Resisting The Limelight & Emails From Robert Smith: CHVRCHES' Path To Modern Infamy

Cutting through the white noise of modern living on their fourth studio release, Scottish synth-poppers CHVRCHES have erupted with sharpened intensity and intimacy with the brand new album Screen Violence.

Previously renowned for their gilded froth and bewitching neon pop charm, CHVRCHES have indeed gifted a prolific glow-up in 2021 amidst one of the most challenging moments many of us have faced in our lifetime. With darker thematics and live instruments injected into the new CHVRCHES psyche, Screen Violence is, at times, a bold call-to-arms from a band already well-versed in standing their ground while commanding a stellar international reputation.

But while the trio's latest release explores the stupefying highs and lows of the digital age alongside notions of self-doubt and disenchantment, the road to such a compelling and confident release saw frontwoman Lauren Mayberry faced with a dichotomy between her onstage and offstage identity, well before landing a dream collaboration with The Cure's Robert Smith, as Mayberry told host Tiana Speter on the latest episode of The Green Room podcast.

"Touring's always been such a huge part of CHVRCHES, just 'cause of the background that we come from and the kind of bands we came up with," Mayberry told Speter.

"We just always knew that wanted to be a band that was on the road.

"I think, for me, CHVRCHES has always been a bit of an adjustment because I was never the main...I wasn't the frontperson in any other band, I was always playing other instruments. 

"Sometimes I would do some singing, but it wasn't just always me, there was someone else singing as well."

Mayberry paused at this point and laughed softly.

"I went from trying to never be the frontman to being the frontman (laughs) - all the time! And that took a long time to grow into.

"Martin from CHVRCHES is a much more naturally good performer taking centre stage than me," Mayberry chuckled again.

"I feel like I've always had to, kind of, work on that and split my way of thinking about it, and be like: 'This is this kind of headspace.' And writing is just such a different headspace. For performing, I'm like: 'I don't really want to feel that vulnerable.'

"People come to a show not to look at you; they come to a show to have you be, like, the backdrop that they can project their emotions onto in terms of what the songs mean to them. 

"You're, kind of, just a vehicle for that. And I think that's awesome. And once I got to that way of thinking, it's much easier to do it. But - I do feel like I want the live show to be powerful.

"I need to not be a super-sensitive, super-emotional person in that space. But when we're writing..." Mayberry paused and laughed again. "I have to be super-sensitive and super-emotional."

While Mayberry may have dedicated time wrestling and shaping her creative identity, another diabolically dazzling jewel in the CHVRCHES crown also has come in the form of unexpectedly landing their ultimate bucket list collaboration with none other than The Cure's Robert Smith - a fact that Mayberry is still genuinely coming to terms with. 

"I honestly still can't believe that this is a thing that we talk about," Mayberry grinned with incredulity.

"I'm like: 'How is this life?! What is happening?!' It was such a weird thing, we never thought that would happen, it happened so accidentally! 

"It was through our manager...all Cure fans know the new Cure album is in the works, we know this. So, [our manager] had said somebody he knew knew them..."

Inadvertently putting prolific wheels in motion, CHVRCHES manager Campbell McNeil passed on his email address via his mutual acquaintance in the hopes of eventually contacting Smith's team to pitch CHVRCHES for a potential support slot down the line. Fast-forward to McNeil receiving an unexpected reply from the man himself...

"[McNeil] got an email back from Robert Smith - 'cause Robert Smith manages himself these days. And it just said, like: 'Aloha Campbell, I hear you're looking for me. What do you want?'

"And he was like: 'Ahh! What do I want?! I don't know?!'. 

"So, we sent him some music, thinking that it would just be good for him to get a sense of the record. 

"We didn't hear anything for a few weeks, and then we were like: 'Well, you know - if this is as close as we got, I would say that's pretty amazing, to know that Robert Smith knows you're a real human being, and he's listened to your music.' 

"And then, I wonder if he sat on it for a length of time so he could give us this 'fan experience'. But, he sent us the demo with his vocal on it on Halloween," Mayberry paused and giggled, "When Martin and I were hanging out, and we were getting a little bit 'wine drunk', and we were gonna watch a horror movie. Which is very on-brand for the whole album, really.

"Then we got this email from Robert Smith being like: 'Happy Halloween! I'm having spooky fun. Here's the demo.' 

"And of course, it was basically what the final mix ended up being, what the demo was. 

"Turns out he's very good at what he does," Mayberry smirked. "Who knew?! I mean - we knew. 'Cause we all love The Cure."

You can watch the full episode of The Green Room with Lauren Mayberry and Tiana Speter diving deeper into the CHVRCHES world, including 'frilly' sonic waters, creating during a lockdown and using a discarded band name for their brand new album. 

You can watch the full episode below or here, or alternatively, you can also listen to full The Green Room podcast episodes on Spotify, Apple Podcasts - or wherever you usually get your podcasts from.

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Need more music, film, TV and comedy in your life? Check out all previous episodes of The Green Room here - and did you know you can also watch episodes of The Green Room too? Head here to check out some of the recent videos, and if you're still hunting for content to feed your ears, be sure to check out some of the other exciting Handshake Agency podcasts below!

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