"Hello there," smiles a stunned and humbled Lauren Mayberry gazing up at the packed tiers of the very regal Shepherds Bush Empire. "We're a band called Chvrches and we're playing here, which is insane. None if this would be possible if it weren't for you talking about us."
Indeed, if there was ever a band to thrive from word of mouth in 2013, then it's most definitely Chvrches. Love existed before the hype for one reason and one reason alone: they're the best new band that Britain has seen in years. There's nothing 'insane' about it, and tonight merely marks another stage on their ever-upward trajectory to becoming deservedly massive.
Speaking of fresh talent, tonight's opener Thumpers own the stage like no support act should. The London newcomers offer a multi-instrumental onslaught of sweet five-way harmonies, relentless rhythms, brass, handclaps and searing rhythms that brings to mind the shameless pop lunacy of The Go Team and Los Campesinos. It's enough to make those who made early doors turn away from their pints and casual conversation and take notice of a band who have everything that it takes to be headlining this stage this time next year. Keep an eye and both ears on Thumpers in 2014.
Then to Chvrches. With their album album translated into a monolothic light show behind them, they look every bit the part of a band with arenas on the horizon. Uniformly spaced across the stage, the three-piece stun with a sublime simplicity that's reflected in the near-orgasmic culmination of the basic elements of their sound.
From opener 'Sink' to the shimmering pop-gem of 'Gun', Mayberry and co make electro music feel intimate and human - best shown in the gorgeous 'Now Is Not The Time' and the incredible 'Lungs' (if this isn't a future single, then there is no justice in this world).
'Lies' and 'Science/Visions' pump with a dark fervour that hints at a more sinister sound in years to come, while 'Under The Throat' raises a few smiles around the room as synth man Martin Doherty takes the lead to jerk across the stage like a man with rickets, covered in ants.
"We've got a couple of songs left," smiles Mayberry, "as those of you who have the record will know, we have no more songs." Luckily, this includes 'The Mother We Share' - the best single of the year, bar none, and a glorious closer than acts as somewhat of a victory lap for the band.
Some may find it absurd that a band could play this iconic venue with a set clocking in at just over an hour, but they belong on this stage, and bigger still. Not only were they the sound of 2013, but they're the sound of pop to come. Chvrches are your future.
Chvrches played:
1. Sink
2. Gun
3. Lungs
4. Now Is Not the Time
5. Lies
6. Night Sky
7. Strong Hand
8. Science/Visions
9. Recover
10. Tether
11. Under the Tide
12. By the Throat
13. The Mother We Share
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