Album Review: CHVRCHES - Recover EP

CHVRCHES
Recover EP
Rating: Grrrr

The Glasgow trio of Lauren Mayberry, Martin Dohery, and Ian Cooks made a splash last year with the singles "The Mother We Share" and "Lies," drawing many a comparison to The Knife and Purity Ring. While CHVRCHES does share a similar gothic synthpop sensibility with those acts, they neither have the icy detachment of The Knife or the childlike wonder and deconstruction tendencies of Purity Ring. Lauren Mayberry's vocals provide a haunting, emotional center to the lush, swirling synths provided by Dohery and Cooks. On title track and the original mix of "Recover," Mayberry sifts through a broken relationship, knowing where she stands, despondent but sure-footed in what needs to happen. Dohery and Cooks' synths bob and weave around Mayberry's hesitant vocals, erupting in a heavenly swoon at the chorus as her voice gains strength and purpose.



"Recover" comes up again with two remixes. The Cid Rim remix is the most effective, changing the purpose of the vocals, focusing more on the despondency of the track and amping up the desperation in Mayberry's delivery.



Curxes 1996 Remix is less emotionally fulfilling, but exchanges the fevered pulse of the original and Cid Rim remix and opts for a more brutal approach. Lazer firing synth blasts, deep bass, and proto-industrial programming take the track into oppressive and dark places.



The other two songs on the EP are another strong indication of CHVRCHES' strengths and their confidence in where their sound is heading. "Now Is Not The Time" is a gorgeous mid-tempo ballad in the Robyn, "With Every Heartbeat" mode,



while Doherty takes over lead vocals on "ZVVL" lending his evocative Scottish burr over the clash of dense synths and clattering percussion; Mayberry's voice added as a counterpoint.



Recover is just enough of a teaser to satisfy the wait until a full length comes out, but is so good it makes the wait seem endless. Their trajectory so far has been to ramp things up just enough with each new song to keep you guessing where they are going next. Based on their limited output at the moment, I can only expect great things from them coming up. CHVRCHES is a band to watch out for.

Rating Scale:

Chilfos: masterpiece; coolest thing I've heard in ages.

Woof Daddy: excellent; just a hair away from being a masterpiece.

Grrrr: very good; will definitely be considered for my top releases of the year.

Yeah Daddy Make Me Want It: good; definitely invites further listens and piques one's interest for more material.

Meh: not horrible, but certainly not great; could have either been polished, trimmed, or re-thought.

Jeez Lady: what the hell happened? Just plain bad. They should hang their heads in shame and be forced to listen to Lady Gaga ad nauseam as penance.

Tragicistani: so bad, armed villagers with pitchforks and torches should run the artist out of the country for inflicting this abomination on the human race.