2. CHVRCHES, Every Open Eye [Virgin/Glassnote]
By dazzling and delighting we slack-jawed masses with 2013’s The Bones Of What You Believe, Glasgow trio Chvrches placed themselves in precarious risk of ensuring that we’d all forget they existed by 2017, should they follow up with a record of a merely equally-as-good, or not-quite-as-good calibre. A close inspection of Every Open Eye reveals a few cracks in Chvrches’ fluorescent armor – Martin Doherty takes a turn at vocals during “High Enough to Carry You Over” and should really, really leave the singing to Lauren Mayberry. “Bury It” feels a little too on-the-nose. But “Never Ending Circles” “Clearest Blue” and “Leave a Trace” formed an utterly distinct triad of five star singles on the tier of “Zero” “Bullet With Butterfly Wings” and “1979,” which makes it okay that the “Empty Threat” video totally rips off the ol’ clip for “1979.”