The Bones Of What You Believe

Good. Scottish Synth-pop.

The only original thing about this is that there’s not an original note in it.

fun

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

Delightful.

4/10

It's not a bad album, but I've listened three times and can't really get into it. Nice pop synth, but I find myself not really listening to each song.

If this were a person, they would have the most bland and basic personality ever.

I don't have much to say here... doesn't really belong on the list and is relatively derivative 80s synth pop that some Scots brought back into the mainstream. Unsure why it got added other than for some global diversity during the list update.

B- The Mother We Share 4 We Sink 3 Gun 2 Tether 3 Lies 4 Under the Tide 2 Recover 3 Night Sky 2 Science/Visions 4 Lungs 2 By the Throat 4 You Caught the Light 3 This was pretty good, if not unflattering/annoying at points. Overall, it was a good bit of fun and unique from the vast majority of Jenny, so I kind of liked it.

I had no idea what I was going to hear when I put this on. It is a really solid synth pop thing. I’d totally listen to this again. I really enjoyed it. It takes the best of dance, synth, and pop and puts it together. The band is quite charismatic and lively. Not quite 5 stars, but solid 4.

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

The Mother We Share is a pretty great song. Recover is also a pretty strong track. And it may be that I'm just in the mood for some faux 80s synth wave pop today. But this is working for me.

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

Probably one of the most influential albums of the past decade. Electropop was big at the time, and this album started incorporating heavy atmospheric 80s synths you'd hear in scifi movies. With the ease of creating these effects at your laptop, I can hear the influence of the synths and vocals in pretty much every indie pop band to come. Of course, 95% of those guys are uninnovative commercial trash some lame batista may put on in their cafe part of their "carefully designed" playlists. But this is that kind of music done right. I'm actually not a big fan of the vocals. There are two types of singing I hear both vocalists singing. The slower, deeper style is very drone-like that's been prominent in lots of pop music in the past 10 years, and I hear it in pop-adjacent genres like emo rap. The other is a preppy, fast singing that's bright and cheerful and has been around since the early 2000s, which makes the songs energetic and dancey. I think they work ok and match the synth styles well, but I get sick of it pretty quickly. This record isn't immune to weak tracks like "Under the Tide" or "By the Throat", but I think all their synth ideas work pretty well. There's a lot of repetition here, with most songs have the same synth lines for three quarters of the songs. And with how loud and bright they are, it gets exhausting. But it's not bad, just tiring. This even affects the hits. But it makes the moments when it deters from this a lot cooler.

I liked it :) I wanted to give it five stars because I really like the sounds, but I don't find it mind blowing enough. But I think overall it's a very stylish, danceable record, even though a bit plastic-ey at times. One has to take also age into consideration, I would have loved this when I was 15!

BEST SONGS: -Science/Visions -You Caught the Light

-this band seems familiar -which would make sense because its a newer album -this song is cool so far -i am actually really enjoying this music -although it sounds a bit like tv/movie montage music -these songs are very bright and fun -idk if this is necessarily my thing tho -but i am enjoying this listen! so 3 stars

Hate this kind of music. Just listen to The Knife instead to hear this music with actual backbone.

Refreshing Disco tunes, funky and timeless, this is a good example why this project is worth it.

Kann ich nix mit anfangen. Mehrmals versucht, weiterzuhören, allein es ist mir nicht gelungen. Öd.

I loved this way more than I thought I would. Tempted to give it 5 but can't quite

Well made, but not my cup of tea. 3/5

Takes me back to my university years. Lovely. Can't believe this album is already 10 years old.

Not really my style but I liked a few songs. Overall not bad.

The tracks were abit...samey. Had it on in the background and didn't notice it finish

After everything I’ve read over the years, I thought I might like this, but it didn’t grab me.

No

If you’ve never heard of chvrches do yourself a favor and check them out. I listen to punk/thrash/rap and don’t dig pop too much but this band is amazing.

Lush, gorgeous electronic pop. I really like CHVRCHES’ sound, and the singer’s voice suits it perfectly.

Chvrches has a great sound and this is a solid first album, but I like their next two albums more.

This is definitely an alternative album lol. There were only three songs (We Sink, Recover, Lungs) I think I would listen to, I actually put them on my playlist but the rest of the album is okay.

Its all a bit clean for my tastes. Interestingly I listened to some Crystal Castles before this and much preferred it Disappointing but OK

It's fun and I really like the first two songs but I don't think I'd listen to the whole album again.

Synthpop classic. This album came out right before I graduated college and is one of the albums I most strongly associate with that transitional period of my life. It’s a shame they just couldn’t ever live up to it again though.

trash

Synth Pop. Never heard this before. The band name is familiar but didn't know any of the songs going in. Overall, I was very favorable. I think with more listens it will only get better. Standout: The Mother We Share. Singles: ---------------------------------------- The Mother We Share (US ALT #12, UK #38) Recover (#91 UK) Gun (#55 UK) Lies (#105 UK) We Sink Under the Tide Tether Pretty good. 3/5

surprisingly good. liked a couple songs and added them to playlists. synths got a little repetitive but still I did not expect to like this as much as I did

Fun album with some great sounds

Well this is all very good. Maybe ten minutes too long.

OOoooooh la-la. This was SUCH a good indie electro-pop album. My sibling is a HUGE fan of CHVRCHES so I knew I had to get in on it someday (thanks, 1001!), but I definitely wasn't expecting what I listened to. Likes: vocals, great and incredibly complex (rhythmically and harmonically) production, and the flow and cohesion of each INDIVIDUAL song is really powerful. BIIG criticism would be that the album definitely feels like it falls off in terms of cohesiveness at the tail end of it all. The last 5(6?) songs definitely feel like they stand alone as singles more than as elements of an album. Not sure if that makes sense, but that's what I felt -- wasn't sure if I was on the same album at some point, and the feeling never felt away. SUCH a great piece of work, though. Awesome introduction to electropop for anyone looking to get into the genre.

Couldn't really get into this

First time hearing Chvrches so I wasn't sure what to expect and it turned out better than I expected. Played nicely in the background, nothing really stands out for me, but at the same time there was nothing I didn't dislike. Not a fan of synth-pop, so I probably won't listen to more, but I could do a whole lot worse.

Poppig. Bis jetzt ganz OK. Also tönt alles chli glich. Es Konzert mit dene isch sicher sehr tanzbar. Aber irgendwie eifach so lose magi das nöd umbedingt. Kei Grossi Emotione. So 2 bis 3 Stern.

I'd like to give this one another listen, I think it has some potential.

Man, some of the greatest songs of the last decade are on this. Mother We Share, Lies, Gun, just absolutely incredible tracks. More filler than I remembered though. Recovery is an earworm in a bad way.

One of my favorites from this list so far I think… this indie electro pop sound is kinda what made me fall in love with music in general. Makes me feel like I’m 14-15 shuffling my iPod library.

Tries to be poppy without being catchy, tries to be experimental without pushing the envelopes. In other words, it doesn't know what it's trying to be, and it still fails at it. Good night. 🦴

the wifey enjoys synth-pop bands such as this… her husband, however, does not.

This was better than I thought it would be. Erica apparently likes a couple of songs from this band. I thought that overall this was super listenable. Honestly, I will add this to my playlist and I felt like there wasn't a song on here that I super disliked.

Nice background music. Was never disappointed in what I was hearing but not sure I’ll be quick to re-listen.

Quite catchy synthpop/electronica album with very clean production (that reminds me of some 80s albums). My issue is with synth pop that I find few songs listenable, but a whole album with 12 songs is too much and the songs really drag by the end. Overall it's OK but it's not an album that I would relisten again soon.

alright electro pop

Catchy feel good songs. Not groundbreaking, but I enjoy them.

really disappointed not to like this more. Big fan of postal service and deathcab for cutie which has a similar sound, but maybe CHVRCHES is just a little too upbeat and poppish?

Melodic, nice, jazz club.

I didn't dislike this, I'd even say I enjoyed it, but found its while vibe pretty odd.

I really do like CHVRCHES (despite how they spell their name), but I feel like their songs are mostly the same kind of style and pace. It's a style that I like, but I'd rather mix them into a playlist than go through a whole album, this felt same-y throughout.

Way better album than I remembered. Synths on this go hard as fuck.

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

Recognized this from LA hipster radio about a decade ago. "Morning Becomes Eclectic", yeah buddy if you consider Tikka Masala "spicy". The good bits sound like a dry run for Taylor Swift, and those are few and far between.

De les millors bandes de synth pop de quarta generació. Cap dels seus 4 discos (juliol 2023) és sòlid de començament a final, però sempre hi ha temes que enganxen, especialment en aquest primer i al tercer 'Love Is Dead'. Aquí, cançons com 'The Mother We Share', 'We Sink' o 'Recover' fan la feina

This is an exceptionally dated, early 2010s album. I enjoyed it, but that said, I don't see it as any sort of standout among early 2010s indie-synth-pop of which there is a ton of nice but interchangeable bands.

Wonderful! Beautiful!

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

Do people still go to Chvrch?

actually good

bland, boring, repetitive electro pop

The Mother We Share is amazing, but nothing quite compares to it. There are better 2010's synthpop/electropop picks for such a list, for sure.

I bloody love Chvrches. Love this album.

interesting i guess? but doesn't really need to be on this list...

Not bad

How did i miss this

Not really my thing but it was pleasant enough.

Les musiques les plus récentes sont objectivement supérieures en tout à celles d'avant l'an 2000, n'en déplaise à mon ami italien raciste, homophobe et misogyne. Ma seule réserve concernant cet album réside dans le fait que le son résonne énormément du début à la fin en raison de l'architecture des églises qui comprend de grands espaces, des matériaux réfléchissants tels que la pierre et le bois, et des surfaces qui renvoient le son. Cela crée une réverbération prolongé qui n'est pas forcément agréable à l'écoute.

Un album non sans rappeller l'excellent groupe Gunshit, conseillé à l'époque par un de mes collègues de travail des bureaux de Francfort. Ce brillant conseiller n'aura néammoins jamais réussi à rendre mon expérience allemande plus agréable, et je voue depuis une haine incommensurable à l'égard du peuple aryen.

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

Not for me pop

I liked it, kinda dream poppy. 8/10

Synth-pop doesn't do a whole lot for me, especially in album form. Listening to single tracks would be fine, but an entire album just starts to wear on me.

I just so wanted to like this band but it's just derivative trendy pop and it's just so so samey too. I'm sorry. But there I've said it. It's like they bought a load of 80s and 90s electro-pop records and thought "None of our potential fans will have ever heard of these great bands so lets copy them plus let's get an attractive lead singer too" then lo-and-behold people flocked from far and wide to pay homage.

Good Music for a late night drive

Pretty good

love it :) blast from the past

Good album

Me molesta la voz. Me parece pop electrónico malardo, nada muy destacable, como que quiere ser The Knife pero les falta onda... Me gustaron más los bonus tracks.

Bastante flojito la verdad. Medio monotónico, podría haber sido un discazo de ruta, pero está todo en un nivel, nunca termina de bajar, nunca termina de subir. Buena producción y bases igual Sobra gomina

Me gustó. Las melodías un poco demasiado poperas para mi gusto pero las bases me gustaron y sobre todo cómo queda todo junto. 3 estrellas y media que redondean para arriba

si no viniera de escuchar king crimson justo antes, podría haber sido un discazo. por ahora flojito.

Too poppy and upbeat for me

3.75, liked it more than I expected.

This band has grown on me

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

Sounds same same through the album. This may be one that needs multiple listens but none of the songs really grabbed me and made me interested 4/10

I’m not a massive CHVRCHES fan, obviously recognise the hits and listening back to this album it is very good album, and probably deserves its place on this list.

No

C'est pas pire mais c'est loin d'êtr est style. 3

not the worst but her voice just annoyed me a bit

Keri, I kinda like it.

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

Screams 2010s loudly. A good album, maybe a little too much of the same and a bit too long to really be great for me.

The seeds of greatness.

Definition of mid

Love the band and love the album.

Solid vibes, was the peak of this kind of music

Ah well throw back! Hadn't heard this for a long long time and honestly had forgotten about it. I'm a bit confused as I'm not hugely convinced this is a good music, like for me I felt there could be more variation in the synths used and it does some more simplistic towards the end. However, I did really enjoy lots of these songs! Fun silly pop. Boosted my mood so that says something right

This is a banger if you ask me. I love CHVRCHES they are great. Except for when they let the guy sing.

As far as synth pop goes, not bad. Not in a rush to listen to it again or anything.

Dette var kjedelig - to eller tre stjerner?

It’s like Katy Perry singing for Depeche Mode or New Order. I love this dark, mature icy electro-pop. I can hear the indie/alt rock influence on the song writing. A great new discovery for me.

It feels like pop, made by people who really like Depeche Mode and wanted a bit of 'edge'. I found it a bit dull a decade ago, and coming back to it now, I still find it blandly appealing. Like Sade and a few others before, it feels more like an album you put on to demonstrate your exquisite taste, rather than to enjoy...

Top 3 Songs: 1 - Gun (3) 2 - The Mother We Share (1) 3 - Science/Visions (9)

I kept thinking I was gonna go back and listen to this cuz my first listen through I kinda tuned out but I enjoyed it. I’m too far behind to go back though so fuck it. I agree with Bryce that it’s like 2014 American eagle core music but I guess it’s like the songs where you like “you know this one isn’t bad”

Seriously why is this garbage on the list

great album, fun and different. vocals can get kind of annoying after a bit.

Absolutely loved the synthesisers. The whole album had a real 80s vibe. I don’t know why it makes the list but it is a great listen. Favourite track is: The Bones of What You Believe

I really really liked this album. Between the synth pop vibes, the percussion, and the almost robotic sounding female singer, the whole thing just felt very vibrant to me.

Very "MGMT" like album. Nice production value and chill beats.

helt ok pop!

There is music I like better by Chvrches, but this is still good. Just not their best. I was debating between 3 1/2 stars or 4, so I'll average and round :) 4 stars.

I think it’s saying something that I’ve heard most of these songs out in the wild before. Maybe a bit repetitive but overall a strong album of quality pop

This is a good album. I am not sure the synth-pop movement needed revision (as the initial movement was both plentiful and held up fairly well for what it was). Lies is a very strong track, but I think the album overall wanders a bit.

Another album that’s fine, but don’t know why it should be on this list. Reminds me a little bit of Blondie with more synthesizers

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

Good electronic/pop type stuff, enjoyed more than I thought I would

was loosely familiar with the band prior to listening; a very well crafted piece of indie/electronic pop, the vocals probably stand out the most here.

so pop music with guitars?

Really cool sound

Pleasant electropop with good energy. I recognise 'Lies' from the Tourist remix, which has been a long-time favourite. Quite like the slower pace of 'You Caught The Light' at the end of the album too.

It's fine. Good opening track, but I kind of tuned out for the rest.

Definitely worth another listen. Her voice is so high, though, it’s distracting.

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

Now you’re talking!!! This is exceptionally good! I love the whole urgent vibe of the record and the lassies vocals are mesmeric! Fuckin’ awesome!

This was some more recent pop music. Nothing either overly exciting or brutal. Of interest os that I preferred the music the algorithm provided following the album.

A few Christmas’s ago, I was discussing new bands I liked with my nieces and Churches was one of the few areas of overlap. I would describe them as synth-pop, with a moderate emphasis on the pop but enough to keep my (then teenage) nieces interested. The lead singer borrows a style popular on the radio these days, I don’t know what it’s called, but Lorde sings in a similar style. That style of music doesn’t do much for me, but I’m going to go +1 for the edgier pieces like “Science/Visions” and especially “Lies”.

Bubble gum pop isn’t for me

Haunting later day synth pop. The only Chvrches I listened to previously never grabbed me but this album has made me want to listen to more of them. Still not sure if there is anything exceptional about this album but I did enjoy it

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

Kojima's favorite album. I'm very familiar with this band, what a great debut! It's a must listen if you're a fan of pop/synth music. I love hearing a mix of Lauren and the boy's vocals. My favorite song is Night Sky, but it's full of bangers.

not much happening, like at all, swear its the same song played on repeat for 50 mins feels like credit music for an animated film i would watch if i was 10 again

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

Kinda like this now

Big Tegan and Sara energy

A modern classic

Not my bag. My wife liked it though.

Some genuinely beautiful and uplifting synth pop. Brings back a huge flood of Laneway 2014 memories alongside Haim, Lorde, Run the Jewels and the Jezabels. Bonus points for little hint of Scottish lilt you hear every now and then.

Decent album with delucious synth sounds but reminds me a lot of Naked and Famous and I think they do it better. Great opening track tho.

Me fait beaucoup penser à Metric, entre autres à cause de la voix de la chanteuse, qui me plaît beaucoup, et aussi à cause des arrangements électroniques rythmés, colorés. J'aurais donné 3,5, car il manque un je ne sais quoi pour se rendre à 4 (peut-être parce que j'ai trop l'impression de l'avoir entendu avant). Et la chanson Under the Tide me rappelle Coldplay.

Well produced indie pop/synth pop with engaging vocals. Drags on a bit though which makes 3 stars more than sufficient.

Enjoyable and somewhat catchy sounding electro pop album that ultimately though is too similar and monotonous to score more than 3 stars

nothing special but good sound

Pleasantly surprised!

I haven't listened to a lot of synth-pop in my music life, so I'm glad this project served up this album. The tracks are very well done and they usually grab my ear and hook me in nicely. After a while, that amount of synthesizer is too much for my ear, but I don't usually listen to one artist straight through; when I listen for my own enjoyment, it's typically more by style than by individual artist or album. I see how these songs worked into a mix would be a nice addition.

Really liked this one.

I'd rather listen to Lana Del Ray

I give this 3.5 stars

This was a fun way to start the day.

Better than I expected

Great album!

Kinda catchy

I really like this album and band.

CHVRCHES is one of those bands that my husband always asks me why I don't listen to, since they sound like other stuff I'm into. This was my first time giving them a real chance. It reminded a lot of Lights and maybe even a little bit of Taylor Swift, on certain tracks. I liked it overall on my first listen and plan to listen again. It wasn't love at first listen but I think it would grow on me more.

sonzao tri, futurista e pa

Good lyrics.

Not my sound.

Not unforgettabile indietronic music

Interesting album. A tad bit generic for it's age, but not in a bad way. I enjoyed it as a background music.

This album is SO 2013. It's 2010s synth pop and it's honestly pretty decent. I could see 23 year old me doing molly and having a ball during their festival set...so would 36 year old me tbf

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

One has liked some of the later work (especially the song with Robert Smith from a year or two ago) but this is entirely too teeny boppy and way too '80s-synthy for one's taste. Best song is last song, "You Caught the Light," which is more along the lines of what one was expecting/hoping for. As to their chart success, good for them and better this than, say, Ed Sheeran or Billie Eilish.

Electronic pop with high prodution values. It flows very nicely and even has two songs that I quite liked - Recover and Night Sky. But this album hasn't any really bad songs. The production quality is very high, too. This is what modern pop sould sound like (instead of 95% of tracks currently in the pop charts, but that is another story). 3.5/5

Being a big fan of 1980s synth pop as well as some more modern incarnations such as Icona Pop, I had high expectations for this album. The first listen through didn't meet those. However, listening again made me realize that I might really love this one, given a few more listens. I quite enjoyed it and would like to get to that point.

This one was totally new to me and I thought it was enjoyable. It didn't always connect, but overall it made a positive impression.

I like the general sound of it and the edginess of the lyrics. I don't know if this is so but it seems like the kind of music that would play over the end credits of a tv show popular with millennials (not an insult).

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

Well, not my cup of tea really, but undeniably catchy. There were enough interesting things going on that I gave it a second spin even.

This is the one CHVRCHES album I like. And like it I do. 4/5

My first experience with CHVRCHES was their most recent (or recentish, since I believe they have a new one coming out), checking it out on a whim and being blown away. Yet I checked out very little of their other stuff. This is pretty good, but it feels like practice for later highs. I can see how this would blow pop fans away at the time though, and I love how the last song interlopes The Cure’s “Plainsong”. Soon, Lauren (who really is a gifted singer) will get to duet with Robert Smith. B

Very pleasant, sounded like disclosure inspo

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

Still great 10 years later. Wasn't just a phase I was going thru

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

Marvelous