Chvrches brings buoyancy to electronic-driven heartache

Heartache isn’t necessarily supposed to sound exuberant, and electronics aren’t expected to be as inviting as a hug, but Scotland’s Chvrches consistently defies those conventions on sophomore effort “Every Open Eye.”

“Light is all over us,” frontwoman Lauren Mayberry sings on album centerpiece “Clearest Blue,” an effervescent workout with a melody that zigzags around a buzzy beat as if it’s trapped in a vintage pinball machine. And even when things get darker – the waves of water threatening to crush her on “Empty Threat” – Mayberry is undeterred, lightly stepping around a groove like she’s been let loose on a playground.

“It’s a pretty open record, especially in the lyrics. Lauren was way less guarded on this album. She put a lot more of herself out there,” says Martin Doherty, who along with Iain Cook plays synths and writes music for the trio.

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If “Every Open Eye” deals with the drama surrounding a breakup, as has been speculated, it’s safe to say the outcome feels rather good. Chvrches, which plays the Shrine Auditorium on Saturday and works with independent Glassnote Records, is unabashed about its love for big-sounding pop, and “Every Open Eye” often feels like a celebration of hopefulness. There’s an optimistic bent to Mayberry’s lyrics, and the dance-driven arrangements go for a personal touch.

“The balance between light and dark is very important in the music that we make,” Mayberry says.

While synthesizers on tracks such “Make Them Gold” and “Playing Dead” owe a debt to the early ‘80s – Mayberry and Doherty have namechecked Depeche Mode and Michael Jackson as influences – the digital landscapes go out of their way to remain in conversation with Mayberry. The sentiments of “Make Them Gold” are more Disney than indie, and each end of a verse brings a confetti-like rush of noise.

“We’re not in the business of making cold electronic music – the sort of stuff that’s best on a computer and nowhere else and is very heavily sequenced,” says Martin. “We try to inject a human element. All of the lines are played, and when there’s timing inconsistencies -- especially tuning inconsistencies -- I think that’s a big part of our recordings. It humanizes the recording. We very much set out to do that. That’s always the center of our conversation: Is this connecting on a human level?”

If that’s left Chvrches out of step with current electronic music trends, the mainstream is catching on. Some have even pointed to Taylor Swift’s “1989” for taking inspiration from Chvrches’ 2013 debut, “The Bones of What You Believe.”

Maybe. But there are moments in Chvrches’ music that put the listener on high alert – the abrasive way synthesizer notes stumble over one another on “Never Ending Circles,” or the mix of wide-open vistas and claustrophobic clanks on “Bury It.” The trio’s arrangements always feel just on the verge of radio-ready euphoria.

“The music we make is poppy, but we don’t fit into the cookie-cutter mold of what people think a pop band should be,” Mayberry says. “As much as we’re an alternative band, we’re not alternative enough to fit in that square peg, either. The good thing for me is I don’t necessarily have to be writing songs like, ‘This is the love song,’ or, ‘This is the song about going to a party.’ It can be pop music, but it can have introspection in it. I like that we live in that weird bubble.”

The bubble has been rather welcoming to Chvrches – mostly. Mayberry, a journalist-turned-musician, has been outspoken about the sexism she’s faced as a touring musician, having penned an essay on the subject for the Guardian. Recently, she confronted a man at a show who yelled, “Marry me.” “What’s the hit rate on that?” she shot back.

Mayberry is careful to stress that the entire album isn’t personal relationships, and it’s hard not to focus on a song such as “Bury It,” in which she triumphantly declares that “we will bury it and rise above,” as a response to the frustrations that come with fame. Even then, however, the band isn’t angry so much as looking upward.

“It has some darker stuff,” Mayberry says of the album, “but also some of the most hopeful and forward-facing stuff.”

There’s no denying the band’s audience has been growing. “Every Open Eye” debuted at No. 8 on the Billboard pop chart earlier this month, and is currently nestled between Hozier and Disclosure in the top 40.

“I like to believe that one of the things that people like about us is that they can feel something genuine in the music,” Mayberry says. “In a world of bands and music and artists that are all made up -- made by labels -- I think finding something authentic is very refreshing in this day and age.”

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