Chvrches
Love is Dead
Glassnote
It must be hard to make a record that's resolutely pop, yet speaks to 2018. Moving to New York from Glasgow and welcoming outside producers for the first time hasn't changed Chvrches' work substantially, but has resulted in an album whose highlights are by turns vulnerable and militant.
Well-directed anger towards various heads of state (Graves) is notable amid dismissals of lovers – Miracle's badass chorus is destined for soundtracks, Never Say Die boasts snares that sound like being beaten up by an end-of-level boss – but the outliers make this record treasurable.
My Enemy, a two-hander with The National's Matt Berninger, is gracefully laced with ennui, and Deliverance scores Madonna points with its devotional language and 1980s chords – but affecting miniature Really Gone, is stunning, declaring "I'm trying my best to toughen up for these days".
Its tranquillity and emotional directness are a great gambit by Lauren Mayberry, and (frankly) show up the chart-bothering anthems around it.
Michael Dornan
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