Review Summary: Taking a step backwards.
While it may not be completely fair to hold
Every Open Eye to the extremely high standards that
The Bones of What You Believe set, comparisons are inevitable in the music business. The sheer quality of CHVRCHES’ debut album was a landmark achievement for the world of modern synthpop, and it should come as no surprise that that record is being held as the current “gold standard” for their new material. Songs like “The Mother We Share” and “Recover” ranked amongst the best of 2013 due to their addictive synth lines and Lauren Mayberry’s luscious vocals. They quickly rose to fame not only in their native Scotland but all across the world, opening the door for more opportunities with the second go-around.
Every Open Eye isn’t much different from
The Bones of What You Believe, yet it feels much less immediate and memorable than its predecessor. Make no mistake – there are some great songs on the album, but not many of them match up to the quality that they previously delivered. Tracks like “Empty Threat” and “Make Them Gold” may be in the upper half on
Every Open Eye, but they would be B-side material at best on their debut. The melodies are just weaker than they were on
Bones, and that’s unfortunate for a band like CHVRCHES that uses them heavily as one of their strengths. Songs like the aforementioned “Make Them Gold” come off as too safe, culminating in a chorus that feels incredibly flat, while “Bury It” has not even a shred of catchiness within its entire runtime. Above all,
Every Open Eye is too consistent in sound; the variation is kept to a minimum, leaving listeners with an endless barrage of uptempo, synth-laden electropop that rarely deviates from the mean.
Yet for all its imperfections and blemishes, the album still is a far cry from subpar. Mayberry’s vocals still soar with a smooth beauty, alternating between the definitive dismissiveness of “Leave a Trace” and the audible desperation present in “Keep You On My Side”. Her voice cuts through the layers of synthesizers so seamlessly, filling the air with a feeling of sweetness whenever she sings. There’s also “High Enough to Carry You Over”, the most polarizing track on the album. In a record dominated by a repetition of the same sound, hearing Martin Doherty step up to the mic for once is a breath of fresh air, especially when his performance is much improved from “Under the Tide” on
Bones.
While
Every Open Eye definitely takes a few steps back from CHVRCHES’ debut, it’s a decent enough album in its own right. It’s one step forward and another two back, which is frustrating because of the potential they displayed on
The Bones of What You Believe. In all honesty, the chances of them improving on what they already had going for them was less than the chances of them regressing to a worse version of themselves. If you think about it that way, maybe it’s not so surprising.
