The Bones of What You Believe

The Bones of What You Believe
Studio album by Chvrches
Released 20 September 2013
Recorded 2011–13
Studio Alucard Studios in Glasgow, Scotland
Genre Synthpop[1]
Length 48:00
Label
Producer Chvrches
Singles from The Bones of What You Believe
  1. "The Mother We Share"
    Released: 5 November 2012
  2. "Recover"
    Released: 6 February 2013
  3. "Gun"
    Released: 15 July 2013
  4. "Lies"
    Released: 2 December 2013
  5. "We Sink"
    Released: 28 March 2014
  6. "Under the Tide"
    Released: 30 September 2014
  7. "Tether"
    Released: 29 March 2015

The Bones of What You Believe is the debut studio album by Scottish synthpop band Chvrches, released on 20 September 2013 by Virgin Records and Goodbye Records. Recorded between 2011 and 2013 in Glasgow,[2] the album was written, composed, and produced by the band. It was made available as both a twelve-track standard edition and eighteen-track special version, the latter including two extra songs, two remixes and two live videos.[3]

According to frontwoman Lauren Mayberry, the album's title derives from a lyric in the song "Strong Hand" and refers to the raw "creativity and effort" that served as the skeleton for the album.[4] Musically, The Bones of What You Believe is primarily a synthpop album that incorporates "neon-Eighties" influences.[1][5]

Upon its release, The Bones of What You Believe was met with acclaim from music critics, with many complimenting Mayberry's vocal performance and Iain Cook and Martin Doherty's use of synthesisers and vocal loops. The album debuted at number nine on the UK Albums Chart, selling 12,415 copies in its first week.[6] It also reached the top fifteen in Australia, Ireland and the United States, and the top twenty in Austria and Canada.

The album spawned seven singles: "The Mother We Share", "Recover", "Gun", "Lies", "We Sink", "Under the Tide" and "Tether", with the lead single becoming a moderate commercial success, charting in the top ten in Belgium and Japan, as well as the top forty in the United Kingdom. It also peaked at number twelve on the Alternative Songs chart in the United States.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source Rating
Metacritic 80/100[7]
Review scores
Source Rating
AllMusic [8]
Alternative Press [9]
The A.V. Club A[10]
Clash 9/10[11]
NME 8/10[12]
The Observer [13]
Pitchfork Media 8.5/10[14]
Rolling Stone [5]
Slant Magazine [15]
Spin 8/10[16]

The Bones of What You Believe received mostly positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted mean rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 80, based on 39 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[7] Kyle Ryan of The A.V. Club complimented Mayberry's songwriting and wrote that Chvrches "have crafted one of the year's best albums, which means that buzz won't be dying down any time soon."[10] Joe Rivers of Clash lauded the album as "an exceptionally strong debut where every track is a potential single", noting that "[n]ot only do CHVRCHES revive the [synthpop] sound, they push it forward, with wave upon wave of shimmering synths, more hooks than an angling shop and a songwriting acumen that belies the group's relative infancy."[11] Reed Fischer of Alternative Press stated, "The heartbreaking and indignation in Lauren Mayberry's laser-precise voice makes her an imperfect protagonist in the song length dramas found throughout her band's debut", adding that "even more devastation (the building-crushing kind this time) stems from Ian Cook and Martin Doherty's sophisticated and catchy layers of synthesizers and vocal hoops."[9] Larry Fitzmaurice of Pitchfork Media described the album as "a seamless fusion of emotive theatrics, hook-loaded songwriting, and some of the more forward-thinking sonics in electronic music right now", and found that "the hooks on The Bones of What You Believe are indelible regardless of instrumentation, and the sound is immaculate."[14]

At Spin, Puja Patel opined that the album is "at its best on its revenge tunes", concluding, "In a mainstream landscape that's still reveling in the EDM-fueled fuck-yous of Icona Pop and Charli XCX's 'I Love It,' CHVRCHES' poppy electronic textures and bleakly lyrical brashness raises the bar."[16] Rolling Stone‍ '​s Jon Dolan expressed, "Even when Chvrches are just competently mopey, their neon-Eighties visions are far from retro pose-striking."[5] Barry Nicolson of the NME praised the album's "great songwriting" and felt that "while not every track has the immediacy of 'Lies' or 'Recover', there's not a weak one among them."[12] Heather Phares of AllMusic wrote, "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."[8] Ally Carnwath of The Observer commented that Chvrches are "more robust and melodic than arty peers such as Grimes and Purity Ring—choruses are foregrounded, synthy jabs pummel Lauren Mayberry's vocals, beats drop from satisfying heights—but Mayberry's lyrics also carry a subversive twist of angst and obsession."[13] In a mixed review, Slant Magazine's Kevin Liedel remarked, "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."[15]

Accolades

Publication Rank List
The A.V. Club 4 The 23 Best Albums of 2013[17]
Billboard 13 15 Best Albums of 2013[18]
Consequence of Sound 4 Top 50 Albums of 2013[19]
musicOMH 23 Top 100 Albums of 2013[20]
NME 23 50 Best Albums of 2013[21]
Paste 8 The 50 Best Albums of 2013[22]
Pitchfork Media 36 The Top 50 Albums of 2013[23]
PopMatters 8 The 75 Best Albums of 2013[24]
Rolling Stone 32 50 Best Albums of 2013[25]
Slant Magazine 22 The 25 Best Albums of 2013[26]
Stereogum 21 The 50 Best Albums of 2013[27]

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Chvrches. 

No. Title Length
1. "The Mother We Share"   3:12
2. "We Sink"   3:34
3. "Gun"   3:53
4. "Tether"   4:46
5. "Lies"   3:41
6. "Under the Tide"   4:32
7. "Recover"   3:45
8. "Night Sky"   3:51
9. "Science/Visions"   3:58
10. "Lungs"   3:02
11. "By the Throat"   4:09
12. "You Caught the Light"   5:37

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of The Bones of What You Believe.[32]

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2013) Peak
position
Australian Albums Chart[33] 13
Austrian Albums Chart[34] 18
Belgian Albums Chart (Flanders)[35] 37
Belgian Albums Chart (Wallonia)[36] 70
Canadian Albums Chart[37] 19
Dutch Albums Chart[38] 68
German Albums Chart[39] 22
Irish Albums Chart[40] 12
New Zealand Albums Chart[41] 35
Norwegian Albums Chart[42] 28
Scottish Albums Chart[43] 5
Swiss Albums Chart[44] 55
UK Albums Chart[45] 9
US Billboard 200[46] 12
US Alternative Albums[47] 3
US Independent Albums[48] 1
US Top Rock Albums[49] 5

Year-end charts

Chart (2014) Position
US Independent Albums[50] 34
US Top Rock Albums[51] 71

Certifications

Region Certification Sales/shipments
United Kingdom (BPI)[52] Gold 100,000^

^shipments figures based on certification alone

Release history

Region Date Format Edition Label Ref.
Australia 20 September 2013 CD Standard Liberation [53]
Digital download
  • Standard
  • special
 [54][55]
Germany CD Limited Vertigo Berlin [56]
LP Standard [57]
Digital download
  • Limited
  • special
 [58][59]
Ireland CD Standard
[60]
Digital download
  • Standard
  • special
 [61][62]
France 23 September 2013 Mercury [63][64]
Italy Universal [65][66]
United Kingdom
  • CD
  • LP
 Standard
  • Virgin
  • Goodbye
 [67][68]
Digital download
  • Standard
  • special
 [69][70]
United States 24 September 2013
  • CD
  • LP
 Standard Glassnote [71][72]
Digital download
  • Standard
  • special
 [73][74]
Japan Hostess [75][76]
25 September 2013 CD Standard [30]
France 7 October 2013
  • CD
  • LP
 Mercury [77][78]
Italy 15 October 2013 CD Universal [79]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Shepherd, Sam (20 September 2013). "Chvrches – The Bones Of What You Believe". musicOMH. Retrieved 27 September 2013.
  2. ↑ Duncan, Bryan (1 June 2012). "On the Radar – No 207: CHURCHES". The Scotsman. Johnston Press. Retrieved 19 December 2014.
  3. ↑ "Chvrches unveil tracklisting for debut album 'The Bones Of What You Believe'". NME. Inspire. 11 July 2013. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
  4. ↑ Lipshutz, Jason (16 September 2013). "CHVRCHES' Hype Dreams: Can Blog Buzz Produce A Hit Album?". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 20 September 2013.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Dolan, Jon (24 September 2013). "Chvrches The Bones of What You Believe Album Review". Rolling Stone. Wenner Media. Retrieved 27 September 2013.
  6. ↑ Jones, Alan (30 September 2013). "Official Charts Analysis: Kings Of Leon LP sells 71k in week one". Music Week. Intent Media. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 "The Bones of What You Believe – Chvrches". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 19 September 2013.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Phares, Heather. "The Bones of What You Believe – Chvrches". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 22 September 2013.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Fischer, Reed (October 2013). "Chvrches – The Bones of What You Believe". Alternative Press (303): 82.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Ryan, Kyle (24 September 2013). "Chvrches: The Bones Of What You Believe". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Rivers, Joe (12 September 2013). "CHVRCHES – The Bones Of What You Believe". Clash. Retrieved 27 September 2013.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Nicolson, Barry (20 September 2013). "Chvrches – 'The Bones Of What You Believe'". NME. Inspire. Retrieved 27 September 2013.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Carnwath, Ally (22 September 2013). "Chvrches: The Bones of What You Believe – review". The Observer. Guardian Media Group. Retrieved 27 September 2013.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Fitzmaurice, Larry (25 September 2013). "Chvrches: The Bones of What You Believe". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 25 September 2013.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 Liedel, Kevin (23 September 2013). "Chvrches: The Bones of What You Believe". Slant Magazine. Retrieved 23 September 2013.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 Patel, Puja (24 September 2013). "CHVRCHES' 'The Bones of What You Believe' Delivers Dark Pop With a Smile". Spin. Retrieved 27 September 2013.
  17. ↑ "The 23 best albums of 2013". The A.V. Club. 5 December 2013. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  18. ↑ "15 Best Albums of 2013: Critics' Picks". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 19 December 2013. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  19. ↑ "Top 50 Albums of 2013". Consequence of Sound. 13 December 2013. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  20. ↑ "musicOMH's Top 100 Albums Of 2013: 50–6". musicOMH. 6 December 2013. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  21. ↑ "NME's 50 Best Albums Of 2013". NME. Inspire. 26 November 2013. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  22. ↑ "The 50 Best Albums of 2013". Paste. 2 December 2013. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  23. ↑ "The Top 50 Albums of 2013". Pitchfork Media. 18 December 2013. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  24. ↑ "The 75 Best Albums of 2013". PopMatters. 3 January 2014. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  25. ↑ "50 Best Albums of 2013". Rolling Stone. Wenner Media. 2 December 2013. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  26. ↑ "The 25 Best Albums of 2013". Slant Magazine. 12 December 2013. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  27. ↑ "The 50 Best Albums Of 2013". Stereogum. 3 December 2013. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  28. ↑ "The Bones of What You Believe (Special Edition) by CHVRCHES". iTunes Store (GB). Apple. Retrieved 27 September 2013.
  29. ↑ "The Bones of What You Believe (Limited Edition)" (in German). Amazon.de. Retrieved 27 September 2013.
  30. ↑ 30.0 30.1 ザ・ボーンズ・オブ・ワット・ユー・ビリーヴ [The Bones of What You Believe] (in Japanese). Amazon.co.jp. Retrieved 27 September 2013.
  31. ↑ "Chvrches – The Bones of What You Believe (Deluxe Edition) – Only at Target". Target. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
  32. ↑ The Bones of What You Believe (CD liner notes). Chvrches. Virgin Records. 2013. CDV 3116.
  33. ↑ "Chvrches – The Bones Of What You Believe". australian-charts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 September 2013.
  34. ↑ "Chvrches – The Bones Of What You Believe" (in German). austriancharts.at. Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 October 2013.
  35. ↑ "Chvrches – The Bones Of What You Believe" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 October 2013.
  36. ↑ "Chvrches – The Bones Of What You Believe" (in French). Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 October 2013.
  37. ↑ "Chvrches – Chart history: Canadian Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 19 December 2014.
  38. ↑ "Chvrches – The Bones Of What You Believe" (in Dutch). dutchcharts.nl. Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 September 2013.
  39. ↑ "Chvrches, The Bones Of What You Believe" (in German). officialcharts.de. GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
  40. ↑ "Top 100 Artist Album, Week Ending 26 September 2013". Chart-Track. Irish Recorded Music Association. Retrieved 27 September 2013.
  41. ↑ "Chvrches – The Bones Of What You Believe". charts.org.nz. Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 September 2013.
  42. ↑ "Chvrches – The Bones Of What You Believe". norwegiancharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 October 2013.
  43. ↑ "2013 Top 40 Scottish Albums Archive". Official Charts Company. 5 October 2013. Retrieved 29 September 2013.
  44. ↑ "Chvrches – The Bones Of What You Believe". swisscharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 October 2013.
  45. ↑ "2013 Top 40 Official Albums Chart UK Archive". Official Charts Company. 5 October 2013. Retrieved 29 September 2013.
  46. ↑ "Chvrches – Chart history: Billboard 200". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 19 December 2014.
  47. ↑ "Chvrches – Chart history: Alternative Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 19 December 2014.
  48. ↑ "Chvrches – Chart history: Independent Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 19 December 2014.
  49. ↑ "Chvrches – Chart history: Top Rock Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 19 December 2014.
  50. ↑ "Independent Albums: Year End 2014". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 19 December 2014.
  51. ↑ "Top Rock Albums: Year End 2014". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 19 December 2014.
  52. ↑ "British album certifications – Chvrches – The Bones of What You Believe". British Phonographic Industry. 19 December 2014. Retrieved 24 December 2014. Enter The Bones of What You Believe in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Select Gold in the field By Award. Click Search
  53. ↑ "CHVRCHES Store – The Bones Of What You Believe". Getmusic. Universal Music Australia. Archived from the original on 8 October 2013. Retrieved 27 September 2013.
  54. ↑ "The Bones of What You Believe by CHVRCHES". iTunes Store (AU). Apple. Retrieved 27 September 2013.
  55. ↑ "The Bones of What You Believe (Special Edition) by CHVRCHES". iTunes Store (AU). Apple. Archived from the original on 12 October 2014. Retrieved 27 September 2013.
  56. ↑ "CHVRCHES | The Bones Of What You Believe (Limited Edition)" (in German). Universal Music Germany. Retrieved 27 September 2013.
  57. ↑ "The Bones of What You Believe [Vinyl LP]" (in German). Amazon.de. Retrieved 27 September 2013.
  58. ↑ "The Bones Of What You Believe [Explicit]: Chvrches: MP3-Downloads" (in German). Amazon.de. Retrieved 27 September 2013.
  59. ↑ "The Bones of What You Believe by CHVRCHES". iTunes Store (DE). Apple. Archived from the original on 12 October 2013. Retrieved 27 September 2013.
  60. ↑ "Chvrches – Bones Of What You Believe". Tower Records Ireland. Archived from the original on 2 November 2013. Retrieved 27 September 2013.
  61. ↑ "The Bones of What You Believe by CHVRCHES". iTunes Store (IE). Apple. Archived from the original on 12 October 2013. Retrieved 27 September 2013.
  62. ↑ "The Bones of What You Believe (Special Edition) by CHVRCHES". iTunes Store (IE). Apple. Retrieved 27 September 2013.
  63. ↑ "The Bones Of What You Believe [Explicit]: Chvrches: Téléchargements MP3 (Standard)" (in French). Amazon.fr. Retrieved 27 September 2013.
  64. ↑ "The Bones Of What You Believe [Explicit]: Chvrches: Téléchargements MP3 (Special)" (in French). Amazon.fr. Retrieved 27 September 2013.
  65. ↑ "The Bones Of What You Believe [Explicit]: Chvrches: Musica Digitale (Standard)" (in Italian). Amazon.it. Retrieved 27 September 2013.
  66. ↑ "The Bones Of What You Believe [Explicit]: Chvrches: Musica Digitale (Special)" (in Italian). Amazon.it. Retrieved 27 September 2013.
  67. ↑ "The Bones Of What You Believe [Digipack] by CHVRCHES". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 27 September 2013.
  68. ↑ "The Bones Of What You Believe [VINYL] by CHVRCHES". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 27 September 2013.
  69. ↑ "The Bones Of What You Believe (Explicit)". 7digital (UK). Retrieved 19 December 2014.
  70. ↑ "The Bones Of What You Believe (Special Edition) [Explicit] [+video]: Chvrches: MP3 Downloads". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 19 December 2014.
  71. ↑ "Chvrches: Bones of What You Believe (CD)". Amazon.com. Retrieved 27 September 2013.
  72. ↑ "Chvrches: Bones of What You Believe (Vinyl)". Amazon.com. Retrieved 27 September 2013.
  73. ↑ "The Bones of What You Believe by CHVRCHES". iTunes Store (US). Apple. Retrieved 19 December 2014.
  74. ↑ "The Bones of What You Believe (Special Edition) by CHVRCHES". iTunes Store (US). Apple. Archived from the original on 14 October 2013. Retrieved 27 September 2013.
  75. ↑ "The Bones of What You Believe by CHVRCHES". iTunes Store (JP). Apple. Retrieved 27 September 2013.
  76. ↑ "The Bones of What You Believe (Special Edition) by CHVRCHES". iTunes Store (JP). Apple. Retrieved 27 September 2013.
  77. ↑ "The bones of what you believe – Digipack – Chvrches – CD album" (in French). Fnac. Retrieved 27 September 2013.
  78. ↑ "The bones of what you believe – Chvrches – Vinyl album" (in French). Fnac. Retrieved 27 September 2013.
  79. ↑ "Chvrches – The Bones of What You Believe" (in Italian). Internet Bookshop Italia. Retrieved 27 September 2013.

External links