The Bones Of What You Believe

"As their early EPs hinted, a large part of their appeal comes from Lauren Mayberry's voice. 
There's something about her bright, slightly raspy soprano that grabs ears and hearts, even though she spends most of the album telling off those near and dear to her. On "Lungs," she sings "All the things you tell yourself offer no resolution" to a melody so sweet that it just sharpens the sting of her words, and the way she delivers the refrain "I'll be a thorn in your side" on "We Sink" sounds more like a promise than a threat. While keyboardist/vocalist Martin Doherty's lead turns on "Under the Tide" and the dreamy album-closer "You Caught the Light" offer pleasant respites from Mayberry's intensity, his tracks take the band in a direction that sounds more like a synth-driven version of Frightened Rabbit or the Twilight Sad (in fact, Doherty was a touring member of the latter band). Like those bands, as well as their '80s influences, Chvrches embrace big sounds and feelings without a trace of irony, whether it's "Tether"'s massive drums or Mayberry's pleas to "make me blind so I don't ever look back" on the slow-building "Night Sky." This disarming emotional directness, coupled with huge melodies, makes The Bones of What You Believe a fine introduction to one of the bands that shaped the sound of the 2010s."

- Heather Phares. allmusic.com