Choir of Young Believers - This is For the White in Your Eyes

Contrary to many probable assumptions, Choir of Young Believers is not a throng of Christian rock prodigies looking for the proper way to speak to the heavens. It’s orchestral pop centered on Denmark’s Jannis Noya Makrigiannis, the brains behind a collective of musician friends in Copenhagen. Makrigiannis’ crystal clear voice echoes through the album, interweaved with cello, horns, bells, guitar, and piano. Everything on This is For the White in Your Eyes sounds grand, as if the music seeps through a hallway that stretches on forever. “Action/Reaction,” the first U.S. single, mixes traditional with exotic, blending euphoric harmonies with syncopated drumming. The album fuses classical music styles with something more modern. In “Claustrophobia,” a reverb-loaded, haunting background offsets the sweet repetition of the song’s title. “Under the Moon” might have been on Grizzly Bear’s latest album. In it, Makrigiannis’ stark crooning and a faraway-sounding piano stretch out like jello does as it melts in the sunlight. The beauty in Choir of Young Believers’ debut can be heard as a whole, but also in parts. Short bursts of warm cello, subtle vocal layers, gentle but firm drum hits – this group has the details down.