BITE OF THE BIG APPLE
Lauren Mayberry talks about making the new Chvrches album in New York City
‘I grew up listening to Blondie and was obsessed with Yeah Yeah Yeahs’
Chvrches’ Lauren Mayberry, 30, was a lone voice when she decided to take on male trolls attacking her on social media back in 2013.
Since then the Glasgow trio’s fortunes have rocketed and their elevation is set to continue with third album Love Is Dead.
It’s the first they’ve made in their new hometown of Brooklyn, New York, and arrives in the wake of America’s
#Metoo and #Timesup movements.
“It’s always taken a long time for these things to shift, and right now it is really hard work to be making symbolic gestures and nailing colours to the mast,” say Lauren. “But it feels a lot less lonely than it did five years ago, because now people ask us about #Metoo and how is this changing things, rather than why I personally am being so upset about things.”
Chvrches have been living in New York on and off since 2015. In Making Love Is Dead they took a definite break from the Glasgow base where their first two acclaimed albums were created.
“I think if we hadn’t done the first two records by ourselves, we wouldn’t have such a sure idea of what the band was and what we wanted it to be,” Lauren explains.
“I feel as if it was a just good point in the evolution to do something a little different.”
New York has proved inspiring and together with producer Greg Kurstin the band have realised bigger and broader widescreen musical dreams on the new album.
“Being in a place where so many bands we love have come from has an effect. I was obsessed with the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and I grew up listening to Blondie,” Lauren says.
“I think it’s given us a kick up the butt, because what happened to us doesn’t happen every day.
“Walking down the street after rehearsal, you’ll look across the river and see the New York skyline you have loads of ‘holy sh**’ moments, we’re like ‘we’re really lucky to get to do this’.”
Love Is Dead is out today