CHVRCHES
Love Is Dead


2.0
poor

Review

by jesper STAFF
May 28th, 2018 | 324 replies


Release Date: 2018 | Tracklist

Review Summary: Judge this book by its cover.

Some records are the sonic equivalent to their album art. Sadly, Chvrches’ latest offering Love Is Dead is one of those albums. After two records full of bright, catchy electropop, the band takes a turn for the worse by combining bland songwriting with an overall aesthetic similar to the obnoxious album art.

The longer you stare at the cover, the worse it gets. Love Is Dead progresses in the same way. The first two tracks are very decent, capturing the fun, youthful spirit of earlier Chvrches releases. Especially lead single 'Get Out' stands out, thriving off its simplistic yet infectious chorus. However, once 'My Enemy' rears its ugly head, Love Is Dead takes a massive nosedive. The song is one of the blandest and most boring songs the band has ever produced, with the dreadful chorus "you could be my enemy" repeated to death. Matt Berninger’s feature on the track is both perfect and horrendous: his trite vocals sound about as bored as anyone would be with the song. While it does not help 'My Enemy' in any way, his delivery makes for a nice, unintentional comedic moment.

Somehow, Love Is Dead actually manages to get worse after 'My Enemy' with the absolutely horrendous creatures known as 'Forever' and 'Never Say Die'. Both tracks are practically identical, featuring headache-inducing repetition. Chvrches’ past music often included a lot of repetition, however, they knew how to turn it into something catchy or interesting enough to not be obnoxious. This does not go for most of their new album. The aforementioned 'Forever' includes the word ‘forever’ a grand total of 79 times. It’s absolutely painful to listen to. While the shimmery clean production was to be expected, it doesn’t help that every sound seems to pushed to the front as much as possible. The vocals and instrumentation are constantly fighting for the spotlight, making for a rather exhausting listen.

The terrible production is especially bothersome on 'Miracle'. The song is not the worst one on Love Is Dead, but by far the most unsatisfactory. The first 45 seconds build tension masterfully, after which the track absolutely implodes. The expected energetic chorus is nowhere to be found; instead, the band opts for some bland woah-oahs and an attempt at achieving an awful arena-pop feel, which they fully accomplish. Besides this, the awful effect layered over vocalist Lauren Mayberry’s “call to action” vocals before the chorus sound like she is screaming through a megaphone directly into your ear. It’s not very pleasant.

Another problem with Love Is Dead is its length. At 50 minutes, listening all the way through in one sitting is a challenge in itself. This is a shame; the back half of the record features some solid cuts. On the other hand, anything that comes after the godawful mid-section will sound good. Thankfully, even taken out of the context of Love Is Dead, 'Really Gone' and 'Graves' hold up. The latter manages to capture Chvrches at their most fun, featuring an eclectic chorus and driving instrumentals. Unlike most of the album, its repetition actually works and makes for a catchy song that carries reminders of the band at their prime.

As a whole, Love Is Dead is a frustrating album. Overlong, incohesive and at times downright awful, the record’s glaring flaws overshadow its best songs. Judge this book by its cover, read the first few chapters and decide it’s not worth your time. Exceptionally boring closer Wonderland sums up the entirety of the record with the lyric: “Why can’t I turn it off”? Because, trust me, you will aggressively turn off whatever you’re playing Love Is Dead on when the song mentions that word ‘forever’ again. *** off.



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Comments:Add a Comment 
JesperL
Staff Reviewer
May 28th 2018


5664 Comments

Album Rating: 2.0

I'm just kinda angry at this album, really wanted it to be good seeing as I loved their previous two. Check out 'Graffiti', 'Get Out', 'Graves' and 'Really Gone' though, solid tracks.

Sowing
Moderator
May 28th 2018


44509 Comments

Album Rating: 2.5

Review is perfect. Have a pos.

Mongi123
May 28th 2018


22090 Comments


What a stupid album name. I can't stand album names that are pretentiously negative.

JesperL
Staff Reviewer
May 28th 2018


5664 Comments

Album Rating: 2.0

thanks sowing!



don't really have a problem with the title, it's kinda dumb but whatever, the actual music is much worse

Mongi123
May 28th 2018


22090 Comments


Is this band at their best worth it? I'm really not all that into stuff like this.

mvdu
May 28th 2018


992 Comments

Album Rating: 2.5

Right on. Thought it would be a promising, catchy, summery album after the first 2 songs. "Miracle" and "God's Plan" recover a bit, but way too much filler blandness.

AcidCaravan
May 28th 2018


504 Comments


That cover looks like some 2012 instagram shit.

Underflow
May 28th 2018


5297 Comments

Album Rating: 2.5

It's not good

theBoneyKing
May 28th 2018


24673 Comments

Album Rating: 3.0

Mongi knowing the stuff you’re usually into my bet is you wouldn’t get much out of this band even at their best but they’re certainly worth a try if you want to.

JesperL
Staff Reviewer
May 28th 2018


5664 Comments

Album Rating: 2.0

"Is this band at their best worth it? I'm really not all that into stuff like this."



check The Mother We Share, probably the band's biggest song but arguably one of their best. My favourite by them is probably Clearest Blue, builds incredibly with a satisfying pay off.

TheEnygma
May 28th 2018


147 Comments


I liked Forever though will give you the rest of the album though

luci
May 28th 2018


12844 Comments


they only have three great songs: The Mother We Share, Leave a Trace and Clearest Blue. that averages to one song for every album which is not a good ratio!

Sinternet
Contributing Reviewer
May 28th 2018


26767 Comments

Album Rating: 2.5

way better than most of you morons seem to think

Sinternet
Contributing Reviewer
May 28th 2018


26767 Comments

Album Rating: 2.5

uhh but we sink is their best song actually

Snake.
May 28th 2018


25376 Comments

Album Rating: 2.5

review is correct

JohnnyBiggs
May 28th 2018


107 Comments


Album is a disappointment. By The Throat and High Enough To Carry You Over are my favourite tracks by them.

The cover art is indeed horrendous and shows the effort into this crappy album- most of the songs on this album SUCK. I did like the last four songs (not counting ii as its' an interlude), those were good because they weren't the same old crap. If anything, I think this album will show Chvrches as a one trick pony. It's a shame, they have a good sound and some great tracks (Clearest Blue is also amazing), but Love Is Dead just plain old suckety sucks.

Good review.

Mutantsnowstorm
May 28th 2018


514 Comments

Album Rating: 3.5

Man I really don't think this is as bad as people think. yeah some of the songs are a little bland or repetitive but you also get some good stuff like Graffiti, Get Out, Deliverance, Graves, Heaven/Hell....

luci
May 28th 2018


12844 Comments


Nice to know she's as insufferable as ever
http://www.nme.com/news/music/chvrches-lauren-mayberry-responds-to-bullshit-album-review-2324097
Let's hope she doesn't read what sputnik has to say about her shitty album

hobblepot
May 28th 2018


2953 Comments

Album Rating: 1.0

i hated all the singles leading up to this, but i enjoy their first two albums, do i bother checking this out?

GreyShadow
May 28th 2018


7319 Comments

Album Rating: 3.0

This isn't as god awful as some of ya'll are saying.

Graffiti is great for anyone who has ever been a fan of this band, I love it

I enjoy Get Out and Graves a lot (despite the former having to grow on me), and Deliverance is right behind them

Never Say Die is probably the worst/most annoying with My Enemy coming right before it and just being a straight up snore.

Forever isn't that bad, it's just kinda boring.

God's Plan is pretty cool

Miracle could have been really good without that cringey chorus

The rest is...average. kinda boring, not terrible.

And that is my opinion on this album.



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