Chvrches: 4 May 2014 – Terminal 5, New York (Photos)

Chvrches have exploded onto the music scene in the past year on the back of their sole album The Bones of What You Believe, an extraordinarily strong synth pop debut. The Scottish trio, singer/keyboards Lauren Mayberry, guitarist/keyboards Iain Cook and keyboards/vocalist Martin Doherty have taken every moment in the past year to promote the album it seems, climbing into larger venues and playing in front of bigger crowds. They only performed for about an hour at Terminal 5, but it was one incredibly blinding show filled with huge musical moments and some chat. Mayberry wished everyone a “Happy Star Wars day” in honor of May the 4th and the band pointed out someone in the front with a Star Trek shirt. With every song a hit, its hard to choose a standout moment, but the united breathy vocals in “Night Sky” accentuated Mayberry’s voice even more.

For “We Sink”, many voices in the crowd took part in the “I’ll be a thorn in your side” chorus. On “Under the Tide”, the rare male vocal track, Doherty went wild in the moments between his lines flailing wildly on the stage. When the band reached their final song, Mayberry predicted people could guess what it was. The opening track from the album became the final for the night — “The Mother We Share” was a potent tonic to relieve some of the energy built up from the previous hour. And like that it was over. One hour just wasn’t enough, but I imagine another tour can’t be far off.

Visit PopMatters Facebook to see more high-res images.