As soon as ‘Love Is Dead’ started playing, I knew I had my summer album. Whether you are a die hard fan or only vaguely familiar with the the band ‘Chrvches’, this album will have you wanting to replay it all summer long. The wait will not be much longer as the new album is set to come out on May 25, 2018.
In a weird way it covers both ends of the emotional spectrum for me. On one hand there is the music. Beats and synths that make you want to dance or at the very least bounce in your car as you drive feeling the warm air flow through your car windows. On the other hand there is the lyrical content that is more serious than you might expect. Personal experiences, stories, descriptive imagery and clever metaphors make this album feel very grounded. Biographer Lizzy Goodman described the term “pretty gloom”. That really is a perfect way to describe this album and the band.
The album starts with ‘Graffiti’. Musically this is everything I love about ‘Chrvches’. The upbeat tempo and happy sounding synths which fill the sound out. It also gives you that bit of melancholy at the end of each chorus both musically and lyrically. The line “I’ve been waiting for my whole life to grow old and now we never will”, relates to just about anyone that has taken the time to look back on things and/or relationships that didn’t turn out like they thought they would.
The first single ‘Get Out’ is next on the tracklisting. In my opinion a great choice for a first single. The build up through the verses to the choruses piqued my interest and the payoff of kick and snare in the chorus felt perfect. I want to note something singer Lauren Mayberry does so well. Harmonies. I am a sucker for good harmonies but what happens during the “you are a kaleidoscope” part is about a close to perfection as I can imagine.
Although ‘Deliverance’ has not been released as a single as of yet, it is my choice for the next one if they decide to release another. The subdued vocal delivery and a four point beat is intoxicating during the verses. Pre-chorus and choruses had me closing my eyes getting deeper into the song.
The next single features Matt Berninger, frontman of the band The National. This song has a slower pace but feels strong nonetheless. Matt’s soothing vocals match up to Lauren’s voice perfectly. The next track ‘Forever’ is an upbeat song which contains some of my favorite production and mixing. Love everything about the drums and trailing “forever” that continues throughout the chorus.
The third single released from the album is ‘Never Say Die’. The hook is the vocal delivery of “didn’t you say that”. First time through on that part I immediately started the track over to hear it again. This song along with ‘Forever’ gave me an Erasure feel to it and could almost hear Andy Bell singing along.
‘Miracle’ is the fourth single that has been released. Two things stand out on this track. The slightly distorted/compressed vocal “if you feel it could you let me know” & “not asking for a miracle” is a balance of aggression to the soothing sound of the verses. The second thing, is the chorus. THAT CHORUS. It’s big and I can see the place erupting at a live show during that moment.
After the catchy ‘Graves’ we get to my personal favorite, ‘Heaven/Hell.’ There’s a legit meaning behind this song. This song talks about some of the things that Lauren has dealt with and maybe expected to deal with being a female front person of a rock band. Musically, this song moves quickly and totally “jumps” in the chorus.
I want to note a stripped down song that will make you fall in love with Lauren’s voice. Put your headphones on and lose yourself in ‘Really Gone’. After a quick instrumental/spoken word track called ‘ii’, the album finishes up with ‘Wonderland’. I love the Depeche Mode feeling I get with this song. Lauren finishes the album with some great chorus vocals in this song. Lauren Mayberry, Iain Cook and Martin Doherty have put together some memorable music here. All working together like a well oiled machine.
8.5/10
-TM