Chvrches - Love is Dead
I have found that it is hard to write about bands that I have been following for quite a few years. For writing jobs this year, I have looked critically at new releases from bands like MGMT, the Decemberists, Fall Out Boy, Jack White, Franz Ferdinand, Arctic Monkeys, and the Fratellis, and with every album considered it at some point to be the worst of their career. Not that any of these albums were bad, per se, just that it was the lowest in quality or consistency so far in their career (except for MANIA, that was genuinely bad). Now, as I go into a review for the new Chvrches album, Love is Dead, I am hesitant to say exactly the same thing, considering my recent past. However, I think that I would do a disservice to their previous releases to consider it the same level, and so I say with great uncertainty that Love is Dead is the worst Chvrches album so far.
To be fair, the record is more than just listenable - it is a good album. It's just not great, or at least not as great as The Bones of What You Believe (2013) and Every Open Eye (2015). The album features plenty of likable material, but an increasing dependence on EDM beats and simplified lyrical sentiments prevents me from loving it. Love is Dead is a classic story of many other indie-electronic bands of the 2010s, where the band draws too much from mainstream pop to gain popularity and ultimately loses their charm and originality because of it (Phantogram, a similar and less good version of Chvrches, stands out in recent memory). Yes, I am overly critical of many good bands, but even the most popular bands should have to hold up to the standards of the most quality musicians and releases around them (scroll down to read about my love of the new Stephen Malkmus, if you haven't already).
Though I was relatively disappointed by the singles from this album, what has always stood out to me with Chvrches is their ability to make great album tracks (particularly "Make Them Gold" and "Down Side of Me" have stuck with me, as well as post-release singles "We Sink," "Lies," and "Bury It"). On Love is Dead, that is luckily what makes up the core of the album. Opener "Graffiti" sounds like an expertly produced cut from the sessions of TBOWYB, with soaring exuberance and lyricism from singer Lauren Mayberry. In some cases, Chvrches continues to utilize pop for its own purposes ("Forever" and "Graves are wonderful examples) rather than toning down their brilliant songwriting as on a few other tracks. Further, intimacy is never lost with Mayberry, as evident in the classic sounding "Deliverance" and the pulsing "Heaven/Hell" (even if the lyrics are a bit contrived to get the point across).
Excluding catchy but unoriginal 80s-synth-meets-2010s-dance mashup "Get Out," the singles actually tend to drag the album down. "My Enemy" especially lulls with its trap beats and uninspired performances from Mayberry and The National singer Matt Berninger. The other two, "Never Say Die" and "Miracle," rely far too heavily on straightforward electronica buildups that they end up sounding insincere instead of anthemic. And besides that, the album does not really break any new ground for the band either. Overall, it is similarly formatted to the other Chvrches albums, with a balanced mix of mid- to uptempo songs, and that mediocre one that has Martin Doherty on lead vocals (in this case, it's "God's Plan"). Arguably, this indicates that the band is still the same at its core, which I think is essentially true, but ultimately the bottom line is that this album just produced less than thrilling results.
As I said before, there is still a lot to like, and I know I will be listening to the album on repeat all weekend. But once you hear the same pulsing quarter-note beat a few times in a row, it'll start to wear on you. However, I have faith that Love is Dead is more of an experiment and stepping stone for the group, as a lot has changed for the band going into this album, both in popularity and approach to writing. This is the first time ever that the band has brought in any outside collaborators: Berninger, David Stewart from the Eurythmics, producer Greg Kurstin for a lot of the album and producer Steve Mac for the song "Miracle." With such a drastic operative shift from the previous two, it makes sense that the results would be less consistent than before. Who knows, it may be a blessing in disguise - maybe this means Chvrches will use this experience to come back with their most focused, cohesive effort to date. Until then, I will be patiently waiting for them to up their standards, just a bit.
To be fair, the record is more than just listenable - it is a good album. It's just not great, or at least not as great as The Bones of What You Believe (2013) and Every Open Eye (2015). The album features plenty of likable material, but an increasing dependence on EDM beats and simplified lyrical sentiments prevents me from loving it. Love is Dead is a classic story of many other indie-electronic bands of the 2010s, where the band draws too much from mainstream pop to gain popularity and ultimately loses their charm and originality because of it (Phantogram, a similar and less good version of Chvrches, stands out in recent memory). Yes, I am overly critical of many good bands, but even the most popular bands should have to hold up to the standards of the most quality musicians and releases around them (scroll down to read about my love of the new Stephen Malkmus, if you haven't already).
Though I was relatively disappointed by the singles from this album, what has always stood out to me with Chvrches is their ability to make great album tracks (particularly "Make Them Gold" and "Down Side of Me" have stuck with me, as well as post-release singles "We Sink," "Lies," and "Bury It"). On Love is Dead, that is luckily what makes up the core of the album. Opener "Graffiti" sounds like an expertly produced cut from the sessions of TBOWYB, with soaring exuberance and lyricism from singer Lauren Mayberry. In some cases, Chvrches continues to utilize pop for its own purposes ("Forever" and "Graves are wonderful examples) rather than toning down their brilliant songwriting as on a few other tracks. Further, intimacy is never lost with Mayberry, as evident in the classic sounding "Deliverance" and the pulsing "Heaven/Hell" (even if the lyrics are a bit contrived to get the point across).
Excluding catchy but unoriginal 80s-synth-meets-2010s-dance mashup "Get Out," the singles actually tend to drag the album down. "My Enemy" especially lulls with its trap beats and uninspired performances from Mayberry and The National singer Matt Berninger. The other two, "Never Say Die" and "Miracle," rely far too heavily on straightforward electronica buildups that they end up sounding insincere instead of anthemic. And besides that, the album does not really break any new ground for the band either. Overall, it is similarly formatted to the other Chvrches albums, with a balanced mix of mid- to uptempo songs, and that mediocre one that has Martin Doherty on lead vocals (in this case, it's "God's Plan"). Arguably, this indicates that the band is still the same at its core, which I think is essentially true, but ultimately the bottom line is that this album just produced less than thrilling results.
As I said before, there is still a lot to like, and I know I will be listening to the album on repeat all weekend. But once you hear the same pulsing quarter-note beat a few times in a row, it'll start to wear on you. However, I have faith that Love is Dead is more of an experiment and stepping stone for the group, as a lot has changed for the band going into this album, both in popularity and approach to writing. This is the first time ever that the band has brought in any outside collaborators: Berninger, David Stewart from the Eurythmics, producer Greg Kurstin for a lot of the album and producer Steve Mac for the song "Miracle." With such a drastic operative shift from the previous two, it makes sense that the results would be less consistent than before. Who knows, it may be a blessing in disguise - maybe this means Chvrches will use this experience to come back with their most focused, cohesive effort to date. Until then, I will be patiently waiting for them to up their standards, just a bit.
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