A band with Mass appeal
The Electric Picnic may be your only chance to see Scottish superstars Chvrches this year. They will make a welcome return to the festival in support of their third album which has the unpromising title of Love Is Dead. But have no fears, like their previous two efforts The Bones of What You Believe and Every Open Eye, Love Is Dead retains the winning combination of electropop bangers and phones-aloft anthems. In other words, perfect for festival fields.
Top ten placings here and the UK has been matched in the US, Australia and Europe. Their success allowed the Glasgow trio of Lauren Mayberry, Martin Doherty and Iain Cook to base themselves in the US in preparation for Love Is Dead.
Together seven years, they lived in New York but flew to LA to record the album. There they worked with Dave Stewart of Eurythmics, Greg Kurstin, who has produced Adele as well as Matt Berninger of indie icons The National, who guests on the brooding My Enemy.
Lead singer, Lauren Mayberry says she is delighted Chvrches’ success has allowed them to experience living in America, but the former freelance journalist would seem to have a love/hate relationship with her adopted home.
‘Living there pushes you out of your comfort zone for lyric-writing as well as a whole load of other things,’ the 30-year-old says.
‘It’s good that we’re close to the industry in New York, but you can also ignore it, that’s much more difficult in LA. LAis a beautiful place, but certain parts of the city are completely focused on the entertainment industry. I instinctively run from those at great speed. I need to be conscious of my emotional state when I am in LA otherwise I end up eating a tub of ice cream and shouting about how much I hate everybody there.’
Instead, she, Doherty and Cook knuckled down to recording their third album in five years.
‘The three of us shared an Airbnb down the street from the studio. We’d just have breakfast and walk to the studio. In the evening, we’d go back and make dinner and the boys would play video games and I’d watch TV.
‘That kind of bond and comfort with each other allows us to do what we do every day. There are bands who have been together for less time than us and can’t stand each other.’
They have previously produced themselves, but this time Greg Kurstin, who produced Ellie Goulding, Pink and the Foo Fighters came in as co-producer. They also worked in the early stages of the album with Dave Stewart, who is their hero. ‘We were just delighted that he even wanted to be in the same room as us. He told us how lucky we were that, though we had an indie attitude, we were accepted in the mainstream, and that other bands weren’t so unconfined. Dave was involved early in the process. We’re really bummed that what we worked on didn’t make the final cut of the album.’ It’s taken Lauran a while to come to terms with the pressures of stardom, but she feels that despite herself, she is handling it better. ‘People always ask what it is like to be the only girl in the band and I never know how to answer that. I have no other reality than that. But I did feel the need to always be fighting my corner and justifying myself to people, but now people talk to me like I am some wise Yoda figure.’
Chvrches – Love Is Dead is out now. Catch them at the Electric Picnic (Aug 31 – Sept 2)