Chvrches

Every Open Eye

(Virgin EMI)

Reviewed by Alan Morrison

In 2013 Chvrches went from basement-studio concept to chart-topping reality at such a velocity that it's a wonder the synthpop trio didn't skid off the edge of the world. Debut album The Bones Of What You Believe broke the Top 10 in the UK and, astonishingly, peaked at No 12 in the US; it was nominated for a SAY Award and named this newspaper's Scottish Album of the Year. The band toured relentlessly, winning over an American audience through TV exposure on the Jimmy Kimmel and David Letterman shows. A less clued-up bunch might have imploded but, with the wise old heads of Iain Cook (Aereogramme, The Unwinding Hours) and Martin Doherty (The Twilight Sad) standing alongside the feisty intelligence of Lauren Mayberry, Chvrches held it all together. And, on the strength of sophomore album Every Open Eye, you could even argue they've gone from strength to strength.

This second record doesn't hold onto the band members' individual musical heritages quite as much as its predecessor. Often on The Bones Of What You Believe the grit of post-rock could still be heard scratching the polished surface of retro synthpop. Every Open Eye, on the other hand, fully embraces the here and now of commercial electronic dance music while still drinking in the sweat that once ran down the walls of a 1980s nightclub. That's not a statement of sell-out: there's more than enough here that breaks the mainstream mould, whether in song structure or the mood of Mayberry's lyrics. But the best songs here are better than the best songs on Bones: they're euphorically paced to feed the live reaction of a crowd in a big room and baited with tasty hooks that will dominate the airwaves for months to come.

Opening track Never Ending Circles is an effective bridge from album one to album two, its opposing textures allowing Mayberry's bright voice to cut through distorted riffs, brittle keyboard tinkles and heavyweight bass. It's on track two, Leave A Trace, that one of the defining elements of this album emerges, however: Mayberry has become a much more confident singer in the interim. She has nailed her own distinctive style, and it's her vocal performance that now drives the most forceful, most musically and lyrically resolute songs – Clearest Blue, Bury It, Make Them Gold (with its empowerment chorus "We will take the best parts of ourselves and make them gold"). Closing track Afterglow eschews keyboard tricks, pushing Mayberry centrestage for a ballad, and she rises to the challenge, bringing a level of emotion to her performance that's unexpectedly affecting after the dancefloor bluster and punch-the-air anthems that set the tone across the rest of the album.

As soon as Bones was released, Chvrches became a reference point for a wave of new electro bands who followed; Billboard, the influential American music magazine, has even claimed that Taylor Swift's recent makeover might be a conscious attempt to step into Chvrches territory. That might be a bit back to front, but the truth is that Every Open Eye takes on the big guns of the charts and wins hands down. All those millionaire writer-producers brought in to buff up a megastar's latest release could learn a thing or two from what goes on in a modest basement studio in Glasgow.