Jessica Pellegrino – General Assignment Reporter
Scottish electronic band, CHVRCHES, released their second full-length, studio album this week. The band, who formed in 2011, revealed in the beginning of 2015 that they had begun recording their second album.
The new album, “Every Open Eye,” comes as the follow-up to their debut album, “The Bones of What You Believe.”
The majority of their touring has been on the festival circuit, from Bonnaroo in Tennessee to Bestival in the UK. They will be touring the States and the UK for the remainder of 2015 before heading to Australia in early 2016.
The most noticeable thing about the album is it’s length. At 43 minutes, the album is short, but not to a flaw. It is short and sweet. Nothing feels too long or unbearable. With no songs longer than four minutes, you can listen to the whole album in one sitting and never lose interest in what you are listening to.
The band is known for their electro-pop style that just cannot be ignored. This album takes that unignorable sound and raises the volume, and the bar, tenfold.
Lauren Mayberry, the lead singer of the group, has seen fame in the tabloids recently for some Instagram transgressions.
But rather than making this album one filled with animosity, the album boasts strength and endurance. This is the pop music that will speckle inspirational YouTube videos. This is the music you listen to when you are crossing whatever finish line in your life. In the track, “Make Them Gold,” Mayberry sings, “”We will take the best parts of ourselves and make them gold!”
It is almost as if the band knows that the best thing they have going for them is the positivity they bring to their fans. Because in this album, they really used it.
“Clearest Blue” is no doubt the strongest track on the album. Contrary to most basic pop songs, this track has no structured chorus. It is a beautiful cacophony of drums and synthesizer, which build and build upon each other until a final explosion of sound at the end of the song. It is gorgeous and it redefines what it means to be a good pop song.
All the songs on the album are short, and make the listener want to jump out of their seat and dance. This album is by far the best pop album of 2015, and I can only expect more greatness to come from CHVRCHES in the future.
It’s usually an industry standard that if a band has a successful first album, their second album will fall into the infamous sophomore slump. CHVRCHES took this stereotype and threw it out the window. Their unique sound, in combination with their past successes, really make this new album a pleasant surprise to listeners.
Photo Credit: Kmeron
really nice review! ultimately the more deaf you feel after listening to a CHVRCHES record, the better. I felt like there were a few somewhat off moments like the weird slow closer, but hearing the record close with “I’ve given up all I can” was nothing short of heartbreaking.