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CHVRCHES will play Stage AE on June 11. Tickets are available at promowestlive.com.
“We’re very aware that without the Internet, our band would not have done so much so soon, or indeed, at all, so the fact that it was blogs and people on social networks who were passing our music around definitely put us in a more powerful position when we were finding a label.”
Doherty, Mayberry, and Cook
IT’S ELECTRIC Watch as our latest musical obsession, electro-pop trio CHVRCHES, lights up Stage AE CHVRCHES is a band that was “born on the Internet.” That’s lead singer Lauren Mayberry’s description, and it’s fitting, to the letter. The Glasgow, Scotland trio chose to spell CHVRCHES with a “V” (it’s pronounced “Churches”) in order to make it more easily searchable on Google. Mayberry, along with bandmates Martin Doherty and Iain Cook, began writing their debut album, The Bones of What You Believe, in autumn of 2011, penning the 12 tracks over the course of 18 months in “an old basement studio in Glasgow.” The writing and recording process was an insular one. “We had written almost three-quarters of the album before anybody had heard any of our songs, and I think that gave us a good sense that the only opinions are those of the three people writing the songs,” says Mayberry. “You’re not operating on a reactionary basis.” From there, CHVRCHES began releasing singles exclusively online, including “The Mother We Share,” “Lies,” and “Recover,” resulting in tremendous attention and anticipation from fans, months before Bones dropped in its entirety. Says Mayberry, 112
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When it was released in September 2013, the album was met with critical raves, including the label of “Best New Music” from Pitchfork and a four out of five star rating from Rolling Stone. On the surface, The Bones of What You Believe is a bubbly journey through a synth-filled landscape, the tracks lit by Mayberry’s bright vocals. Upon closer inspection (full disclosure: I’ve now listened more times than I can count), the lyrics spark and barb, each track characterized by visceral, biting emotion. For listeners trying to discern just what those lyrics mean, Mayberry prefers to leave more to the imagination. “It’s interesting talking to people about how they’ve interpreted the songs because oftentimes, it’s really different from what we meant,” she says. “So, I guess the things that people think are there are more important than what we could have in the CliffsNotes.” As CHVRCHES’ popularity grows, Mayberry does her best to remain connected with fans, from Facebook to Reddit, while still trying to “wear my sensible hat” and avoid the dreaded overshare. “I don’t share pictures of my dinner on Instagram,” she says with a laugh. Though, if she were cooking, what could we expect to see on our newsfeed? “There’s nothing better than a good home-cooked curry, I don’t think.” CHVRCHES, chvrch.es. By NICOLE BARLEY •
Photographs from Glassnote Music