Bones of What You Believe

For the past year, buzz about Scottish synthpop band Chvrches has been steadily growing. From appearances at major festivals like SXSW to touring alongside bands like Depeche Mode and Passion Pit, Chvrches have been doing their best to stand out in a sea of synth pop. And on their debut, "The Bones of What You Believe"--they do in fact stand out in the best of ways. Accessible and fun yet with an underlying aggression and angst paired with strong beats and a full bodied vocal, Chvrches has created an album that many established pop stars don't seem to be capable of making.Lead vocalist Lauren Mayberry deserves much of the credit for the success of this album. A lot of similar bands have girl vocals that are thin and whimsical, but Lauren has a fuller sound, better range and an uncanny skill at building layers of drama and emotion through tiny tone changes. She can casually get away with quite dark lyrics at times and still have the music sound very danceable and light given her sweet clear tone. Just like how it took me several plays of Foster the People's "Pumped Up Kicks" to actually realize what they were singing about as the lyrics and bouncy tone are quite incongruous, Lauren's music has several similar moments though not to that extreme. Her lyrics have an intelligence and layer of complexity that is unusual, which may or may not be related to the fact that Lauren is highly educated with a full law degree as well as Masters in journalism.Musically, this album doesn't exactly break new ground but when playing the album through--the songs thankfully do stand out from each other which I find is my most common problem with synth based music. It's also more refreshingly straightforward than similar bands like Purity Ring. And yet-with Lauren's vocals--it still has the ability to stomp out major anthems for intense highs. "Recover" is mind numbingly catchy with a chorus that's going to wreak havoc with your subconscious. "Science/Visions" has a very ethereal almost movie score quality to it which is very interesting. "Gun" was just featured on the FIFA 14 soundtrack and suitably shiny and bright.Finally, if you happen to have a chance to see them live--do so. While they are naturally high energy with an infectious enthusiasm---they're also hilarious and self deprecatingly genuine. In short--though not musically brilliant, this album has so much going for it just entices and draws you in. It's like a will-o-the-wisp ghostly shining on a dark moor at night. You just can't help yourself but to follow. And dance.For fans of bands like Passion Pit, M83, The Naked and Famous, Purity Ring and Kate Boy.

An amazing mp3 album from a new Scottish synthpop band! I found out about them by reading an article where the lead singer, Lauren Mayberry, came out against online misogyny. I came here to sample some songs and ended up buying the album (they also have an EP called Recover I got as well). I've been listening to it constantly. Some of my favorites: Lies, Recover (And if I recover/Will you be my comfort), Under the Tide (Stay under the tide/Stay in my eyeline), Science/Visions (Breathe Don't speak It's leaving your body now/Slow heart Set free A circuit of consciousness). Oh who am I kidding, they are almost all my favorites right now.It's such pretty music and has an uplifting feel to it. The lead singer's voice is kind of babydoll-girly, but there is depth and real appeal to it and she's very nice to listen to. There is a male singer in a few of the songs and he compliments the music as well. The melodies are beautiful and the lyrics are deep and sometimes poignant. I really can't say enough good things about this. There isn't a bad song on this album.If you like The Naked and the Famous, School of Seven Bells, Grimes, Purity Ring, The Foxes, Exitmusic, Goldfrapp, Imogen Heap, The Postal Service, La Roux, or even Saint Etienne, you will probably like this a lot. If you're interested, you might also want to check out (besides the synthpop genre) dreampop or electropop. Lots of good music out there these days!Oh, for those who care about this kind of thing, with the "explicit" rating, the first two songs have the "f-bomb" in them (not repeatedly), but I haven't caught anything else and the lyrics aren't graphic in any way that I have noticed.

This is probably one of my favorite albums of the past couple years. There's plenty of in depth and informative reviews posted by others, so I'll let the case rest on that front. The edition I'm reviewing here is a "deluxe" edition with a whole second disc, mostly demos and remixes. It's labeled an import, but the disc, cover-art and packaging do not indicate what country it is imported from. The jewel case snapped at one of the hinges when I tried flipping it over to make sure there wasn't anything I was missing...I have no plans to listen to the 2nd disc, and I probably would not have bought this if it wasn't being sold for so cheap (it was and as of this writing still is under $8 w/ S&H factored in). It is nice to have this item in an actual jewel case, so that the disc is protected from scratches, which the USA standard issue (both the original pressing and the re-issue) do not offer as they are packaged in what is known as a "digipak". Also, I can still get the 1st disc out of its case w/o the case wobbling and wiggling...which is a definite plus. I don't remember in which instances specifically, but it seems like there've been times the jewel case was almost inoperable once it had snapped. Maybe the difference is there's one UN-broken hinge on this case, whereas the other 2CD cases I've broken were just totally torn away...

Every now and then a band comes along which captures my attention. Earlier this year I heard a Chvrches track on the radio and I was captivated by it. After checking out another few tracks on YouTube I ordered the album and six months later I still haven't stopped listening to it. It's a rare thing these days to keep coming back to one album after months of listening to it but such is the beauty of this album that no matter what mood I'm in I always enjoy it. It's great to hear lead singer Lauren Mayberry use her Scottish accent rather than try a faux american accent which unfortunately happens a lot in music. The stand out tracks for me are Recover, Night Sky and Under the Tide, but I have to be honest, there are no bad songs on this album. Their new album is due to be released in a few weeks and I can't wait, the few singles which have been released promise good things and I'm sure I won't be disappointed.Highly recommended.

I'm not gunna lie, I really wanted to find a physical copy of the special edition but it appears they either don't exist or have very good homes already! Probably the best debut album I've ever heard and easily in my top 3 favourite albums of all time. If I could give it 6 stars I would. The electro-pop is familiar yet different, with dabbles of Goldfrapp and Purity Ring the most comparable in terms of what it sounds like. Seriously recommend this to any electro-pop or synthpop lover, but I'd recommed buying the bonus tracks too (can download from amazon) as they are excellent also in my opinion.

Bought it for my son for Christmas. He loves it

It has been a while since I had the chance to put my hands on an album that I would genuinely enjoy every single track of it. Well, "Bones of What You Believe" achieved that. Every single track is amazing. So involving... I can just let the whole record play and, when it's done, change the side and enjoy another 30 min or so of great music! Loving every minute of it!!!

If you are reading this then chances are you're already leaning towards purchasing this album, and I'd encourage you to do exactly that. I can't quite remember how I came across this band but after playing some of their songs through YouTube and enjoying the 80s electro-pop vibe, I decided to buy 'The Bones of What You Believe'.It is one of those albums where you are loathed to skip to the next track as each song either grabs you with both hands from the first second (The brilliant 'Gun' and 'Lies' spring to mind) or slowly draws you in (the build up and then explosion in 'Tether', in my opinion the best song on the album, is the best example of this). I've listened to this album a few times in different moods and places and it delivers on every front each time, so my advice would be to give it a go; you'll be glad you did.