Having fronted the Scottish synth-pop band CHVRCHES for nearly 15 years, Lauren Mayberry has performed for millions of fans from Glastonbury to Coachella, at stadium shows supporting Coldplay and headlining big rooms on their own. A show this Thursday at Webster Hall (1,500 capacity) is part of a project that is markedly smaller in scale but not in ambition.
In December, Mayberry released her first solo album, “Vicious Creature,” and is touring behind it.
“I think to me it feels like a different kind of pressure,” Mayberry says via Zoom. “I think the nature of being the front person, a lot of it falls on you anyway. So I think even though CHVRCHES is obviously not just me, it’s three people, I think there’s always more of a curiosity about a singer, about that kind of storytelling. So I think when things go badly, you kind of carry the can on that anyway, for the most part.
“I think the pressure that was on me in this era was like the fact that we’d been so lucky with the band that we’d been able to maintain that kind of creative output and that kind of popularity to a degree. So I think I knew going into this that whatever I do individually is going to be directly compared with what the band has done and what the band sounds like and what it’s achieved. And that’s kind of a lucky pressure, a privileged pressure to have. But the only kind of bar I set for myself was that I want to make something that I’m proud of, and I view this first record as just kind of the proof of concept, if you know what I mean. I’m proving to myself that I can do this and I think it was just showing other people that it’s a viable option in life. And I think even that feels less claustrophobic to me. Sort of. I think.”
Which came first for you, the idea to make this album or the confidence to do it?
I think the idea came first and the confidence came later, probably. It kind of felt like it was the ending of one era of the band. We’d had a four-album contract, we’d delivered four albums. We’d come to the end of a big touring cycle, and it seemed like now would be the time that we would probably take a bit of a break and assess what we wanted to do. I never really view it as one thing at the expense of the other. I think if you only have one place where you put all your creative output all the time, then that’s maybe not the healthiest thing. I can’t speak for the guys, but I think I felt thirsty for trying something a bit different.
When you actually did make this record, how was the process different and how was it the same as what you’ve been doing with the guys over the years?
I think this one was very different because it’s kind of like starting from scratch, like I have my 10,000 hours of writing in a very specific context, but I always find that I work best as part of a collaborative community, whether that’s one person, whether that’s five people, whatever that is. But so much of this process was figuring out how do I even like to write when I write by myself? Because I’ve got no idea, because I’ve never done it. And who are the people that I would trust with that? So there’s a lot of trial and error with that, I think. For the second record, I’m like, OK, I already know. I already know what I want to do because I’ve tried so many things.
I know I’m going to have to go into loads of rooms with loads of people I don’t know, just to figure out what I don’t like as well. Because even when we go and do writing sessions with other people, with the band, there’s still like a security of the the three of you as the nucleus that goes into these places. I think the worst sessions I had, I learned the most from, almost. And I was like, cool, I really don’t like writing like that with that kind of person and that just doesn’t work. If things are too business and too corporate, I don’t really love it. And then if things are too woo woo I can’t do that either. I don’t want to sit and write a poem in different colored pencils and draw a picture of what I want the song to be about. But some people, that would work really well for. But I’m still too Glaswegian.
You recently opened some shows for London Grammar in the UK. Hannah Reid, like you, has been outspoken about the way women are treated in the music business. Is that something the two of you talked about?
Yeah, we’ve chatted about it. Hannah and I have been semi pen pals for a couple of years before we did the tour, so we’ve definitely chatted about it over cups of tea, cups of coffee and wine and stuff. And yeah, it’s interesting … not interesting, it’s sad when you share experiences with other people, because sometimes it can feel like quite isolating. You’re like, maybe it is just me. Maybe I am that fucking annoying. And sometimes it does feel like, especially when you’re in a project where nobody else, even with the best intentions, can really relate to what’s happening. Sometimes I’m like, maybe my face, my voice, my personality just is that fucking annoying. And then you talk to other women about it, and you’re like, no, it’s not, it’s not that. So it’s like heartening, but fucking depressing because it is just like that for so many people. It’s nice to empathize on those things so you don’t feel so isolated. But then I think it was much more fun talking to Hannah about creativity and how she likes to write. And once I get over the anger of how underestimated some women are in that context, then it’s exciting to just sit and talk about, yeah, look at all the things we did, we did achieve, despite that and, what, you’re going to make a solo record, and what are you doing? So it’s quite fun.
What will you be playing on this tour? Will you include any CHVRCHES songs?
I think I’m going to play the whole record. Probably not in track list order. I thought I was going to, but for a live show, it doesn’t work the same necessarily. And I’ve worked up one specific cover for it. Probably no CHVRCHES stuff, just for the time being, to be respectful to the the guys. I’m respectful to the project.
Lauren Mayberry with Cult of Venus, Thursday, Feb. 13, 8 p.m., Webster Hall (125 E. 11th St., New York). Tickets and more info here.
Leave a Reply