Chvrches - Every Open Eye, album review: 'precision-tooled synth pop'

Chvrches makes them sound like a black metal band pursuing something vaguely Satanic. Instead, the Glasgow trio – two thirtysomething males on synths, one twentysomething female on vocals – produce gleaming synth-pop that’s precision-tooled to push indie-kid pleasure buttons.

In 2013, their electronic earworm Recover made them quietly huge and their second album taps the same vein: moody verses, hook-filled choruses and sparkling production.

Still, it’s Lauren Mayberry’s emotional vocals that will determine whether this makes you fall in love or not. I find her Avril Lavigne accent and affected histrionics peculiarly loathsome; but I accept this is a minority view.

Either way, they’re most effective on minor-key bangers (Keep You On My Side, Bury It) though I have a nasty feeling that the motivational anthem Make Them Gold – “We are made of our longest days / We are falling but not alone / We’ll take the best parts of ourselves and make them gold” – will become the go-to soundtrack for Fresher’s Week group hugs and corporate team-building exercises for years to come.

(Virgin)