Album reviews: new offerings from Chvrches, City and Colour, Jake Shimabukuro and !!!

Every Open Eye
Virgin Records

As evidenced by the shimmering synth-pop of their acclaimed, mega-selling debut album The Bones of What You Believe, Scottish electronic pop trio Chvrches aren't afraid to wear their '80s hearts on their shoulder-padded sleeves. The band are brimming again with self-confidence and opting to write, record and self-produce their follow-up Every Eye Open, which expands on the sound of its predecessor in a less-is-more fashion. While still sounding clean and modern, Chvrches draw their influences from the goliaths of British electronic music, the Eurythmics, New Order (including the album cover artwork), and especially Depeche Mode, but Every Open Eye also bristles with its own pristine energy. As "that band with the pretty frontwoman", focus obviously centres on singer Lauren Mayberry (as did plenty of misogynistic internet trolls, whom Mayberry slayed with veracity); however, the producer "boys", Iain Cook and Martin Doherty, have forged a noticeably glossier and more cohesive sound. Shining brightly like an indie disco beacon, stadium anthem Clearest Blue is the finest example of this, and the album's euphoric highlight.

If I Should Go Before You
Dine Alone Music Inc

"You can steal it, stream it or even buy it," Canadian alt-folk troubador Dallas Green declares of his fifth solo album, If I Should Go Before You, so long as you "Just try to enjoy it. I know I do." As the vocalist and guitarist of post-hardcore band Alexisonfire, Green's spine-tingling vocals have always lent an uplifting melancholy to the haunting sadness of his solo side project, City and Colour. Recorded this time with a group of touring bandmates for a fuller sound, the 11 tracks on IISGBY hang heavy, with an atmosphere darker and moodier than the raw emotion of his previous one-man affairs. Setting the tone of despair, nine-minute lead single Woman is an ambitious and beautiful opener. As Green declares "Woman I'm a fool, guilty of all crimes", his vocals pierce the bleakness as a colossal heartbeat of percussion forms into a ringing wall of sound. The catchy hooks of Mizzy C and Lover Come Back are charged with an upbeat easiness, the beautifully confused landscapes of happiness and sorrow a fine example of the bluesman's continued growth as both a musician and songwriter.