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Tiny Desk Concerts from NPR's All Songs Considered features your favorite musicians performing at Bob Boilen's desk in the NPR Music office. This is the AUDIO only archive.Are you a fancy A/V nerd and need video? Visit our new Tiny Desk Concert video channel. Eye-popping video and all of the music you've come to expect.

Chvrches: Tiny Desk Concert

For a brief moment, I imagined hearing Chvrches perform "Recover" or "Gun" with a couple of acoustic guitars and perhaps a shaker or two. And, though these songs would surely stand up well when broken down and bared, I'm thrilled that Chvrches came with a small arsenal of synthesizers to perform a few highlights from last year's album The Bones of What You Believe.

Seeing these now-familiar earworms executed up close was nearly as much a campfire moment as an acoustic set might have been, except the flames burned brighter. Lauren Mayberry's voice felt powerful and vulnerable, while Iain Cook and Martin Doherty kept those memorable synth lines bubbling underneath. The result works as a perfect introduction to the Glasgow trio, but also a reaffirmation of talent and longevity for those already love with the band.

Set List

  • "Recover"
  • "Gun"
  • "The Mother We Share"
  • Credits

    Producers: Bob Boilen, Denise DeBelius; Audio Engineer: Kevin Wait; Videographers: Denise DeBelius, Olivia Merrion, Stephen Thompson; photo by Meredith Rizzo/NPR

    Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

    In 1988, a determined Bob Boilen started showing up on NPR's doorstep every day, looking for a way to contribute his skills in music and broadcasting to the network. His persistence paid off, and within a few weeks he was hired, on a temporary basis, to work for All Things Considered. Less than a year later, Boilen was directing the show and continued to do so for the next 18 years.
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