It’s really amazing and inspiring when a brand new band/artist starts off their career with a killer debut album that hits the Internet and blogosphere by storm. This year has brought me not one, but THREE ridiculously good debut albums.
What these three artists have in common however, is not just their amazing debuts, but the large amount of hype that they each received leading up to their release dates. Who do we have to thank for that? The Internet.
CHVRCHES are an electro synth-pop band from Glasgow, Scotland. The electro synth pop genre is a difficult one to really stand out in, especially on SoundCloud, which is where CHVRCHES first released their extremely strong single “Lies.” This track stood out for its dark and commanding lyrics, which is a nice comparison to your typical electro pop band. Lies was then featured on a music blog called Neon Gold and CHVRCHES became a band born on the Internet. Their debut album The Bones of What You Believe was highly anticipated, and although it included several already well-known tracks, (i.e. “Gun”, “The Mother We Share”, “Recover”) fans were ecstatic to hear the new powerful lyrics and synths behind The Bones of What You Believe. The album received critical acclaim across a wide array of music blogs including Pitchfork, Stereogum, The Line of Best Fit, and more.
HAIM are another example of a band who set the bar high for their debut album. The sister act released an EP titled Forever, which circulated throughout the Internet and landed them the top spot in BBC’s Sound of 2013, along with supporting big names such as Florence and the Machine and Mumford & Sons. Although HAIM’s sound is unique, writers have found it difficult not to compare the three sisters to Fleetwood Mac and Shania Twain with an R&B twist. That’s a pretty unique comparison though, right? Their album Days Are Gone was just released a couple weeks ago and they’ve already snagged the number one spot on UK charts and number two in Australia. The long-awaited album really delivered, and I mean really. Tracks like “The Wire” and “Song 5” showcase its rough but polished edge. These ladies are making their way to Santa Barbara very soon, headlining the New Noise Music Festival Block Party and I couldn’t be more excited to see what they have to offer live.
Now I move on to the last artist, whom I would say has been the biggest hit of the three. Lorde aka Ella Yelich-O’Connor is a native New Zealander who is just 16. Yes, 16, but is producing lyrics and tracks that are so well written and executed it’s truly mind-blowing. She too circulated via the blogosphere, releasing a few tracks on her SoundCloud before properly releasing her much-loved EP, (appropriately titled) The Love Club. Her debut album Pure Heroine is a short and sweet 10-track summer pop album elegantly explaining the inevitable teenage angst that we’ve all experienced. I especially loved it when her single “Royals” surpassed Miley Cyrus’ “Wrecking Ball,” which then lead to Cyrus’ fans tweeting rude yet hilarious tweets to singer, Lorde. Lorde was of course a good sport about it, retweeting her favorite aggressive tweets from the angry Miley fans.
Take a listen to all three albums in full to really know what I mean! The Bones of What You Believe, Days Are Gone, and Pure Heroine are all available on iTunes.
With such astonishing debut albums under their belt, I can’t wait to see what’s next for these artists.
