Listening Post

The Daily Banter: Listening Post: Chvrches

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Listening Post

At the end of 2012 I chose Glasgow outfit Chvrches -- yes, it's stylized that way -- and their song Lies as one of the best singles of the year.

They really are a terrific synth-pop band and here's their new single, Recover.

The 25 Best Singles of 2012 (20-16)

20. Grizzly Bear -- Sleeping Ute

Hailing from Brooklyn, of course, Grizzly Bear had been quietly redefining psychedelic folk rock and transcending their hipster cred for quite some time, but in 2012 they truly hit their stride with this entrancing and mysterious track.



19. Grimes -- Oblivion

24-year-old Canadian singer-songwriter Claire Boucher, who goes by the stage name Grimes, became the queen of electronic quirk with her latest album, Visions. The first single from the record summed up her overall approach: dreamy and a little silly, but thoroughly irresistible.



18. Odd Future -- Oldie

It was a good year for the seemingly endless and undefinable hip-hop collective Odd Future; they dominated more than a few forms of media and rose up out of the underground to create a metric ton of mainstream buzz, and with good reason. Nobody owns the alternative rap genre like these guys and this track was proof positive why.



17. Santigold -- Disparate Youth

The LES couldn't keep Santigold contained -- everyone knew that from the beginning. But in 2012, she truly reached her full potential with songs like this one.



16. Chvrches -- Lies

It takes a special kind of musical authority to come from out of nowhere and release a track that immediately sends millions scrambling to find a place to download it from. Glasgow's Chvrches did it with this. Dancefloor-ready and almost indescribably catchy, it was one of the best pop songs of the year.

Tomorrow: 15-11

Listening Post

A couple of weeks ago I posted something from a new Scottish band called Churches. I got quite a bit of positive feedback from it, so here's another track from them.

This is The Mother We Share.

Listening Post

Churches are a band out of Glasgow that I get the impression you're going to be hearing quite a bit from in the coming months.

Here's their first single, Lies.