Chvrches – Every Open Eye
Written by: Charlie Coffey
Rating: 8.5/10
Chvrches’ sophomore album, Every Open Eye, was released on Sept. 25 and it has proved to stand up alongside their first as a success. The album shows off Chvrches’ traditional style of clean and energetic electropop sound while bringing in some different styles within the synth spectrum.
“Never Ending Circles” opens up the album with a very loud and strong instrumental intro and Lauren Mayberry’s distinct vocals. She defines the tone of the album with the chorus, belting “Here’s to taking what you came for/And here’s to running off the pain/And here’s to just another no man/If you want another/Say you need another/Here’s to never ending circles.”
Mayberry carries over those ideas in “Leave A Trace” when she sings lyrics such as “I know I need to feel released” and “Take care to leave a trace of a man.” The band is very clearly communicating independence and strength through Mayberry in the early parts of the album. This makes sense after Mayberry publicly denounced internet haters in a 2013 article for The Guardian and has since taken flak from said haters.
The album carries on with similar radio-ready tracks until number six, which is “High Enough To Carry You Over.” The song is an example of the band’s more diverse style, featuring Martin Doherty, who is usually on synths, singing with a fairly simple beat behind him. Doherty’s vocals and the synths of the song are reminiscent of a Daft Punk song, repeating “And I never would’ve given you up/If you only hadn’t given me up,” melodically almost as much as “Get Lucky” off of Daft Punk’s most recent album.
The next notable track is “Down Side Of Me” which has a slower tone and features Doherty once again but this time on backup vocals. The song has a light beat and hypnotic verses from Mayberry, producing a softer sound than the other tracks.
Following the soft theme of “Down Side of Me” is “Afterglow,” which is even slower and softer. There are barely any instrumentals at all and Mayberry sings in a nude voice, with lyrics about being lost in the moonlight and stuck in a shadow, waiting for the afterglow.
The album then speeds up with songs similar to the first half, but using techno beats and more of Doherty’s vocals. Finishing up with “Bow Down” which brings listeners back to Chvrches original message of independence with lyrics such as “No time to bow down, no time to kill/No justifying, staying down in silence.”
FCC Violations: Clean
Favorite Tracks: #6 (High Enough To Carry You Over), #5 (Clearest Blue), #11 (Afterglow), #7 (Empty Threat)
RIYL: Prides, Depeche Mode, Sky Ferreira
