The Bones of What You Believe

This is pretty good overall. It IS overlong, and it does start to feel a bit samey at times, but then a decent, upbeat track will hit and I'll be more on-side again - or a track will land with a different kind of energy or atmosphere to it. There's some decent synths and soundscapes in here.

3.5 rounded down.

Fun and energetic album.

Hell yeah, this was a delight to listen to. Groovy synth and uplifting vocals.

I got this album on cd when I was in high school and haven’t really listened to it much after that. So for better or worse this feels very much like a high school album to me. Pretty fun synth pop though

Sounds nostalgic, even though I never listened to this artist before. Reminds me of the era of Minecraft-video's and other 2012 stuff for some reason. I liked this, but the album got tedious pretty fast. The noisy synth blares and drums get tiring quick and the 1 hour runtime is just too long to be justified IMO. There's some nice moments here, but as an album listening experience it wasn't to my liking.

The Bones of What You Believe by CHVRCHES is a vibrant, uplifting, and sonically rich debut that left a strong impression on me. I went in with no expectations and was immediately hooked—this is the kind of album that grabs you from the first listen, especially if you have a soft spot for indie electronic music like I do.

Each track bursts with energy and features infectious melodies that linger long after the album ends. The synth-driven production is polished but never sterile, and the emotional undercurrents in Lauren Mayberry’s vocals add depth to the shimmering soundscape.

Favourite Tracks: “The Mother We Share,” “We Sink,” and “Recover” are standout moments that showcase the band’s knack for crafting memorable hooks and dynamic arrangements.

Least Favourite Track: Honestly, I enjoyed the entire album—there were no real low points for me.

Album Artwork: The cover is simple yet effective, echoing the clean, modern feel of the music within.

If you're substituting a V for a U in your band name, you better damn well be playing black metal. Awful, danceable, pop garbage. Fuck this.

I have to bookmark this album as a landmark in indie synthpop and indietronica. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘉𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦 manages to sound both crystalline and raw, vulnerable and anthemic. Every track is tightly crafted, with Lauren Mayberry’s voice cutting through shimmering synth layers like a signal from a distant, emotional galaxy. This debut is so cohesive, it plays like a curated Zoomer-core playlist a decade before the trend caught on. Over ten years later, it still feels vital — a modern classic that set the tone for an entire wave of synth-driven indie pop.

Indie synth.

Good songs but bland overall

Very well produced album, but I can't decide if I love her voice or dislike it. It varies from song to song.

I love the way that they make the choruses "open up" on almost each song..

Better than Coldplay

I had almost completely forgotten about CHVRCHES until this album came up. This is such a relic of mid-2010’s alternative radio. I’ve heard many of these songs before. It’s solid electro pop, but likely not something I would return to often. Favorites were The Mother We Share, Gun, and Science/Visions.

Fine for what it is...never a huge fan of this sound. 3/5

Drum machines that remind me of the 80’s but not enough energy in most of these tunes to drum up any excitement. Synth music lacking in any soul. The female vocalist songs in particular bother my ears. I suppose if I was at a rave and this was blasting really loud and I was under the influence, maybe this would feel fun? But I’m way too old to ever find out, and good music shouldn’t require large crowds and substances to be enjoyable.
A rare album where the more times I listened to it the less I enjoyed it.

Peak alternative music era, life was so full of hope. I was worried about opening on a banger/their biggest song but it just kept slapping. Should have listened to this full album before. Just good vibes. 5*
Highlights: the mother we share, tether, recover

CHVRN RATΞ

This wasn’t really my kind of thing back in 2013, but this sound is *so* 2013 that it’s got me nostalgic in a good way.

This plus other kind of random-seeming selections like Hot Chip I think help me make sense of some of the more baffling patterns on the overall list (why so much drab new wave) (why so much crappy drum & bass techno). The common element really seems to be that these were all big deals in the British club music scene of each era. Like that’s treated on the list as it’s own entire ecosystem in the same scale as rock & hip hop. Which is insane, but at least it’s a throughline.

Menevä moderni synapoppislevy. Kolmosen ja nelosen välissä, mut ehkä kolmoseen jää.