Composer/Musician Reacts to CHVRCHES - Leave A Trace (REACTION!!!) 

“Music is music.” “Just because it’s poppy doesn’t mean it’s bad.” Preach it brother!

I'm definitely a metal head for the most part, but I love me some Chvrches. The Midnight is pretty cool. Vampires is a good song to start with maybe? Lol

Wow, I didn't know you would react to CHVRCHES! They are one of my favorites group. Really. If I would do a list of my fav bands, 95% of it would be subgenres of metal, including doom, death, black, etc, but for some reason CHVRCHES would be pretty high in that list. There is just something special about her voice, their sound and how to manage to rearrange their songs beautifully to make acoustic versions, to sometime play with really bass and guitar live and to now fit their 4th touring member who is doing the percussions. Their covers are also amazing and they need to release an album of them someday... I listened too many times to their cover of Love by Kendrick Lamar, including now as I write this. They are the only pop band I would pay to go see live anytime.

I'm not someone who follows popular music but I do like Chvrches. I've been following Iain Cook's career since he was with Aerogramme and he brings a level of production and musicality to otherwise straightforward pop songs that keeps me coming back.

Yes that was male backing vocals. CHVRCHES is definitely underrated and underplayed. They are more synth pop yet you'll see their fan base encapsulates everyone from Alt-rock to Metal.

Oh boy, the layering here is gorgeous. Loved the synth tones, it really fills the space. Beautiful track!

Things to keep in mind when dissecting pop being marketed as pop: -a lot of the time that marketing involves remixes from fellow artists -even more of the time the music is part of a broader multimedia experience -pop is almost always produced as a team, and the person performing it may not have written it, probably didn't record it themselves, almost definitely didn't mix* and master, and in some cases might not have a final say in what gets published. Any of these reasons could explain why that bridge exists, and there's certainly a chance that someone in the line is just a bad songwriter. A lot of listeners who eschew pop cite overproduction as a huge turnoff, and that's fair, but I think it's a strong point of the genre. Being able to lean into doing more than you can do as a human being performing, not having to pretend that you're not retouching the sound, that's what pop shines for. That said, i enjoyed what you had to say and I don't really disagree with any of it. I'm a reformed metalhead, and honestly anyone who avoids genres is limiting themselves. Metal fans are by far the most loyal of fans, but that's no excuse to not be better. I still listen to more metal than anything else, but it's a slice of a much bigger pie now. Since this is a genre I've learned a lot about in the last ten years, here's some strong recommendations for you or anyone who likes this sound: MXMS, Oh Wonder, Broods, Lights, Grimes, Poppy, Purity Ring, Alice Glass/Crystal Castles, the xx/Jamie XX, and that's not even the instrumentals and subgenres. Similar but different, more rock: Sleigh Bells, Metric.

The two males in this band use to be in a band called Aereogramme. They were a great band. Good one to start with is Indiscretion no.243.

I'm excited for the rest of Pop Week :) I tend to like subgenres of pop, like art pop, chamber pop, synthpop, etc. but stay away from just "pop." I would assume the "fringes" of pop are going to fall into these kinds of subgenres, like Chvrches and synthpop. I've yet to figure out exactly what it is I don't like about most mainstream pop -- maybe the timbre of the vocals and synths/instruments. I can't complain about the simplicity, since I love other genres with simple chord progressions, melodies, etc. I haven't listened to Chvrches in a while, but I loved them right around when Every Open Eye came out. They're not something I'd usually listen to just sitting at home, but I could see myself putting them on during a drive or something.

Glad to hear you say that. I listen to metal for talented musicians, but I love pop and just because someone isn't shredding doesn't mean they aren't great musicians. Glad you understand that. CHVRCHES is amazing. Even better live. Seen them twice! I enjoy anything that makes me move and groove. BTW I think Purity Ring made the list and they are similar to CHVRCHES. "Electropop".

Purity Ring is a great sort of pop band. The Knife, Fever Ray, and Niki and the Dove too.

If you're trying out some pop you can't go wrong with Haim. And if you're willing to stretch a bit for kpop, try out Dreamcatcher.

Hey just found your channel because this video was recommended, I was looking for Chvrches reactions the other day. When I went to your channel proper, I thought I would check if you had a playlist for pop. Wanted to see how they held up against other pop you checked out. Can I just say thank you for the way you organised your content, so many don't bother with playlists or just have something like "reaction videos" with 200 videos on it. That sir gets a sub.

Dude I lost it when you said “Chuvurches” 😂🤣 I’ve been saying it like that in my head for months so hearing somebody else do it fucking killed me 😂

That was an interesting take on the difference in how transitions are built in this style of music vs metal that I’d never considered. On your other point: when focusing on the individual sounds, I can see why they’d seem vastly different to one another. But when the song’s taken all together, I think the different layers and sounds combine into a cohesive whole, that to me does have an identity that's present throughout the track. In general, I really dig synthpop groups like Chrvches. I like the contrast of the electronic background and groovy beats with the emotional and/or ethereal capacity of the vocals. (and I love it when you have credit easter eggs XD )

A great few artist to check out that are just outside the pop music scene would be Kimbra, Dan Croll, Low Roar, or Miike Snow. They all use instruments, with some exceptions of synthesizers added to the actual instruments typically found in bands.

It'd be interesting to hear you interpret their song "Clearest Blue" which shadow/echoes the Depeche Mode song "Just Can't Get Enough"

You absolutely need to review CHVRCHES new album Screen Violence, and especially the new song How Not To Drown, with Robert Smith.

I mostly listen to rock, metal and alternative stuff, but of the few 'pop' bands I like (nothing very mainstream!), Chvrches are right up there. I saw them on the Glastonbury TV coverage before the 1st album came out, ordered it, and have liked everything they've done since.

It's good to hear your reaction to this like mine. A musician or a person that has good taste in music could appreciate all aspects and that's what I consider myself cheers to you you have a new subscription 🥂🎵🎶

Nice sounds - and nice Easter egg LOL

Oh god, you need to react to Mew - Rows, 10 minute pop-rock song with amazing progression

Dude you should react to The Midnight. Maybe "Explorers." Or Neon Medusa. They're master songwriters. Well, in the pop world.

I'd recommend the song Gamma by Fewjar. A very dark feeling pop song that still has some massive hooks.

Before the letter U was added to the latin alphabet V was used......

You'll laugh because it's another 'V' band but, based on what you've liked before, I HIGHLY recommend PVRIS's "Saint Patrick" Empty Room Session. That particular version is more sparse and semi-acoustic/post-rock than the original. The vocals pull you in off the bat and within 20 seconds you're completely encased in the song. Most of their stuff isn't for me, but that version is absolutely grorgus and probably one of my all-time favorite listening experiences.

Music is music. I'm not a big fan of pop, but this band hits different to me.

I'll promise not to complain if we can get a death grind week. I recommend benighted

Imma throw in a suggestion for some current dream pop: Choir Boy "Complainer".

I liked the track a lot. One of the reasons I tend to not like pop is because most of what you hear if you don't look into more obscure bands sounds silly and sometimes even ridiculous, made even worse by the lyrics. This one sounds strangely normal for what I'm used to when I think of pop. Would have liked it a bit more if it was slightly longer though.

Austra-Utopia Jennuy Hval-Conceptual Romance

Without falling into the sentimental picks, I think the two best pop band are Fun. and the correspondents. Feel free to try to top that boys.

I don't know how you choose the songs within a given theme but for Pop, I'd suggest Grimes or BENEE

Chvrches is one of those bands I love almost exclusively because of their "sound." They have the best, most epic use of synths I've ever heard. It's like they looked at the 80s and said "hey, we can do that, but better." They also remind me a bit of Cocteau Twins in their emphasis/focus on texture, though they do it with synths rather than guitars/effects. If I have any negative criticism it's that I think they've gotten weaker with each release. I loved their first album, liked their second, but their third was a disappointment. I will say, though, that the song they wrote for Hideo Kojima's Death Stranding is a masterpiece, and it felt like THE soundtrack for 2020, at least to me; a song that nailed both the year's darkness but also the profound hope that things could get better. I would've preferred you listening to that song (especially one of the live versions), but Leave a Trace is one of their best too, so I won't complain too much. I think what you say about the art of modern pop being more in engineering than the core musical elements is very true, which is one reason I think people more into prog, metal, classical, and jazz don't like pop, because they hear musical simplicity and overlook the production/engineering complexity and what I might call the "artistry" that comes with that. There is certainly an art to taking simple elements and building them into a coherent whole that interacts in interesting ways. Your comment about the variety of sounds is very true too, and this is one thing that I've really appreciated coming back to pop is just how much variety there is in the sound compared to rock metal and even most prog. It's often even a challenge listening to pop just to pick out all the elements, especially those that utilize a lot of layered tracks. If I do have one complaint about most modern pop it's what you say about the bridge; I do wish pop bands/artists would do more interesting things with bridges, because bridges in pop are the equivalent of solos in jazz or rock/metal, or development in classical--it's the section that provides a contrast to what comes before and after, and most pop bridges seem less like a new musical idea and more like a "breath" between the verses and choruses.

I also recommend How to Dress Well

Yeah the "bridge" was lacking. I enjoy the general sound of this band and the vocals so it was still a decent track, but I've heard a couple better songs by this group. I'm curious how many additional views and subscribers you get this week with this theme.

Please react to AURORA live at KEXP

wow that was a super short track lol, but hey at least you rambled just as long 😋

I thought their name was ch-five-rches.

Lana Del Rey for sure

To be fair I used to listen to a good bit of CVRCHES and similar when I was younger. I'm just no longer in the mindset to listen to pop anymore, it's emotionally too "simple", or if you want to be generous it's too "pure" :P My personal favorite of theirs was 'Lies', it's a bit "darker" as pop goes. I'll also be first to say that mainstream pop music is 90% garbage xD