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10.0
104785
10.0 |
The Independent
Love Is Dead continues to ask questions of the world, but realises they’re not always black and white, or in CHVRCHES case, light or dark
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9.0
104788
9.0 |
Drowned In Sound
Chvrches may declare that love is dead; but you just fell right back into it. You won’t shake this record for a very long time
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8.0
104770
8.0 |
Mojo
Many sure-footed, instantly memorable songs. Print edition only
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8.0
104773
8.0 |
The Skinny
Love Is Dead shows the Glasgow indie electro three-piece super-sizing their synth-pop, adding a surprising aggression to boot. Don’t be surprised if Love Is Dead seals their superstardom
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8.0
104791
8.0 |
Under The Radar
Still capable of delivering exciting, engaging and boundary-pushing synth-pop when it really matters
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8.0
104795
8.0 |
NME
‘Love Is Dead’ manages to balance hopeful, utopian pop with a darker, gloomier undercurrent
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8.0
104823
8.0 |
DIY
Celebratory, rich and more confident than ever
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8.0
104837
8.0 |
The Observer
They’ve embraced co-producers for the first time in Greg Kurstin and Steve Mac, and their most sparkling euphoria, bolstered by live drums, is to the fore on the likes of gorgeous opener Graffiti, a neon-inked love-letter to young friendships
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8.0
105183
8.0 |
Clash
A battery of bright, rallying choruses that break free of disheartening despair
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7.7
104894
7.7 |
Paste Magazine
Assertive but not showy, passionate but not gaudy, and wholly necessary
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7.0
104825
7.0 |
All Music
The most impressive thing about Love is Dead might be that as big as its sound gets, Chvrches never lose touch with the humanity that's at the core of their music
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7.0
104817
7.0 |
Rolling Stone
Chvrches are at their finest when they're adding dabs of holographic highlighter to structures built on New Wave's buzzy bliss and post-goth's gloom
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7.0
104794
7.0 |
Exclaim
Will certainly please the band's ever-expanding fan base while not really moving the needle creatively enough to convince sceptics that their initial opinions were unfounded
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7.0
104781
7.0 |
The Music
At times, 'Love Is Dead' is the darkest the band has ever been while finally becoming as poppy as they've always wanted to be
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6.3
104888
6.3 |
Pitchfork
An uncomplicated, unsurprising collection of steely synth pop
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6.0
104913
6.0 |
musicOMH
Not as engaging or interesting as its predecessors
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6.0
106034
6.0 |
Tiny Mix Tapes
Overproduced, under-realized
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6.0
104814
6.0 |
PopMatters
CHVRCHES' Love Is Dead is an album whose makers are screaming "we're ready for the spotlight", whether or not the sentiment is actually true
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6.0
104778
6.0 |
The Arts Desk
The album finds originality when the band stops reaching for pop perfection
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6.0
104771
6.0 |
Q
Love Is Dead's songs don't so much burrow into your brain as thwack you over the head, and the band's tendency to fashion refrains from little more than the song titles means some tracks are memorable simply by dint of merciless repetition. Print edition only
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6.0
104789
6.0 |
No Ripcord
When they burst onto the scene it felt like Chvrches’ popularity could have pushed mainstream pop into more interesting territory. On Love Is Dead, it seems that they’re the ones who blinked first
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5.8
104792
5.8 |
Consequence Of Sound
Missing the attitude and strangeness that made their past music unique
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5.5
104857
5.5 |
Spectrum Culture
Chvrches has perhaps stretched their sound to its logical breaking point
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5.0
104767
5.0 |
Slant Magazine
The album eschews the incisive introspection and figurative lyricism that defined Chvrches's early work
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5.0
104790
5.0 |
The Line Of Best Fit
Perhaps the record will turn Chvrches into genuine chart-botherers, or festival headliners, but their last two albums had already provided compelling evidence that they would have been capable of that under their own steam, without the anaesthetising effect of Kurstin’s expensive production
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4.8
104892
4.8 |
Earbuddy
Neon shiny music with vapid lyrics
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4.0
104956
4.0 |
The FT
For all the ostensible bigness of its gestures, Love Is Dead comes across as constrained and unambitious. It lacks faith in what it wants to do
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4.0
104827
4.0 |
Evening Standard
She’s not the first British singer to adopt an American accent but her particular take (spoilt Californian teen) combined with blandstanding lyrics about “looking for angels in the darkest skies” are grating
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4.0
104797
4.0 |
The Irish Times
Mayberry is one of the more interesting figures in modern pop, so here’s hoping one day they’ll have a bit more substance and bite
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