Chvrches

The Internet may have been breathing down Scottish trio Chvrches' necks for months now, but the anticipation and buzz are justified, not only by the singles we've been teased with, but by debut full-length The Bones of What You Believe as well. The immediacy of the songs are proof that after months of build up — ever since the group released a few songs online the previous year — they continue to grab us by the ears and hold our attention. Opening number "The Mother We Share" is a saccharine slice of electronic melodies, with lead singer Lauren Mayberry's sugar-coated voice gliding overtop. It's Mayberry's ability to flirt with dark lyrics while harmlessly delivering a line like, "I can sell you lies, you can't get enough" ("Lies") that makes Chvrches' music convincing, along with their bombastic beats, flinching rhythms and unabashedly thick layers of synths. Though they have a formula for success, "Under the Tide" does find them passing the mic to Martin Doherty, which falls short. It's questionable whether Chvrches' sound can survive and stretch any further for future material, but for the time being, The Bones of What You Believe is an impressive slate of sonic pleasures from a young band still experimenting with a room full of synths.