CHVRCHES today announce the release of the 10 Year Anniversary Special Edition of their acclaimed debut album The Bones Of What You Believe, due 13th October via Universal Music Recordings. The Special Edition is available in 1xLP clear vinyl, 2xLP black vinyl with die cut sleeve, 2xCD and Digital formats.
A decade ago, CHVRCHES - Lauren Mayberry, Martin Doherty and Iain Cook - came out of nowhere to suddenly be everywhere. They piqued interest when posting their first song 'Lies' online in May 2012, before swiftly following it in the autumn with the song that went on to become their calling card and signature. 'The Mother We Share' - a euphoric, expertly-crafted piece of synthpop with a warm emotional centre - captured the imagination of millions of listeners and saw the band step out from the shadows to put faces to the names. Both tracks, alongside later singles 'Recover' and 'Gun', featured on The Bones of What You Believe, released in autumn 2013 to rapt reviews.
The album was produced by the band and recorded in Cook's Alucard Studio in Glasgow, before being mixed by Rich Costey (Nine Inch Nails, Rage Against The Machine, Arctic Monkeys, Sigur Rós). The original album has been remastered for this Special Edition by Gavin Lurssen, who mastered the band's most recent album Screen Violence. Alongside the original 12 tracks, there are four previously unheard songs and five live tracks, the latter recorded at Ancienne Belgique in 2013.
The announcement of the Special Edition is accompanied by the release of 'Manhattan', the first in a series of previously unheard songs recorded during the making of the album.
Says Cook: "In late Summer 2011, Martin and I got together after having talked about doing so for a few years and started throwing down some synth-based ideas in my studio on the south side of Glasgow. 'Manhattan' was the fourth idea we worked on together. It was the first time we messed around with sampling and chopping up our vocals which would go on to become one of the hallmarks of the band's sound. Lyrically, we were playing around with pretty abstract apocalyptic imagery - in this case the Manhattan Project. This was right around the time we asked Lauren to come into the studio to try out some additional vocals."
"Manhattan was one of the first songs Iain and Martin played me and it immediately felt like an exciting thing to be involved in," continues Mayberry. "It really showcased a lot of the traits that would eventually become synonymous with CHVRCHES and what our first album would end up sounding like. It's fun to listen to it now, knowing everything that came along after it."
CHVRCHES's magic lies in their juxtaposition of joy and doubt – these are robust, colourful pop songs whose lyrics reveal doubt and humanity, enhanced by the purity of Mayberry's voice.
Now, a decade later, with four acclaimed, UK Top 10-charting albums under their belts - The Bones Of What You Believe followed by 2015's Every Open Eye, 2018's Love is Dead and Screen Violence from 2021 - alongside a string of awards and nominations including the SXSW Grulke Prize, NME, SAY and BRIT awards, is a time to take stock and look back at the record that started it all.
