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In the last two years there has been an explosion of bands from Scotland, including "We were Promised Jetpacks", "Frightened Rabbit" and "The Twilight Sad". All these bands shared a common Glasgow rock sound. 2014 brings us Chvrches, from Glasgow, breaking away from that sound with an analog synth pop sound, that could be described as The Pet Shop Boys with adrenaline.

The trio is anchored by vocalist, Lauren Mayberry, a former journalist with a masters degree in Journalism. Her band mates are long time staples of the Glasglow music scene. In 2011 the three got together and began working on songs that have produced their debut cd, "The Bones of What You Believe".

In these days of social media I was surprised to find that this band was so polarizing. Either people hate them or fans love them. I am among the latter. The biggest complaint I see on social media is of Lauren Mayberry's live performances. Her performance style is more of shoegazer style, but her vocals are right on and not pre-recorded tracks, which many of her detractors might prefer if she danced more and imitated Madonna. Plus she is a journalist not a pop diva.

In addition to the analog synth's the band relies heavily on a sampling pad which punctuates their unique sound. Their single "The Mother We Share" relies heavily on this.

After the first listen of this cd you may dismiss it but after repeated listening, if you are like me, you will discover its nuances and find it running through your brain. Songs like "We Sink", "Gun", "Lies" and "Recover" are brilliant and keep me listening to this CD.

"Music Mathers Links"
Official webpage, http://chvrch.es/
Chvrches live in Germany http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lqg38J-SThI