CHVRCHES - The Bones of What You Believe

One would be forgiven for assuming that no synthpop groups hail from Scotland; the nation doesn't exactly scream carefree pop music after all (or at least, it hasn't since the Proclaimers disappeared into the annals of history). Yet with Boards of Canada and CHVRCHES both making explosive returns or breakthroughs to electronic music in 2013, the wee nation can finally shake off those dour-rock stereotypes.

The Glasgow trio of Martin Doherty, Iain Cook and Lauren Mayberry already had an uphill climb ahead of them purely by being a brand new synthpop group in 2013 - I can quite comfortably say that I have around a hundred or so from the past 24 months lurking on my iTunes library - without all of the usual pressures of the  big debut and the critical praise from institutions such as the BBC Sound of Music. The Bones of What You Believe doesn't show that, though, and comes across as one of the most confident and consistent pop records I've come across this decade.
 

It of course helps appease my poppy disposition when there're singles as abundantly hooking as their debut: 'The Mother We Share' has even found its way onto the UK singles chart (not to mention #2 in Japan - and yes I want you to pronounce that like the Mean Girls quote), and it's not difficult to see why. Mayberry's strawberry-sweet vocals put to intoxicating use over a catchy stuttering sample, make it not altogether dissimilar to AlunaGeorge's hits from earlier in the year, and towards the end I'm certain that token M83 sound effects are thrown in as if to tease me. It just makes you wish the rest of the charts would follow suit. The tempo is raised on 'We Sink', where "I'll be a thorn in your side" sounds oddly endearing, before another gloriously catchy track ('Gun') kicks in. One of those singles where each section could plausibly be the track's main focus and hook, it's pretty faultless.


The band aren't just happy-go-lucky one trick ponies, though: 'Tether' by contrast is a poignant comedown that's "incapable of seeing the end" of a dying relationship made all the more dramatic by an unleashed chorus of electronica towards the end. There're other changes to the winning formula: Doherty takes lead vocal on two tracks, 'Under the Tide' and closer 'You Caught the Light'. The former is a light house beat destined for some of their live performances' more raucous moments, whilst the latter finds CHVRCHES attempting some new-wave romanticism that recalls Disintegration-era Cure.

Largely, though, the band have a routine and it's one that's pulled off in a variety of spectacular fashions: 'Lies' gives Mayberry a stomper of a beat to hurdle over, whilst single 'Recover' is far and away their catchiest, most gorgeous melody on the album. Some album tracks struggle to get off the ground: 'Night Sky' hasn't really got enough in it to stand out, and 'Lungs' comes off as something of a Kate Nash duet with its punctuated vocals and repeated lyrical theme. They're just minor blips, though, as fresher ideas balance them out - such as the high-octane 'Science/Visions', where Mayberry takes the manifestation of an echoing siren on top of a half-industrial-half-trance beat, or the breathless 'By the Throat' which I can't make my mind up as being either a polite "fuck off" or a desperate beg to be let go.

In short: more of this. Everywhere. Please.

In long: if there were to be a rationing of this genre of music to be undertaken by any of you scrupulous bitches, then this will be more than satisfactory as a pick of the year.

Rating: 8/10
Highlights: Recover; We Sink; Gun; Science/Visions; You Caught the Light
Avoid: n/a

Artwork Watch: It would be a nice logo for a radio station that might call themselves RadioACTIVE wouldn't it?
For fans of: Robyn; M83; The Joy Formidable
Up next: VV Brown