Chvrches: The Bones of What You Believe

Slicker than the "employee of the year" at a used car lot, Glasglow's synthpop group Chvrches exploded on the internet last year with a string of singles leading up to the September 23rd release of their album "The Bones of What You Believe." From the moment they published their first single, "Lies," a rabid following soon gobbled up everything Chvrches. I understand the obsession. Their sound, a unique whirlwind of electronic hooks and infectious vocals from pixie-esque singer Lauren Mayberry, is dance music with a dark edge. These are songs perfect for car listening or dance parties in equal measure.

(I also appeciate that Chvrches spells their name with a "v" so you can search for them on Google)!

Sometimes it's difficult to describe music, especially the genre-warping electronic acts I love. I'd like you to imagine the witches of Macbeth, huddled around their cauldron with their demonic ingredients (eye of newt, scale of dragon, tooth of wolf). Now replace the witches with three Scotsmen (singer Mayberry and musicians Iain Cook and Martin Doherty), their cauldron with synthesizers and samplers, and those morbid mixtures with Depeche Mode jackets, laser lights, and an ancient Brothers Grimm tome. This is dark, infectious dance music along the lines of The Knife and Crystal Castles.

And as a rarity for new artists, Chvrches has released a debut album without a bad song! I will highlight some of the standouts, and encourage you to use one or two of those precious Freegal downloads to sample the group, but know the rest of the album is more of the delicious same.

The Mother We Share - the signature Chvrches sound and the opening track of the album. Machine-gun fire pop beats underlay a song of dark familial struggle: "And the mother we share will never keep your proud head from falling/And the mother we share will never keep our cold hearts from calling."

We Sink - another example of richly layered beats blending with the sweetness of Lauren Mayberry's voice. Then you listen to the lyrics: "I'll be a thorn in your side, till you die/I'll be a thorn in your side, for always." Forget Taylor Swift's ex-boyfriends; I'm more afraid for this man!

Science/Visions - Chvrches tiptoes into prog-rock territory of this song, a sprawling epic with nightmarish chanting and lyrics of science and death. When the song reaches its climax and Mayberry sings, "A current to purify," a spark shoots down my spine everytime.

-James