Chvrches - Every Open Eye

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Linkin Park's biggest fans put out their second album today, what do y'all think of it? I love it so far, pretty much everything besides clearest blue feels really strong to me. Lauren't vocals are more compelling and aggressive on this album I think, though the lyrics aren't as poetic sounding imo. I'm a little disappointed that there's nothing quite like "Tether" from the first album, I was really hoping we'd get another crazy drop like that.

I will say it sounds a little less "layered" than the last album at times, and I think some songs will get old quickly. Leave a Trace and Never Ending Circles are probably the stand-outs for me. Keep you by my side is quite nice as well, and High Enough to Carry You Over is surprisingly great to me given how weak I thought Under the Tide was.

 

I am a bit disappointed.
It has a handful of standout tracks but also a fair amount of what sounds like b-side leftovers from their last album.
So yeah, decent/good but not great.

 

Dude, when you're starting a thread about an album, you've got to post the obligatory album art, eh? And center it. Like this.

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Lauren Mayberry

Synth-pop is awesome, so naturally I liked their first album a lot.
And because this is essentially a Hybrid Theory to Meteora kind of sequel, I'm liking this one as well. Though unlike HT-M, it's successor is an objectively better album. I have a few minor grievances, notably the inclusion of male vocals of which I'd prefer they'd regulate strictly to backing vocals or nothing at all. I've seen very few say that they like them and most agree that it should be Lauren's vocals only. I don't think it adds any sort of interesting dynamic and it just brings down the album. I deleted "High Enough to Carry You Over" after the first listen.

It's very clear that this is a safe album, it's simply them expanding upon what they've perfected. This is perfectly acceptable for a 2nd album, it's what most people expect. However, there comes a point where it's too similar. They're going to need to step out of their comfort zone and start to experiment with something new next time if they want to remain relevant. I'm not saying they should pull a Minutes to Midnight or Kid A next time around, but I would like to see something more daring instead of playing the safe bet. I think they have a lot of untapped potential, I don't want to see it go to waste repeating the same thing.

Onto the songs itself though. The choruses have more spark to them, instrumentals are more bubbly, and Lauren sounds livelier. This also translated to her coming out of her shell a little more in her live performances as well, she kind of sounded a little dead at times. It's more upbeat and varied, which gives it more replay value to me over their first album. An improvement in every way. I don't think there are as many big-hitters here, but the album as a whole is a lot more cohesive. I'm just worried about how or where they can evolve their sound to in this particular genre without polarizing fans, so I'm really interested in what they'll decide to do next.

Definitely a really fun album, little complaints. An album that should satisfy fans of their first, but maybe not enough to those who were craving something a little more from them, and definitely not enough to sway those who weren't a fan of the first.

 

Brutal! I think High Enough is a lot better than Under the Tide. I think they could pull off an interesting dynamic if they both sang the same thing at different times, like Chester and Mike in COG/RU. I'm not convinced this album is better than bones either. Nothing beats Mother, Lies, Recover, and Tether imo. Never Ending Circles and Leave a Trace might fit somewhere between them, but that's it. Lungs, gun, and night sky are also stronger than most everything else, except maybe Keep You on My Side.

If this is their Meteora to their Hybrid Theory, I hope they make a Minutes to Midnight next. I think they could churn out great stuff mixing electronics with some acoustic guitar/live guitar work, and live drums as well.

 

I love this album! Got the Target deluxe version today. It's not as good as their first album but I feel that the highs are better on this album. Such a great record. My second favorite record of the year.

 

I think this album was fairly more cohesive and technically sound than the first one. The sonic landscape seems to employ much of the same from the sound of the last album, and I do hope they expand upon this in the future.


I hear people mentioning Never Ending Circles and Leaving A Trace as their highlights on here, but I really liked Keep You On My Side, seems to have a heavy influence from certain 80s pop singles, like something Laura Branigan would have made.

Closer was a bit underwhelming here I felt, and I feel Lauren could tap more into her vocal versatility to bring out more fluid vocal melodies that sound pushed. Lyrics on here aren't anything special, it's mainly what you expect from Chvrches. However certain lines from the last album in songs like "Science and Visions" and "Lies" shows they could have stepped it up a bit, though it seems like what they were going for didn't need much consideration lyric-wise.

 

I really liked it, they took what was good in The Bones Of What You Belive and boosted it. My favorite tracks are Down Side Of Me, Playing Dead and Afterglows. The difference between this record and the past one is that TBOWYB will be remebered mainly for the singles taken from it, while Every Open Eye is a lot more cohesive, but tracks gets less strong alone, at least this is my feeling.

 

Yeah, I'd agree that this one is a little more cohesive than Bones, which sounded more like a well-sequenced greatest hits album (not a criticism in the slightest). The biggest standout tracks for me so far are "Make Them Gold," "Playing Dead," and "Down Side of Me." "Bury It" is probably my least favorite, albeit still highly listenable. Most importantly, this thing is jam-packed with earworms. These guys can write the shit out of a hook. Love it.

Also, I think the songs with Martin singing don't get enough love. He's obviously not an amazing singer, but he is very expressive. "Under the Tide" is one of the best songs on Bones for me. And for what it's worth, "High Enough to Carry You Over" does show a noticeable improvement in his vocal prowess. But I've never really been a huge stickler for refined vocal ability or musicianship, mind you.

 

I honestly think this video is video of the year and possibly the decade but I'm biased because of how dang cute she looks in it

 

Drove out to LA to see them on Saturday. Concert was lit

Lauren is way better than I thought she would sound live. The live tracks on deluxe edition for Every Open Eye are just average but actually being their in person was amazing. The whole band did amazing.

Although I don't like when he sings, and to me it felt like he got off beat when he did sing his song.

Other than that, no complaints.

American Football as the opener too

Didn't even know that until I got there.


Glad I made the trip out!