The 3 piece synthpop group CHVRCHES originates from Glasgow in old Bonnie Scotland. Lately I’ve become a little jaded towards radio friendly uber sugary, compressed, one dimensional music. Thinking somehow I’m above it, or should be grown up enough to only listen to grown up music.
Well poo on that notion.
CHVRCHES, The Bones of What You Believe is an admitted guilty pleasure that anyone who’s spent any time in my car can probably recite word for word. This is a youthful, dreamy, ambitious sounding album brimming with the stuff that made teenage life fun. It’s a “first time” feeling album; the pain and excitement that comes with shedding naivety for the scars and stripes of experience. Longing to be older while lamenting the loss of youth.
Chorus from recover: And if I recover, will you be my comfort? or it can be over, or we can just leave it here, so pick any number, choose any colour, I've got the answer, open the envelope
Remind you of anything?
Lauren Mayberry’s delicate yet powerful delivery of lyrics is centered on the dilemmas of young love and family ties. Songs like “Gun”, “The Mother We Share”, “Recover”, “Lungs” are all songs with a familiar feeling of coming of age 80’s style pop music. This album could be the modern day equivalent soundtrack for a “Breakfast Club.” It brings to mind the sobering quote from the brooding character Allison: “When you grow up, your heart dies.”
I have to draw comparisons with other popular Indie groups fronted by female vocalists. Bands like Cults, Purity Ring, and even Grimes, each share the young, powerfully optimistic and joyous spirit of being a young woman. But within each album comes the delicate and fragile side of the sword.
I also have to draw comparisons with another great indie synth pop group, M83, which I could swear I heard direct referencing in several of the vocal effects and synth background tapestries of almost all tracks. Moral is, if you like the feel of this album, you will almost certainly enjoy Hurry Up Were Dreaming.
So how does it sound? Well, it is a radio ready pop album… but with a difference. Sounds are a little compressed on most tracks, and pretty peaky, but the overall warmth of the background synth tones compliment Lauren’s beautiful voice perfectly. The up-tempo and stop start beat of songs like “Lungs” keep the albums pace snappy, uplifting and fresh. Stereo panning and reverb give each track space, while maintaining a concentrated beam of awesome directed right at your cochlear nerve.
