Song · CHVRCHES
“The Mother we Share” by CHVRCHES
From the album The Bones of What You Believe (2013)
“The Mother we Share” by CHVRCHES appears on 21 radio countdowns from 14 stations between 2013 and 2025. It was first released in 2013 on the album The Bones of What You Believe. Its best result is #5 on The Current Top 89 Songs of 2013. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #64 alternative song of 2013 and #416 of the '10s.
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"The Mother We Share" was the song that introduced CHVRCHES, the Scottish indietronica band's debut single and the glittering centerpiece of their 2013 debut album The Bones of What You Believe. Iain Cook, Martin Doherty and Lauren Mayberry wrote it together, produced it themselves and handed the mix to Rich Costey, and it sounds like a band that already knew exactly what it wanted: chilly synths, handclap drums and a hook that sticks on contact.
The Guardian's Michael Cragg noticed how it swapped the heavy synth assault of the earlier "Lies" for something lighter and more wistful, and The Fader's Duncan Cooper heard Mayberry's voice as kin to Megan James of Purity Ring. That sweet-but-sad pull is the whole trick. A Virgin Records re-release carried it to number 38 in the UK, a peak the band wouldn't top for years.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
Indie & Adult Alternative
All Rock Formats
Year-end countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 50 | KROQ Los Angeles, CA | KROQ Top 50 Songs of 2013 | 50 |
| 2013 | 50 | 91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana | 91X Top 91 Songs of 2013 | 91 |
| 2013 | 92 | CD101 Columbus, OH | CD101 Top 102.5 Songs of 2013 | 103 |
| 2013 | 29 | WFUV New York, NY | WFUV Top 90 Songs of 2013 | 90 |
| 2013 | 18 | ALT 104.5 Philadelphia, PA | Radio 104.5 Top 50.5 Songs of 2013 | 51 |
| 2013 | 68 | 97X Tampa-St. Petersburg, FL | 97X Top 97 of 2013 | 97 |
| 2013 | 94 | 94.5 The Buzz Houston, TX | 94.5 The Buzz Top 94 of 2013 | 94 |
| 2013 | 64 | WXPN Philadelphia, PA | WXPN Year in Review: Top 200 Songs of 2013 | 200 |
| 2013 | 42 | 88.3 The Sting Cleveland, OH | 88.3 The Sting WBWC Top 88 Songs of 2013 | 88 |
| 2013 | 5 | The Current Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN | The Current Top 89 Songs of 2013 | 89 |
| 2013 | 71 | 102.7 WEQX Southern Vermont and the Capital District of New York (Albany) | WEQX Top 102.7 of 2013 | 103 |
| 2014 | 13 | ALT 104.5 Philadelphia, PA | Radio 104.5 Top 50.5 Songs of 2014 | 51 |
| 2014 | 86 | 88.3 The Sting Cleveland, OH | 88.3 The Sting WBWC Top 88 Songs of 2014 | 88 |
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 532 | The Current | The Current's 893 Essential Songs | 892 |
| 2019 | 67 | 102.7 WEQX | WEQX Top 102.7 of the 2010's Decade | 103 |
| 2020 | 1436 | WXPN | WXPN 2020 Greatest Songs of All Time | 2020 |
| 2024 | 340 | WYEP | WYEP Best Songs of the Past 50 Years | 1049 |
| 2024 | 776 | WXPN | WXPN The 885 Greatest Songs of the 21st Century (2024) | 885 |
| 2024 | 600 | KEXP | The Best Opening Tracks of All Time | 738 |
| 2025 | 326 | 90.9 The Bridge | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the 21st Century | 909 |
| 2025 | 102 | The Current | 893 Essential Songs of The Current: 2005 to Now | 893 |
Also listed as: The Mother We Share.
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