It’d be so easy for Chvrches to gawkily stumble into that archetypal ‘difficult second album’. The boxes are all ticked. They’ve done the world-beater introductory single that took them from obscure Glaswegian synthpoppers to internet darlings. And they followed it up with the debut that got all the critics’ superlatives flowing. So next comes the half-baked, tepid follow-up, right?
Well, curiously, no. We’re actually onto something really quite good here. In fact, Every Open Eye feels like not only a natural progression, but a marked improvement on their already solid 2013 debut. It takes the fervent, pounding synthesiser sound of ‘Bones of What We Believe’ to a more refined conclusion, and incorporates some more dance-orientated elements with gusto.
This sharpened approach introduces itself nicely in ‘Never Ending Circles’, a loud little opener that easily manages to steer clear of clunkiness, and passes well into lead single ‘Leave A Trace’, a meandering riposte to a tricky breakup. Catchy and heartfelt, it also comes complete with a vocal section seemingly designed to be involuntarily blurted out at a later point by unwitting listeners.
The jumpy ‘Keep You On My Side’ and arena-friendly ‘Make Them Gold’ then step up to the mark, but it’s the ‘Just-Can’t-Get-Enough’-meets-EDM of ‘Clearest Blue’ that boldly steals the show at the midpoint. It doesn’t sound all too much like what we’ve heard from this lot before, featuring the kind of ‘drop’ more associated with their peers, and betrays the fact that the trio might actually have more of a knack for limb-throwing floor-fillers than they have previously let on.
Chvrches have spoken before of their reluctance to have their image comprised solely of the appeal of frontwoman Lauren Mayberry (with guitarist/keyboardist Martin Doherty chiming to The Guardian that they “could have sold 200,000 more records if we hid us boys out of view”) , and it’s nice to see them stick to their guns with a Doherty solo track in ‘High Enough To Carry You Over’, done in the same vein as ‘Under The Tide’ on the first record.
Vocals are back with Mayberry for the last few songs, including ‘Bury It And Rise Above’, one which appears to come closest on the record to referencing the high-profile coverage of the lead singer’s comments on online harassment. On-the-nose isn’t really this group’s style though, and any allusions are subtly done, without the all-out rant the media were undoubtedly hoping to hear.
Neglecting to drag the album out for longer than needs be, closing track ‘Afterglow’ then brings things to a reflective, balladic end, winding down 40 minutes of electrifying synthpop with an organ-tinged melody, and a lingering message of everything that could have been done being done.
Which is a rather apt for Every Open Eye – it’s clear from start to finish that an awful lot of effort has been poured in, whether it’s in the far more nimble composition of the tracks, the lyrical content, or adeptly balanced production. And best of all, it pays off, giving Chvrches a record they will most certainly find it hard to better, and second-wave synthpop a defining record. It’d only be right to give this one a listen with every open ear.
Words by Benedict