other picks: gun, lies, tether, recover
Was inoffensive but also not very interesting.
Realmente um disco lançado em 2013. Tem uma vibe de filtro amarelado do instagram, comprar roupas na forever 21 e reblogar coisas no Tumblr
Synth-Pop / ElectroPop / Dance-Pop. Quite catchy, but it doesn't really do much for me - it doesn't really grab my attention.
Well that was a decent way to kick off the 2nd half of this 1,001 list. It’s what I’m here for. An artist I’d kind of heard of but couldn’t place. Maybe it was the wanky use of a “v” instead of a “u” that made my mind up to avoid them. It’s also not my genre at all being so synth and pop based. However, sat alone on a train with earphones on gave it a platform to present itself to me. And despite all of my preconceptions it delivered a pretty decent listening experience. Not all the way through, but in places they created a nice atmospheric set of songs.
There might be a time when this is exactly what I want to hear, and if I was at your house and you put this on, I would respect your taste. Not my bread and butter, though.
No lo escucharía de nuevo
I have a soft spot for retro 80's synth pop. Have heard a few Chvches singles over the year - but never a whole album in one sitting - and I think its something best enjoyed in small doses as there is not much variation in the album and they tend to blur into one which diminishes the impact. Fav track: Recover. I'm a borderline 3 /4 - will give it a 4 as 1) the sun is shining and 2) for being Scottish.
She has a great voice, but the songs all kind of blend into one another .... the first 10 songs sounded like a europop jam album ..lol. Dont get me wrong, its not bad, at all. But I dont see myself adding this to any playlists
Good songs but bland overall
That was pleasant. Wouldn't say it's must listen to before you die but it's a lot better than the plethora of '90s electronica tedium that constantly appears in this list.
Good, but not great.
Moderne synthpop, elektronisk, kraftig vokal
Pretty mid 3.1
I love some good synth wave, this is middle of the road synth wave.
Sounded familiar.
Great first song
The album as a whole was a pleasant listen and I thought that the instrumentation and overall recording quality were excellent. But, the songs and vocals I found generic and unmemorable.
pretty chill, not exactly my thing but i rate it
Millennials really got stuck with the most boring music, didn't they?
I appreciate the synth poppiness of this album, and the band that helped bring this style into the mainstream in the early 2010s, but after a while this album gets particularly grating and sort of one note. The intro track is FANTASTIC, and a mainstay on many a playlist of mine, but my Cha-verches love only goes so far.
Some of this is a little too polished and radio ready (even though that's the point), but it's hard not to get swept up by these Scottish synths and soaring vocals.
3.5
I dont think I’ve ever realised that this is who Chvrches are, pretty good stuff.
I expected from the reviews some serious adult synth then I got oh oh oh oh teeny pop synth music....second song better...it's the voice I can't on with and the super cheery sound so 80's pop, which I am no fan off, Tether is a good track less upbeat
Eteeristä ujellusta bändiltä, jonka nimeä en osaa lausua
C'était plus l'fun que je pensais mais pas super le fun. Je ne me sens pas aédquat pour noter, je vais y aller au milieu
Pas mauvais mais un peu bof aussi. Mon indifférence est palpable.
Didn’t grab me
Ikke lige et album jeg havde forventet at se på listen, men det er egentlig super repræsentativt for den her slags synthpop som var gigantisk i start-00erne. Mange gode numre på! Jeg har hørt det meget! Også lidt ensformigt i længden
Actually not too bad- there is definitely a time and place for this. Summer day, windows down.
I've been a big fan of The Mother We Share since it came out, but don't think I ever listened to the whole album. Nothing else was really stand-out, but it was good enough that, with the jam it starts out with, it earned 3*, but it was close to 2.
This is #day257 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… take me to church, I'll worship like a dog at the shrine of your lies. Oh, wait, that's a different church. I have to admit, I liked CHVRCHES's 2021 album Screen Violence. It's arguably the band's best work (though I haven't deep-dived into the rest of their discography). The music in general and this debut? It's too poppy and indietronic (?) for my taste. The sound feels sterile and overly synthetic. You could say the same about most contemporary electropop, I guess. It's certainly well-crafted, but it just doesn't stick with me. The highlights are The Mother We Share, Gun, and Recover. This is a 3 out of 5. Looking forward to #day258.
good
It's okay, poppy, and if I were a fan of pop maybe I'd like it, but it has zero magic for me.
ok to do some chill work to but not that memorable
73% Best: We Sink; Gun; Night Sky Must-Hear? Not really
I had almost completely forgotten about CHVRCHES until this album came up. This is such a relic of mid-2010’s alternative radio. I’ve heard many of these songs before. It’s solid electro pop, but likely not something I would return to often. Favorites were The Mother We Share, Gun, and Science/Visions.
Fine for what it is...never a huge fan of this sound. 3/5
Not bad, not really my taste
Holy mid
It's incredible how much passive knowledge this project has given me. I took just one look at the album cover for this and said "It'll be a British electropop album." Upon looking at short biography for the album on the Global reviews page, yeah, it was a British synthpop album.
I had no idea what to expect before listening to this album. This almost makes me think of what a modern ABBA album might sound like. It's interesting and poppy, sort of a throwback sound with modern flourishes. I don't mind it, but it's not really the sort of music I generally listen to so I don't see coming back to this one very often.
6.5/10
Great example of millennial 2010s indie-synth pop. It has a lot of the hallmarks of the genre conventions (“oh ah ah oh ah ah” vocal loops/samples, rhythmic templates, synced bass lines), which get stretched a little thin and repeated across several songs. It’s essentially the sonic equivalent of “millennial grey”
Overall, this is a pretty decent modern synthpop album. It features some really catchy, heavy analog basslines and is very smooth, polished, and highly produced. This definitely appeals to a modern mainstream EDM audience. If anything, my biggest gripe is that it’s so polished and highly produced. I prefer my synthpop to be more raw, with more texture, not such a smooth feel. But considering it came out in 2013, thank god it’s not a dubstep album.
Decent electronic pop. 3/5
Commercial radio pop hits from 2013. Cool production and ok vocal. All tracks sounds very similar.
Certainly my least favourite of the three CHVRCHES albums (what do you mean there was a 2018 album??) but still quality. Mother We Share is far and away the best part of this album. Never understood the tracks with the man singing- play to your strengths! Lauren is such a great vocalist, just stick with her.
This music sounds like being 20. Easy to listen to. Better on headphones. Mostly music to drift to. Not sure how to review it but I had a nice time.
This takes me back to being a student in the 2010s. I think this is the most indie pop electornic sound of the 2010s. “The Mother We share” is the main hit of this album and the one I recognize. I wondered why I haven’t heard anymore of Chvrches but after listening to the album I kind of get why. I found most of the album quite boring. I missed som sort of edge or agency in this album. Still a good album if you wonder what the cool indie-pop-kids listened to in this era. Weak 3.
The voice of this woman is angelic and extremely nefarious, it almost convinces you for a second that women aren't evil. But then you hear gun, and the smug entitled sarcasm in her voice gives you a vietnam flashback to that girl you spoke to at a house party one time. Good album but held back by half the songs sounding like everything Carly Tae Jepson put out for a while, which isnt necessarily a bad thing but its pretty tired, we sink is particularly bad for it. 7/10
I am once again voicing my anger that this was chosen over Lonerism by Tame Impala, or even Random Access Memories by Daft Punk got looked over for this. A perfectly cromulent album, with only the last track really impressing me. However I am now going to express my gratitude to the authors of this book for choosing this for the revision instead of the following albums from 2013: - Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Push The Sky Away - Beck - Song Reader - Avicii - True - J. Cole - Born Sinner - Pearl Jam - Lightning Bolt - Keith Urban - Fuse - Miley Cyrus - Bangerz - Drake - Nothing Was The Same - Jake Bugg - Jake Bugg - Arcade Fire - Reflektor Highlights: Tether, Lies, Science/Visions, You Caught The Light
Yeah it's alright, a bit of an M83 clone.
Great vocals and lots of intriguing hooks ("Recover," e.g.) and the closer is strong (much more up one's alley) but man are there too many synths could this lot do with some straightforward with rock guitars.
Way back in the day, in 2013, Apple Music, or I guess it was called iTunes then, would release an up and coming sample song from various artists, and the lead single for this album, The Mother We Share, was the featured song of the week. I thought it was pretty solid, so I grabbed the entire album, and was fairly impressed. The pop vocals and voice of Lauren Mayberry really work well on the tracks, especially when they synthesize her voice. The beats are solid and the electronic mixing is good. Stand out songs: The Mother We Share, We Sink, Lies, Recover Good pop-techno overall. Nothing to get too caught up on. 3/5 (like 3.45/5, but we can't do that fine of ratings, it's almost a 3.5)
Ouain, cool, correct
CHVRCHES is a band I should like a lot in theory, blending indie pop with electronic music. But I found myselg being not super into this album. I enjoyed a few songs but there were also a lot I felt were super repetitive. The group certainly does have a signature sound though. Overall- decent, probably a 2.5-3/5
The Mother We Share is a certified classic and is for sure in my top 100 songs of all time. It got played on the alternative radio station in the deli hundreds of times. I can still smell the pickles and the bleach and the capicola when I hear it. I had never heard the rest of this album before. I don’t think it’s all that great, although it feels like a landmark in time of the end times of the hipster indie era. The type of shit that was filling up firefly in Dover, DE in the mid 2010s. Good times
Some good synth pop with an 80s sound to it at times. Forgot how this came out over 10 years ago too.
Fine
Pretty good. Would give 3.5 stars but gonna round down
I kind of liked this. The lyrics were interesting and the music was upbeat and fun.
3.5
I was hoping this would be better since I like this era of electronic music, but it was just alright.
Immediately sounds like annoying young people. Shakes fist!
This could have been pulled out of a time capsule from 1989. I enjoyed it, but I would love to hear them play songs from this on their upcoming MTV Unplugged set. I think this band would benefit from less polish and more heart.
Так себе, ничего особенного за что бы зацепилось ухо
By all rights I should not have enjoyed this album given my aversion to 80's pop/new wave...but I'll be damned if I didn't like some of this. I didn't like it enough to seek out more by this band, but this was perfectly fine and much better than expected given the genre. 3.4
More time is needed to crack this nut.
Yup 3.5
I'd call myself a pretty big fan of this group, but I'm a bit underwhelmed by their debut. I'm a much bigger fan of Love Is Dead or Screen Violence. They haven't quite found their stride yet. Still, enjoyable.
fun, pop, could listen again
This was fine. Pleasant and poppy but sort of interesting.
This could have been pulled out of a time capsule from 1989. I enjoyed it, but I would love to hear them play songs from this on their upcoming MTV Unplugged set. I think this band would benefit from less polish and more heart.
Picture a world in which the 80s never ended, but some brave souls learned to survive, made the best of it, and even produced some pretty good music. That is Churches, The Bones of What You Believe. Pretty + Good. Still, I’m glad the 80s didn’t last forever.
solid but i wish the guy would shut up honestly lmao if i could get a version of by the throat without his annoying repetitive "you know you can go to far" shit that would be ideal
Sounds like happy memories and the dreams of adolescence
Mid 2010s synth pop. It reminds me of Passion Pitt and The Naked and Famous.
Nothing special. Lead singer has a nice voice.
some uplifting tracks, not really meant for me
Again...this was perfectly fine. But not anything that blew me away.
Bubblegum pop. Innocuous enough.
Some good. Voice gets annoying
Fun synth-inspired pop! Love the production on it, a cool record
Thinking Coldplay and Zell Goulding and 80s synth, like the vibe but all the songs started to sound the same
I liked this album. It’s very pop rock, but I liked it cause it has the tinge of indie rock. The singer has a great voice and the music is great. I feel like it was alittle bloated. Like a lot of the songs were a lot of the same, which I makes the album feel longer. I did like that they had two singers, which adds some nice variety, however the female singer was still the stand out star of the album. I would definitely say that I enjoy it, but I wasn’t blown away to the point of looking into their other work. However on the plus side, if I saw this album on sale I’d have a hard time not buying it. Overall a strong 3.
I was not expecting to like it, but I did. It's forgettable but enjoyable for a listening session. I can see some characteristics that I really enjoy in other artists like The Weeknd, which may have helped me to enjoy it.
Yllättävän hyvä! Ajattelin etten tykkäis mutta tästähän kuoriutui aika jalan alle menevä poppilevy! Kyllä tälle antaa 3 bongoo mutta melkein tekis mieli antaa 4. Ehkei sentään. Tykkäsin kyl! 3/5
Menevä moderni synapoppislevy. Kolmosen ja nelosen välissä, mut ehkä kolmoseen jää.
an album after 2005? :O I thought that is when the book ended, now I’m curious what was added… GREAT synths and melodies 80s synthpop I think despite coming out in 2013 7/10
Really fun 80s-inspired synth pop with a few more futuristic elements as well. It’s a really confident debut with great vocals (at least from Mayberry - the male vocalist sounds a bit too much like Chris Martin for me, sorry) and with standout tracks The Mother We Share and Science/Visions. For whatever reason they’ve just never fully clicked with me - I like all the individual elements but just don’t get that much out of the album as a whole
Enjoyable enough pop music. Only knew the first song but thought the rest of the album was just fine
voihn nenä. ei kyllä ole ikääntynyt tämä kokoelma ollenkaan ja vain 10 vuotta vanha.. varsinkin kun samaan aikaan tehtiin aivan riemukasta elegtronisda danssi musiiggia jossa vogaaleja jota voi tänäänkin kuunnella. tämä vähän milleniaali soopaa.. you broke my heart, but i dont give a FUCK.. (oltiin ainoo sukupolvi joka ymmärsi) (ehk ainoot jotka v*ttu tajusi miten tää elämä menee) (meit ei hitto kiinnostanu, oltiin ehk ainoit jotka oli tälläsii) you took my soul, and i dont give a fucking FUCK! bum tsa bum bam bum tsabum.. oli hyviäkin biisejä tether
Der Sound ist ganz cool aber auf Album Länge eintönig
Nice album for fans of synthpop, which I’m not. However, there are a few nice songs. My favorites: The Mother We Share (absolute banger!) Gun Lungs
Good for synth pop but goes on too long
Mostly decent, but can get boring here and there. Song meanings are really pretty vague as well. 6/10
Indietronica. Much prefer this to dance/trance style electronic music.
Tooth synthesizer based albums in three days was a little bit too much. And I really didn’t like this gal‘s voice either. I didn’t see anything real special about this at all. That would include it on this list.
Liked this more than nice thought I would bit not enough for 4stars. Solid effort that's just a bit too poppy
I had never heard of this band before. I was curious. A Scottish electronica/pop band. The best thing I can say about the music is that it played in the background without being too distracting. I wasn't interested in the album. I don't need to and probably won't listen to it again. 3/5
After the first couple songs this album seemed like it would be right up my alley, but most songs ended up not being super memorable. I enjoyed the overall vibe and appreciated the vocals, but it felt like maybe it was too frontloaded since I found myself not paying attention after the first 10 minutes. Favorite song was: 1. The Mother We Share 6/10
Churches came out at the same time as two other similar groups: of Monsters and Men and the Naked and a Famous. I enjoyed all three as each had their own flair, Chvrches being more Depeche-Mode-influenced with its techno-pop sensibilities. I think the market for this sounds became oversaturated and I didn’t return to them, which is a shame. We Sink is great song among great songs that gives a feeling of hopeful flight. This is a solid contribution to the musical world.
The Mother We Share is a top notch track and easily my favorite. The rest of the album is good but not nearly as memorable as that first track. (Side note: The Mother We Share would have been an awesome track for the show Orphan Black, IYKYK). I actually own this album on CD. I don't particularly remember buying the album but this had to be one of the last proper CDs I bought. I would have thought I would have loved this album more but apparently not.
Mid
Kuulostaa tunteella tehdyltä. Sanoituksissa on ytyä. 2010-luvun kylmä kolina kuulostaa vähän vieraalta, kaipaisin lämpöä. Muutamia mitäänsanomattomampia täytebiisejä eikä mikään ole sellainen korvamato, johon bändillä ois mahdollisuus. Bonusbiisit oli melkeinpä parhaita.
uen sonido pero flojas canciones.
Hilarious that this pops up right after the xx because this is basically the same review. This album came out of the gate hard, then I forgot about it, and re-listening, well, its transportive but it's not great and it's also not something you have to listen to before you die. Their cover Prince's "I Would Die 4 U" is pretty good, though. Not on this album.
Eu gostei
Again, good, but how is this one of the best albums?
Lots of the same, but enjoyable overall.
Pretty good! I know them from a Kojima game
This was pretty good - cool to see some newer acts in this list.
Not bad.
I like synths, I like indie-pop, and I like Scotland, so why don’t I like this? I was optimistic after the first song ‘The Mother We Share’ which is really great but every subsequent song until track 9 ‘Science/Vision’ is basically forgettable. The sound is like a mash up of Tegan and Sara / Purity Ring but doesn’t have the former’s quirky charm or the latter’s ethereal beauty and sense of melody. The production is 1980s era drum machines and synths and 2010’s era Ableton vocal glitches, overall decently produced and mixed. The music however is safe, diatonic, and utterly predictable, devoid of any musical complexity whatsoever. Lauren Mayberry’s voice is cute but kind of one dimensional and her melodies are mostly uninteresting. There’s a guy that sings a couple songs and he really shouldn’t. One of the tracks called ‘Under The Tide’ might be a contender for the most boring song ever released on a major label. Outside of 3 or 4 good tracks most of this album sounds like filler. 2.5/5 will bump up to a 3.
Synth pop maxes out at 3 stars for me
Iiiiiittttt'ssssss ffffffiiiiiinnnnnne. Essential? Hmph.
Didn't listen to the bonus tracks. Like a massive lemon meringue it started nice but I was sick at the end
This album did not blow me away. Seemed pretty mid-tier electropop without any standout tracks for my taste. Decent sound, wish I enjoyed it more than I did.
Lots of synth and melody. Dreamy style in 2013
Soundtrack of my daughter's lyrical class...
Ok
LVRCHES.
you kids get off my lawn!
After a Pet Shop Boys album earlier this week, I said synth-pop had no place in my music library. That was before I was reminded of the 80s-influenced synth-pop revival of just a few years ago. Chvrches isn’t terrible - in fact, I found “The Mother we Share” quite likable. So now there’s a small space in my library for some synth pop. I hope those fans feel better.
If I was a teenage girl, I bet I would love this. But I'm not and I don't. She does have a lovely voice, though.
Was probably relevant at the time, but has probably been copied too many times since then.
I really wanted to like this. It seems so much like an album I would love, but something just wasn’t clicking. It was too bubble gum pop at moments and too mellow at others. I like The Mother We Share.
Back in the early to mid 2000s, when music was a desolate wasteland of miserable tripe, there was a phenomenon called "Internet radio". One of the very best of these experiments was a "station" called Global Pop Conspiracy. GPC radio would play a genuinely very good mix of lowfi and synth covers, often veering into no-label, bedroom produced stuff. And this is kind of what this sounds like - except half a decade later and without enough of the quirky earnestness that GPC staples had. It's got a bit of tryhardism to it that really doesn't quite tesselate with the innocent poppiness it strives for. What it does do is fit right into the set of millennials who suffered the tryhardism of early-mid 2000s "serious" music and the vapid, cynical, pop-by- numbers tosh they grew up with. In that context they're alright. In a wider view, they're just kinda meh.
Serviceable synth pop.
3/5
This was good. An easy 3*, maybe just touching 4 ?
That's not my taste in musik. But ok.
Just not my thing. A bit repetitive.
A bit too samey which is great if you like it.
J'ai bien aimé le début, mais plus l'album avançait, plus je trouvais ça correct. C'est loin d'être mauvais, mais je voyais trop de ressemblance avec d'autres actes similaires ou de la même époque. 6/10
Vocals a little too saccharine a lot of the time for my taste. And all a little bit poppy. However, I do enjoy a synthy vibe! Lies (amazing) is a great track, as is You Caught the Light. So, an extra star for each of these.
I saw these years ago on Jools and at Glastonbury and always liked them. Love the synths. If Clare Grogan fronted The Human League instead of Phil Oakey they'd sound a bit like this! 'The Mother We Share' is a spectacular opener, especially cranked up loud. The closing track 'You Caught The Light' is superb too, a dreamy move into Mogwai territory, I love it. Everything inbetween is good listening but with few other stand out tracks which is a bit disappointing. Maybe with more listens it will grow on me, I do think they are very cool.
CHVRCHES are a band where I've known their popular songs for years but I've never really delved into them. This is a really solid album but I do kind of think there are better similar bands from the past 15 years. Also always good to hear a song that I know from Fifa years ago. Fav tracks: The Mother We Share, We Sink, Lies
There were a couple of legitimately great songs on this album but I think it got watered down by a lot of similar-sounding songs.
While I'm a fan of the writing and the melodies, I really dislike the overly shiny production side of things. 3/5
There sure is some chipper, spazzy stuff going on here that's a bit too frantic for my liking, but taking it at face value, this collection is pretty effective for what it's trying to do. I'm more interested in the tracks that accomplish a more refined palette such as "Science/Visions" with it's melody defined by driving rhythms. It kind of feels like they can't decide between their darker aesthetics and their bubbly pre-teen hooks, which, to be fair, are both cool and all but feel often at odds. It reminds me of M83 and other bands of the era and approach. By using edgey language and visual imagery, big choruses contrasted by spacious synthwork, they are able to take small emotions to epic proportions. Very well made but not sure I'll be needing it anytime soon.
Overall, this is a pretty decent modern synthpop album. It features some really catchy, heavy analog basslines and is very smooth, polished, and highly produced. This definitely appeals to a modern mainstream EDM audience. If anything, my biggest gripe is that it’s so polished and highly produced. I prefer my synthpop to be more raw, with more texture, not such a smooth feel. But considering it came out in 2013, thank god it’s not a dubstep album.
Yesterday I said that I didn't remember the last time I gave less than 4 stars to an album here on this site. Me and my big mouth! I don't really like Synth Pop, at least not as a form of entertainment in itself. It works more for me as a background for anything else I'm doing, especially in the early hours of the morning. So as not to seem like I'm voting solely in the name of my personal taste, I want to highlight that the synthesized vocals and all this plasticized production are not a positive point in the slightest. In fact, it can even be boring and tiring to listen to. But like I said, it works well as a background and I'll probably use these songs on my Minecraft nights!
Nice to have something a bit more contemporary ( only ten years old !). Plenty of good uplifting synth pop songs, perhaps a bit too long an album though . Definitely good enough to make me check out their other albums :) 3.5, nearly 4.
Basic mid ‘10s indie boy-girl band fare. I like the synth, don’t mind the vocals, but nothing stuck. It okay.
Not typically a genre I listed to or appreciate, but I really like this one. Lots of buttery synth, great vocals, and some dope vibes. I was impressed.
It’s aight, a little middle/high school
Si bien la última pieza me ha taladrado la cabeza por repetición, el resto del disco me parece que tiene en general un hilo conductor claro, es bonito y relajante de escuchar, aunque no he visto anda llamativo ni especialmente destacable.
This wasn’t bad at all. I enjoyed it, but caught myself tuning out by the end.
Torn as to whether this deserves 2* or 5*. On the one hand I like the 80s throwback. On the other hand I think it sounds better than a lot of music back then purely because of improvements in technology, and is completely unoriginal. On the one hand I find the voice captivating, on the other it grates after about 5 songs and the lyrics seem pretty shallow. Not sure where to place this. I think a few songs are good in isolation. I enjoyed Under the Tide being a break from her voice. I'll tentatively give this a three but will put it on my list of things to listen to again.
A Scottish Synth 2013 Synth album…first reaction was this could be an 80’s album. Definitely influenced by the years between 1970 & 1990. Liked what I heard but I’m not going to this church anytime soon.
Tell nd if a techno light
I feel a little bad rating this because it is kind of not my thing. A little too dreamy & synthy. But I feel like I would be able to appreciate the production with some good headphones. Since I'm at work and listening in 1 earbud. I would give this one a second chance.
enjoyed the first half but i think it ended up getting a little stale 3.5
Synth pop. Some parts sound very 80’s. Some parts remind me of Ellie Goulding. It was fun easy listening but nothing special.
could i write poetry to this? n
Enjoyed this more than I thought
Above average modern synth pop album.
Solid 3.5 for me. I love the new wave of synth-pop.
3.5/5
Did I hate this? No. Did I enjoy this? Also no. I think I'm firmly not in the target demographic for this
if someone asked me to give them a recommendation afte listening to Depeche Mode and LCD this is probably what I would send them. Lots of synths and melodies, it's fun but can sound a bit the same the more you listen to it
Not bad.
I gave it a chance and it's good. I liked the live tracks in the extended remastered edition the most. I wish they could capture this live sound and not rely on overproduced studio sound.
Higher register voices get to me after while I think I like this music better as singles
I wasn't expecting this noveau synth pop, it was pretty cool. I liked the vocals, there weren't as much auto-tune as I expected. The keyboards were... supposed to be overwhelming (duh... where are the guitars?). I liked that the males also had a chance to sing lead. Top tracks: "The Mother We Share," "Under The Tide," "You Caught The Light"
Not sure what the big deal is. At best it's standard synth-pop fare. At worst it's too pop, too synth. Not awful but certainly not great. Like the 80's all over again, everything sounds fake. Really good synth feels like the music is more real. Decent vocals but paired with the synth it almost sounds overdone or overproduced. The Mother We Share and We Sink made for a good start but the rest didn't quite keep it up. I prefer earlier synth pop groups/albums like The Naked and Famous/Passive Me, Aggressive You or Metric/Fantasies.
Not for me.
Not bad not great. I've heard from some in my network that they love this band, but so far they've yet to really grab me. The album depends heavily on whether you like the vocals. I find them a bit weak, monotone and high pitched. The accompanying music wants to be synthpop almost, but isn't anywhere close to the good stuff.
Th variety I needed I debated a 4
Entertaining. A bit monotonous. Kinda doubt this is one of the 1000 best albums ever made.
68/100
Not bad but nothing spectacular.
Good example of electronic indie music; I don't really care for it.
Ok. Don’t hate it. Can’t say I’d listen to the whole thing a lot, but it’s fine.
This album isnt bad, but its just not doing anything for me. Breathy vocals and urgent synths can sometimes be my jam, but this isnt grabbing me. 3/5
3.5
Pleasant synth pop with a smattering of casual swearing
There's more depth to this album than I would have expected. The songs are really tight for a first release.
Liked it more because it was different than so many of the last ones.
Didn’t know this one from Adam. Enjoyed the majority of it. I could see me listening to this again some day. Especially while doing yard work like this time.
very different, somewhat enjoyable
Flashbacks of fifa 14
synth pop dance sound that is somewhat a throwback. doesn't quite reach me.
Ultimately, the next big thing level was probably prematurely taken out of the protective case.
I mean, ok, sure.
I feel like Chvrches is a bit worse M83, but without great songs, only with those average ones. The vocalist is pretty good, but none of the songs hooked me in, it was just a pretty good background noise. I might listen to it again, but I wouldn't do it on purpose, I guess.
Enjoyed this and didn’t know they were Scottish - tether was my favourite tune
Entertaining and easily digestible synth pop.
Sometimes it's nice to get a straightforward minimalist pop album. There's a granular quality to the sound that I really liked. The album is loaded with singles, most of which are pretty strong. As a full album, it does drag a bit from lack of variety but there's enough on here to enjoy.
seems a little teeny boppy, but i enjoy the beats/music
I enjoyed the songwriting more than any other electronica I have listened to and this might be a 3.5, but going with a:
Yllätyin kuinka paljon jaksoi digailla tätä levyä. Kuuntelin kolme kertaa läpi ja vielä kertaalleen seuraavana päivänä. En osaa sanoa miksi, mutta tykkäsinpä kuitenkin.
Ihan positiivinen uutuus.
It was ok Not my cup of tea but I did enjoy some songs.
It's alright
I liked it. Different
Meh
interesting album, would have liked it a bit more edgy, but certainly better than a lot of other albums on this list.
i got bored 15 minutes in. the mother we share has a little spark of something.
Decent
Bright and uplifting. Never listened to them really. Not essential, but it's all good modern pop and a fun listen, I have to give that to them. I'd probably still reach for M83 or Sky Ferreira if I wanted to hear this updated 80s sound which abounded particular in the '10s, but I like a lot of this too. I stuck Saturdays=Youth on afterwards for the first time in yonks, and had a lovely old time. So thanks for that. Faves - We Sink, Tether, Science/vision
I found this to be well done and solid synth pop it’s not something I would go back and listen to again. It doesn’t lead anywhere for me.
I listened to this twice because I felt like I didn’t give it a fair shake the first time while I was driving. There’s a few on here I liked, but having listened to a lot of recent CHVRCHES but not this, id say they were discovering who they are. I’m really happy this is on here but I’d also trade this for another of their albums if it’s the only one we are getting.
Good surprise!
I’m glad to see this album on the list. I once bought what I thought were tickets to see the group in NYC, and it turns out when we got to the venue, the concert was actually a “CHVRCHES DJ set” despite what the tickets said. Well… the DJ didn’t even play ANY CHVRCHES, so I don’t know what the fuck we bought or what I even went to see. Had a reasonably good time, but this album is definitely better than the DJ set which definitely wasn’t CHVRCHES.
Was there a lot of repetition? Yes. Did it change each song? Kind of. Was her voice good? Yes. Was it good? Yes and no that’s why it’s a three. It is neither good or bad
frekar gott gáfumannapopp. rafskotið. á aðra skilið. 3,5.
I had this on my iPhone in 2012 during a summer in NYC as a sophomore. Just sounds to me like, exciting times, big city! It was very in the air at the time. Everything was starting to have this 80’s synthpop / M83 sheen to it. This must have been one of the albums that I mistakenly downloaded only half of the songs, because I know half of the songs super well, and the other half are unfamiliar. Which leaves us with a natural experiment: do the ones that I randomly didn’t have downloaded, and now get to hear with fresh ears in 2024, give me as much of a boost as the ones laced with nostalgia, romanticism, young college love? The answer is no. No, I think the other “new” songs to me are kind of lame and not interesting. So that should tell me something, but in spite of that still have a vague fondness for this! So I’ll go 3. By no means as earth-shattering as those first few singles promised, but still a pretty good time. 3/5
Decent listen
Int riktigt min juttu men helt bra
Pretty chill synth pop, really enjoyed the leads vocals it led this album pretty heavily. 3.0
Lots of 'catchy' pop hooks. Like the female's lead voice. Maybe a bit Synth-heavy for my tastes but still enjoyed listening to this album
Some serious teen drama vibes here. At times I could have been listening to Charlie XCX. Quite twee at times but perfectly harmless. Tether is the one that sticks with me - or tied me up, maybe.
One of the radio stations I listen to played the shit out of the song ‘The mother we share’ when it first came out. I never got sick of it. The rest of the album is equally unobjectionable. Very polished production and catchy pop tunes.
Given the name (and styling of that name), I was not expecting this kind of music. I guess I expected something harder, darker. Having said that, this was fine, though nothing really stuck with me.
Didn't love. Didn't hate. The synth stuff sounded elementary and lacked the sophistication I hear from Depeche Mode, Pet Shop Boys, etc.
Good synth pop album. didn't strike me as spectacular but maybe just caught me on the wrong day.
This was good! Never listened to this group before but I liked it, great melodies and production.
Pop, synth, Scandinavian, she can't sing
Shovldn't the songs be named, Gvns, Vnder the Table, Lvngs, and Yov Cavght the Light? I keep thinking of Haley Williams.
Eingängiger Pop, absolut radiotauglich, wieso habe ich nie zuvor davon gehört? Vielleicht höre ich die falschen Sender? Nur die Stimme der Sängerin ist mir zu kleinmädchenhaft.
2,5
Enjoyable background
Wasn’t at all sure what to expect and it’s a real mix. Some poppy, some more alternative. Liked it and might even listen to it again.
Je ne m'attendais pas à ça. Si j'avais écouté un très court extrait, j'aurais plutôt associé la voix de la chanteuse à une gagnante d'un quelconque télé-crochet pour ados. Mais c'est pas mal.
Bitvis intressant men ...
I didn't find anything special about this album, for me it felt like every song that would be a classic of the 2010 but with no "personality". It's not a bad album, i expected a bit more.
It’s fine, it’s not great, and in fact is neither good nor bad, it’s just….okay. At least it didn’t make me feel angry, but nor did it make me feel anything positive. It’s just ….there.
I started interested but it faded int background pretty quick.
not bad