The Bones of What You Believe

CHVRCHΞS - The Bones of What You Believe
Critic Score
Based on 42 reviews
2013 Ratings: #122 / 1115
Year End Rank: #14
User Score
2013 Rank: #110
Liked by 114 people
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CRITIC REVIEWS

100
AllMusic

Even on the darkest moments, such as "Lies" or "Science/Visions," there's a disarming emotional directness to The Bones of What You Believe that makes it a unique, fully realized take on a style that seemed close to being played out.

100
A.V. Club

Chvrches’ bread and butter remains highly melodic, synthesizer-based pop, but with just the right amount of darkness, thanks in part to Mayberry.

90
DIY

As twelve equally matched moments of varied tone but consistent brilliance, it's nothing short of exactly what was expected - the start of something even bigger.

90
Consequence of Sound

By corralling everything in vogue with today’s soundscape — ethereal atmospherics, pulsing synths, ’80s throwbacks — with infectious hooks and the emphatic vocals of Lauren Mayberry, CHVRCHES has created 12 pop songs that are as accessible as they are layered. 

90
Clash
Hype is often a media construct without substance, but ‘The Bones Of What You Believe’ is an exceptionally strong debut where every track is a potential single.
85
Pitchfork

The Scottish trio's debut LP, The Bones of What You Believe, is a seamless fusion of emotive theatrics, hook-loaded songwriting, and some of the more forward-thinking sonics in electronic music right now.

85
The 405

Many albums like this settle for being consistent, but there's an undeniably high level of quality on offer here. 

83
Pretty Much Amazing

CHVRCHES have constructed a debut record that will not lose its luster with each successive spin, and proven that they have the substance to remain aloft as their cosmic kin come crashing down to Earth.

80
Time Out London

The poppiness of ‘The Bones…’ will appeal to many, but Chvrches’ more modern leanings keep them on the edgy side.

80
Rolling Stone
Even when Chvrches are just competently mopey, their neon-Eighties visions are far from retro pose-striking.
80
FasterLouder
Managing to exhibit emotional torment within ready-to-dance anthems is a tense balancing act, but Chvrches’ pain is coated in a glossy, candy armour.
80
The Skinny

They're simply irresistible; Scotland's finest pop band.

80
God Is in the TV

It hangs together well as an album and whilst they’ve been hugely popular with taste-makers over the last few months, I would like to think that they could make the leap to mainstream success, because, quite frankly, they deserve to do so.

80
The Line of Best Fit

Many of the tracks available here could be chart-bothering Top Ten flirters, and Chvrches gutsy, crucial sonic smoothie never ceases to be utterly charming.

80
Drowned in Sound

Despite all the shadows encroaching on the tracks, the album doesn’t have to be analysed and dissected to be enjoyed. There’s so much to love on its surface that the record could live in a collection and function solely as a catchy pop nugget for the rest of its existence.

80
Tiny Mix Tapes

Chvrches achieve sincerity not by simply rising above detachment, but by struggling with it on very real terms. And in doing so, they offer a sobering acknowledgment of just how far we’ve drifted away from each other.

80
musicOMH

The Bones Of What You Believe is, on the surface at least, an album full of dynamic, dance fuelled synth-pop, and the hype is justified.

80
NME

Chvrches have stuck to the bones of their beliefs, and you're going to want to suck the marrow right out of them.

80
SPIN

It's hard to make pop like this; an album that's so sonically uplifting even when it's rooted in something much darker. Merging these seemingly opposing ideas so flawlessly is what makes TBOWYB such a compelling listen.

80
Under the Radar

"Lies," slightly tweaked here, remains the band's best track, but this is still a very young act, and the previously unreleased inclusions do justice to their predecessors.

76
Sputnikmusic

The Bones of What You Believe hits so many high notes with its surprisingly simplistic delivery that it’s impossible not to recommend to even the most jaded of listeners. 

75
Entertainment Weekly
The trio earned early hype with stellar singles like ”Recover” and ”Lies,” and while their debut doesn’t always maintain those kinds of highs, it still provides plenty of charmingly straightforward indie-disco pleasures.
75
Northern Transmissions

With this new album, CHVRCHES certainly makes a significant statement regarding the future of their music. And it’s not just the hit singles that define the album, each track has a significant voice and role in the impact of the album

70
Paste

CHVRCHES’ main talent lies in making a record which makes the climb more worthwhile than the summit.

70
Exclaim!

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.

70
American Songwriter

The overall evidence suggests that Chvrches straddle the line between indie contemplation and pop exultation with flair.

67
Beats Per Minute

As all of their advance singles have proven, the cartoonish maximalism of Chvrches’ production is damn near irresistible in chunks. They write very strong songs, but aural satiation sinks in over Bones‘ 48 minute runtime. 

60
The Guardian

Thankfully for the synthpop trio, their debut is immediate enough that it should hold the skittish interests of the online community.

60
No Ripcord

The Bones of What You Believe is a huge, disappointing bummer.

60
PopMatters

The Bones of What You Believe holds the stirring power to lift and crash, a marvel only to those who aspire for too little.

50
Slant Magazine
While the album has its fair share of sweet spots, the handful of capable melodies never quite balances out its bizarre impulses or the utter lack of thematic unity.
50
The Fly

It’s hard to be really horrible, because there’s nothing actively bad about CHVRCHES. But it is hard to care too much about something this safe.

halbery
NR

take me to chvrches, yeah yeh, like a dog, man, stab me in life, i can show you my sims, so you can sharpen you knife

Dax_Wilder
86

Some really good synth-pop. Even when sometimes throughout the tracklist things can kinda seem one-note, there are a ton of really strong individual tracks that carry the strong vibe of this project. Synthpop in this style honestly scratches a certain itch for me and this record did a lot of that. Another album I highly recommend

KillBill
80

from my latest reviews you might've come to the conclusion that I don't like pop music. I have to admit that I do start to have a slight disinterest towards that genre. When I'm talking about pop music I mean stuff like synthpop, alt-pop, electropop etc. I still occasionally find some releases that appeal to me but for the most part I might find the album as technically well made but kinda uninteresting. You're seeing the band's name in this review, you might recognise them for making pop ... read more

SEIS
60

Nice job. Cute voice. Enjoyable to a certain extent.

thejunbuggg
82

A very solid debut despite its shortcomings. Lauren Mayberry has the voice of an angel

Agile6
77

The highs on this album are very high, enjoyable throughout.

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Track List

1The Mother We Share
3:11
92
2We Sink
3:34
88
3Gun
3:53
89
4Tether
4:46
87
5Lies
3:41
84
6Under the Tide
4:32
77
7Recover
3:45
87
8Night Sky
3:51
86
9Science/Visions
3:58
88
10Lungs
3:02
82
11By the Throat
4:09
80
12You Caught the Light
5:40
74
Total Length: 48 minutes
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Added on: June 14, 2013