San Francisco Chronicle

Chvrches

Rock

- — Aidin Vaziri

Chvrches, the Scottish three-piece known for crafting synth-pop songs that hit you like a sledgehamm­er, returns with its second album, “Every Open Eye.” On the follow-up to its 2013 debut, “The Bones of What You Believe,” singer Lauren Mayberry is still kicking against the pricks, as she sings of betrayal and survival through a downpour of glossy industrial clamor. “You think I’ll apologize for things I left behind/ But you got it wrong,” she chirps on “Leave a Trace.” The band, which also features Iain Cook and Martin Doherty, willfully ups the bombast but doesn’t sacrifice the hooks, particular­ly on stompers like “Clearest Blue” and “Playing Dead,” which boasts a rat-a-tat rhythm and the kind of chorus would make Taylor Swift flip.

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Tristan Fewings / Getty Images
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