Lauren Mayberry, the frontwoman for acclaimed electro-pop band CHVRCHES, released her debut solo album, ‘Vicious Creature’ late last year after much anticipation and also touring the new material. The album garnered critical acclaim and gave Mayberry the freedom to explore a range of sounds while approaching songwriting from a different perspective. “So much of this process has been an exercise in empowering myself to listen to my own intuition – something I really trained myself out of,” Mayberry stated. “That’s ultimately why you start making things – because you felt a feeling, and you wanted to articulate that somehow. I think it was important for me to relearn that kind of independence and recognize what I bring to any table I choose to sit at.” More recently, a new version of album favorite “Sorry, Etc, Etc” was released featuring Joe Talbot from UK band IDLES. Having met via his podcast years ago, Mayberry shared, “If you know me, you know how much I love Idles, so it really is an honor to have reinterpreted this song with Joe. We first connected during Covid when I did his Balley TV YouTube series, and have been quietly supportive of each other from the wings since. I messaged Joe last summer about working together and this is the song we decided on. We recorded his vocals in December at Brighton Electric when Idles had a night off on tour. I re-recorded my (screamier) vocals at home before Christmas with Sam Stewart, and was produced by my friend Paul Gallagher.”
Prior to concluding her tour in support of ‘Vicious Creature’, Lauren Mayberry spoke with B-Sides host Pete Mar about the lessons she’s learned from crafting her solo album, how songs from her solo work may inspire material for the next CHVRCHES album and more.
