Recap: Chvrches bring their big beats with personality back to Union Transfer

What do I think about when I think about electronic bands? Dudes and ladies standing behind laptops and keyboards, totally detached, staring blankly out at masses of people in a dancing frenzy. What do I think about when I think about Scotland’s Chvrches? Charming, funny and personable folks I want to go get coffee with after the show. The electronic-band-as-humans comes through in the album they’re releasing this fall – The Bones of What You Believe is a collection of hard-hitting body-moving beats as much as it is a confessional singer-songwriter album, a set of songs sang from such a personal perspective that you can’t help but see the people behind the artists. Thankfully, Chvrches is okay with that. In its second time headlining Union Transfer in the past few months, singer Lauren Mayberry cracked about stateside hatred of possums and drinking tea onstage, but still made songs like “Lies” and “Science / Visions” pure dancefloor jammers.

“Under the Tide,” sung by keyboard player Martin Doherty, was intense. Considering how much of the Chvrches audience is comprised of dudes crushing on Mayberry, the “song that the keyboard player sings” should have been a throwaway. But it was possibly the best selection of the night, punctuated by Doherty throwing his arms and legs and full-body energy into his vocal performance.

“I’m always a little self-conscious about singing after that,” said Mayberry. But she continued, wrapping the set with a delightful performance of “The Mother We Share.” Check out photos of their set in the gallery below.