It’s video roundup time! Once again, Howl And Echoes are coming in hot with the freshest, most eyeball-stimulating music videos to be dropped by the artists you love and some of the artists you don’t know you love yet this week. We do all the dirty work and herd them all into one convenient web-based location for you to enjoy every Friday so that you don’t have to. Have yourself a good old gander at the latest offerings from:
Metronomy – Night Owl
London electro veterans Metronomy have another single out. Taken from their most recent album Summer ’08, it’s called Night Owl, featuring one hell of a fat bass line anchoring the track and Metronomy architect Joseph Mount’s silky smooth, laidback vocals. The deep synths that kick in
The video, directed by Quentin Dupieux, follows Mount going on a very interesting road trip with his girlfriend through the Palm Desert in sunny Palm Springs. It features a whole lot of mysterious symbolism but it’s sunny and warm and picturesque.
Summer ’08 is out now on Warner Music.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0drWXOpm-Q
Ngaiire – House On A Rock
The uber-soulful Ngaiire is enjoying a whirlwind of acclaim after releasing her latest album Blastoma earlier in the year to rave reviews. The latest single from that record is House On A Rock, dark and brooding with discordant rhythms and clashing synths as well as that catchy as hell chorus that has seen the track cop plenty of spins on airwaves everywhere.
Directed by Dan Segal, the music video was shot in Tel Aviv in Israel in stark black and white and depicts Ngaiire at the end of a rocky relationship, the tense atmosphere of the relationship mirroring the vibe of the song perfectly.
Blastoma is out now on Maximillion Brown. Catch Ngairre as she supports Leon Bridges on his Australian tour and at her Splendour In The Grass set next weekend.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYmbZkP3LfU
Hinds – Warts
To Spain next and rocking all-girl foursome Hinds, out with their latest single Warts. Taken from their debut album Leave Me Alone, the track is a lot more pleasant than its namesake, sunny and evenly-paced with warm guitar licks and warped out vocals running all over it.
Shot in Barcelona, the video focuses on the same story the song tells, of a guy falling for a girl that everybody knows is bad news except him. Hinds try their darndest to save this oblivious chap and it makes for some interesting viewing.
Leave Me Alone is out now via Mom + Pop Music.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLygTTOpE5w
Set Mo – Comfort You (ft. Fractures)
Back to Sydney with partners in crime Set Mo, who are seeking to back up their huge 2015 breakout in 2016 and are well on their way with latest single Comfort You. It’s a melodic banger featuring a stellar vocal turn from Melbourne’s Fractures, slowly building the pace to a cacophony before falling away into a gorgeous piano-driven chorus. The intricate layers of sound only grow as the song charges along and its evident this is going to be a huge hit for Set Mo.
The video features some absolutely gorgeous scenery from around Japan, stunning natural gardens and landscapes mixed with bustling urban nightlife and echoing the warm sentiment of the song itself beautifully.
Catch Set Mo right now touring Australia in support of the single.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAm7kZpNUSc
Banks – Fuck With Myself
Orange County songstress Banks this week announced the official release date for her next album, the follow-up to her 2014 debut Goddess as well as putting out its lead single, the superb Fuck With Myself.
A song of fierce independence, Banks’ feather-soft, spine-tingling voice shows considerable range over minimalistic, semi-industrial production to keep the focus squarely on her vocals. The video is unsettling as hell, Banks in a grimy warehouse flanked by contortionist dancers and a lifelike bust of herself, which she subjects to a lot of torment.
Banks sophomore album is out September 30th via Harvest Records.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-99e4geCm2w
Chvrches – Bury It (ft. Hayley Williams)
After sophomore album Every Open Eye won them stacks of new fans and saw them as one of the most critically acclaimed bands in 2015, Glasgow synthpop trio Chvrches are still releasing singles from that huge record, their sixth out this week isBury It.
Featuring gigantic synths and Lauren Mayberry’s famously powerful set of pipes as well as an alley-oop from Paramore vocalist Hayley Williams, Bury It is the kind of banger Chvrches have become so highly-regarded for. The video is comic book inspired, animated version of Williams and Chvrches meeting up and using what look like telekinetic superpowers to fly and levitate objects (we’re presuming for good).
Every Open Eye is out now via Goodbye Records.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9BLMNn0PrQ
JOY. – Like Home
Brisbane-born multitalented siren JOY. Is another of 2015’s success stories, all off the back of one mesmerizingly good four-track EP Ode and a metric shit-tonne of touring and coveted support slots. Her first solo track of 2016 is the dangerous Like Home.
Almost menacing production anchors the song, a filthy beat that is totally measured and covered in a tangible darkness, the lone source of light coming JOY.’s gorgeously lilting vocals. The video finds the singer wandering a cold-looking carpark after dark and looking as un-fuck-with-able as the song she’s made.
Let Like Home be just the tip of the iceberg for what this hugely talented young artist has in store for the rest of 2016.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvvDjDhVs3E
Polish Club – My House
Sydney power duo Polish Club, like a lot of other artists in this week’s roundup, had themselves a massive breakout 2015. Off the back of their debut EP featuring hits like Beeping and Able and followed up at the tail end of the year with the single for their latest video My House.
It’s more of the same good old time, soul-infused rock and roll with frontman Novak’s unmistakeable raspy growl. Big guitars, thunderous drums and just a ripper two minute slice of rock from one of the most exciting young acts in Australia. The accompanying video features the two, unintentionally hilariously playing such a killer tune stock still in various rooms around the house.
Keep your eyes planted firmly on these two for the rest of 2016.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIThMqKkKjs
The song may have been released in September last year, but now CHVRCHES are back with the music video for Clearest Blue.
Despite the song being quite light and bright, the video is surprisingly dark.
Obviously, the running colour theme is a soft tinge of blue throughout each scene. Directed by Warren Fu, the video follows a man who picks himself up after lying in a heap in the middle of a road in the dark. The wind blows a letter towards him. He stumbles around the city as Lauren Mayberry walks around a forest, clad in armour and a beautiful black dress.
The video cuts quickly as we see flashes of a dance party between images of the city and the dark forest. At the end of the video, we find out what’s written on the note. I’m not going to ruin it for you. You’ll have to watch until the end to find out.
Chvrches were recently in town to perform a few shows across the country for Laneway Festival, as well as performing live on The Late Late Show With James Cordon.
Watch the video below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZyzX4c1vIs
Read more: Live review – Chvrches live in Sydney
Image: NPR
Read our review of Laneway Festival Brisbane 2016
We snapped up Laneway Festival in Sydney this year. This gallery contains photos of: Chvrches, Purity Ring, Grimes and Flume.
Part one contains photos of: Slum Sociable, Blank Realm, Banoffee, METZ, DIIV and FIDLAR
Part two contains photos of: Goldlink, Shamir, Royal Headache, DMAs, The Smith Street Band
Part three contains photos of: The Internet, Violent Soho, Battles and Beach House
Chvrches
Purity Ring
Grimes
Flume
With the festival season well and truly alive around Australia, punters could be forgiven for opting to stay at home on a Thursday night to save some money, get some sleep and remember that they can see their favourite acts at whatever festival might be rolling through their city that weekend.
When it comes to Scottish synth pop powerhouse Chvrches, however, their sold-out sideshow offered something far greater than a 45 minute festival set.
First up was English artist Martian Doyle, better known by his stage name East India Youth, thrown the chance to gain some new Sydney fans out of the sizeable throng that had gathered early. Suited up for the occasion and accompanied by his faithful laptops, Doyle presented a set of dreamy yet dark techno music. Not the kind of sounds to dance to, Doyle instead focused upon drawing in the crowd to his own dream world, saving his boppiest track for the end with Hearts That Never, igniting some toe tapping and head bopping in the crowd.
As 9:30 ticked over the house lights dimmed, replaced by the softly glowing stage lights illuminating the silhouettes of Iain Cook and Martin Doherty. When the dark silhouette of lead vocalist Lauren Mayberry appeared, the crowd collectively lost its shite. With Mayberry towards the back of the stage with the microphone in hand, the band paused for a crucial few seconds, before bursting into the triumphant Never Ending Circles.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AU9_0pxiDjY
From the opening song, it was evident that Mayberry is one hell of an energetic front woman. For someone who “used to stand still and hope the ground would swallow me whole,” she is now one of the leading performers on the touring circuit. Commanding the attention of the crowd, she pranced across the stage guiding the audience through the glitchy We Sink and Keep You On My Side with all manner of fist pumps, kicks and spins.
As the night progressed, one couldn’t help but be impressed by the well-oiled machine that Chvrches has become. Well known for playing more than 350 shows in support of their first release The Bones of What You Believe, and having spent a majority of 2015 touring their new release Every Open Eye around the world, the band could have been forgiven for going through the motions on stage. However, all three members looked as though they were simply enjoying themselves, not allowing the pressures of performing live to distract them from the sheer joy of presenting their craft to the masses. Early cuts Lies and Tether both felt fresh, with the band presenting them with the same excitement and energy as newer material.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81RqEnvczV8
The outstanding production further added to the overall feeling that this was a world-class show. Each song had its own detailed lighting sequence, with a series of LED screens behind the band enhancing the visual experience for all.
As the night rolled on, the band presented a carefully chosen mix of songs both new and old, with highlights including the retro 80’s anthem Gun and party starter Bury It, clearly one of the bands favourites to perform live – as evidenced by cheesy grins all round. However, it was clear that the crowd was particularity eager to hear two numbers from the bands latest release.
That wish was granted late in the evening. Announcing that, “we are only gonna do a couple more songs for you guys”, the mellow grooves of Leave A Trace rang out from the Enmore speakers. With its triumphant sing along chorus, the triple j go-to dance number brought the atmosphere of the festival season to the Enmore, preparing the crowd for the final song of the main set. That song was Clearest Blue. Perhaps the most well-written song the band has produced, Clearest Blue brought even the most cynical dads in the audience to their feet, with the final drop prompting a wild, wall to wall rave throughout the venue.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QpFXXPruuqU
The band indeed returned for the token encore, leaving the crowd with the tender Afterglow and concluding with The Mother We Share. However, it felt like the peak of the concert had passed. It would have been wiser for the band to switch these final two tracks with Leave a Trace and Clearest Blue, with the latter truly possessing a sense of finality.
Regardless, fans walked away from the Enmore happy that they had chosen to spend their evening with one of the fastest rising acts in the world. From a critical point, I could only agree that Chvrches had gifted the working night faithful with a world-class set delivered with strength, power and conviction. Sure, you might be able to see your favorite international acts tear through their greatest hits at the festivals on the weekend. But if you give them the time of day and go to their sideshows, they will prove why they were worth the effort to book in the first place, and Chvrches were no exception to the rule.
Image: The AU Review
Chvrches have again proved themselves as one of the best live acts in the world, with a powerful performance of hit single Clearest Blue on The Late Late Show with James Corden last night.
Dressed in simple black, Lauren Mayberry and co. produced a gorgeous live rendition of the song, with the swirling synths and beats of Iain Cook and Martin Doherty providing the perfect rhythmical drive for Mayberry’s crooning vocals, gradually building up to one of the most glorious dance breaks of the year.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWcKbK5bGOY
Accompanied by a pallet of swirling lights and visual effects, the performance was reminiscent of the live production the band has been taking along with them around both Europe and the US throughout 2015, in support of their 2015 release Every Open Eye.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQoXwGu15HI
Aside from playing to packed fields at some of the world’s biggest festivals, Mayberry has used a large chunk of 2015 speaking out against misogyny in the music industry, including interviews, social media statements and more.
Australian audiences will have the chance to catch Chvrches when they tour for St Jerome’s Laneway Festival this summer. Catch them at the dates below.
Laneway:
Sat, 6 Feb: Laneway Fest, Sydney College of the Arts, NSW
Sat, 13 Feb: Laneway Fest, Footscray Community Arts Centre, VIC
Sun, 14 Feb: Laneway Fest, Esplanade Reserve and West End, WA
Sideshows:
Thurs, 4 Feb: The Enmore Theatre, NSW
Tues, 9 Feb: The Forum, VIC
Wed, 10 Feb: The Forum, VIC
During The National‘s set at Treasure Island Music Festival last October, CHVRCHES frontwoman Lauren Mayberry made a surprise appearance, helping the band perform a stellar rendition of I Need My Girl. Now, two months later, she has paired up with The National’s Matt Berninger again, for an interview on Live Nation TV.
The pair sat down for a nine minute discussion, exchanging tales on a number of subjects including performance nerves and their perspectives of fame. Both of them expressed fears of messing up in a live setting, with Berninger stating that “there’s no way to be totally confident up there. I don’t know how a human being would be confident elevated 15 or 20ft off the ground with everyone looking at you.”
At one point in the interview, Mayberry admitted she once took a hip-hop dance class to help aide her stage presence, to which Berninger responded with “Performing is exhilarating, but just right on the edge of completely humiliating all the time.” He then continued to recount an early experience performing at SXSW, where he jumped ahead an entire song on the setlist – leaving his band and presumably his audience bewildered. “I was screaming my head off to Available,” he recalls, “and they were playing a totally different song. I was singing those lyrics to a drum beat. We didn’t get signed.”
The interview as a whole is very, very charming. The pair discusses these topics in a way that humanises them even more so. It’s nice to realise that even large performers like Matt Berninger get stage-fright at times.
You can watch the interview below.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lj5yWgycCXs&w=560&h=315]
CHVRCHES will be hitting up Australia shortly for St. Jerome’s Laneway Festival, as well as three sideshows:
Laneway:
Sat, 6 Feb: Laneway Fest, Sydney College of the Arts, NSW
Sat, 13 Feb: Laneway Fest, Footscray Community Arts Centre, VIC
Sun, 14 Feb: Laneway Fest, Esplanade Reserve and West End, WA
Sideshows:
Thurs, 4 Feb: The Enmore Theatre, NSW
Tues, 9 Feb: The Forum, VIC
Wed, 10 Feb: The Forum, VIC
It’s video roundup time! Once again, Howl And Echoes are coming in hot with the freshest, most eyeball stimulating music videos to be dropped by the artists you love and some of the artists you don’t know you love yet, of this week. We do all the dirty work and herd them all into one convenient web-based location for you to enjoy every Friday so that you don’t have to. Have yourself a good old gander at the latest offerings from:
Cub Sport – Only Friend
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSUNXCKCTX4&inf_contact_key=06f54529afe2e1ded3c1fd5bbbe11d7d5dbfa925ab053aab7eccdc69d5d4b6b8
Having previously scooped up Australian Video of the Year honours from Channel V, Brisbane band Cub Sport know exactly what goes into the making of a good music video. This one accompanies their brand new single Only Friend, a prelude to their forthcoming album This Is Our Vice.
Directed by Joe Agius, from one of our other favourite Brisbane bands The Creases, the video delves into the seldom-touched themes of anxiety and depression. The song features a haunting synthy build up to a gorgeous chorus, the music video featuring the four members of the band stuck in the middle of a party full of revellers, highlighting the awful feeling of isolation even in the most celebratory of circumstances that is such a largely overlooked aspect of anxiety and depression.
Shot beautifully lo-fi, with all the fuzz of a well-worn VHS, and exploiting some heavy neon pinks and blues, the clip is visually fantastic (and features plenty of cameos from members of The Creases too). A nifty taste of their new album, which drops March the 4th next year.
Big White – Dinosaur City
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0JaLlNSj9Y
Sticking with the lo-fi vibes for this one is the latest single from Big White: Dinosaur City. The track itself sounds like Robert Smith fronting an Australian new wave band from the 80s (a sound as outrageously good as you’d imagine) and the chorus will have you in a death grip.
The video makes the above one by Cub Sport look as thought it was 1080p, it’s a VHS bleed and so everything is just melting on the screen nice and warmly. There may be no velociraptors of any description but the video for Dinosaur City does feature the band running through what looks like a cracker of a night out on the town with swings in the park and a whole lot of alleyway dancing. It’s a feelgood clip for the summer and the track is an absolute standout.
Also in the spirit of the 80s, Dinosaur City is being released as part of a limited edition 7″ paired with a B-side of the Japanese version of their previous single You Know I Love You. You know we love you too Big White.
Moses Gunn Collective – Hole In The Wall
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6-ahJvHIbs
Having released their debut LP Mercy Mountain earlier in 2015, psychedelic Brisbane legends Moses Gunn Collective have been riding a wave of roundly-deserved critical acclaim to back up the tsunami of hype that preceded that record. They’ve now released their third single from the album, Hole In The Wall and a video to go along with it.
It’s as summery a track as you’re going to get, the mellowed out and breezy psych rock vibes taking your ears for a blissful ride. The clip was filmed on a sunny afternoon in a field just perfect for rolling around in. It features frontman Aidan Moore in all white everything, having an absolute whale of a time playing guitar in a paddock as the sun goes down and copping a glitter shower to the face amongst other activities. It’s pure bliss on the eyes and the ears.
Editors – Ocean Of Night
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nqlY2fxaFrw
The Staffordshire rock band came back with an absolute bang in 2015 with the release of their long-awaited fifth studio album In Dream. The latest single from that album, which stormed all the way to the top five of the UK charts, is Ocean Of Night. One of three tracks on the album to feature the vocal assistance of Rachel Goswell, the sparkly little piano melody will hook you from the beginning, the song burning slowly around the ghostly chamber vocals of frontman Tom Smith before an absolutely mammoth chorus.
The video, shot in a warm black and white, is comprised of footage both backstage and on from a sold out show the band threw on at Dublin Olympia. Stunningly shot, it’s as uplifting as the track itself and the reactions of the crowd are a ringing endorsement of Editors’ continued position at the forefront of modern rock.
CHVRCHES – Empty Threat
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNHxwSp-6Og
September saw the release of Scottish synth pop trio CHVRCHES sophomore LP Every Open Eye, a record that built to skyscraper heights off of an already rock solid debut and one that has won over an enormous swathe of fans both old and new. The latest single and video to be released from that effort is Empty Threat.
Driving at 100 miles an hour, elating the listener to brand new heights and generally just being an absolute stomper of a dance anthem, the video for Empty Threat features firepower frontwoman Lauren Mayberry on a punked out road trip with a water park as the end destination, the safety pins and endless black juxtaposed nicely with the summer sun.
Catch CHVRCHES in Australia when they touch down here to headline Laneway and play some (already very sold out) sideshows.
Pusha T – Untouchable
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPI_6MX74j4
President Pusha is in the house. The newly coronated overlord of GOOD Music recently announced a double drop of albums to cap off 2015 with Darkest Before Dawn and then again in mid-2016 with the long, looong-anticipated King Push. His latest single Untouchable is notable for its sampling of a lesser known verse from The Notorious B.I.G. (from the 1995 cut by Pudgee Tha Phat Bastard Think Big).
The lyrics over the minimalistic backbeat are just stupendous, Pusha calling out professional piece of shit Donald Trump in deliciously profane fashion as well as comparing himself to Tony Montana and U2 (with The Edge) in the same breath. But mainly, according to Untouchable, Pusha T is here to chew gum and sell drugs, and he’s all out of gum.
The video features Pusha riding around some tough looking streets in the night, living fearlessly because he’s King Push, President of Everything and he does exactly what he wants at all times. It’s a cracker of a clip and we’re grateful to our ruler for his generous spacing between future albums.
Seth Sentry – Fake Champagne
Seth Sentry has had one hell of a year. After releasing Strange New Past, he went on an incredible fifty date tour of Australia, toured across Europe, and just last night he went home with the ARIA Award for Best Urban Album.
He’s slated to perform at Falls Festival across the new year, but first comes the video for Fake Champagne, created using footage compiled throughout this year’s relentless tour schedule. The really nicely shot clips blends live gigs with highway stops, snowy landscapes, early morning flights and all sorts of ridiculous antics.
Lyrically, this was one of my favourite tracks on the album. A bitter judgement of trying to live a reflective and self-aware life while being surrounded by fake friends and what we assume to be both literal and figurative “fake champagne”. We hear that.
As one fierce woman to another, Chvrches’ Lauren Mayberry sat down with Sleater-Kinney’s Corin Tucker for Interview Magazine. Discussing the recent release of Chvrches’ much anticipated sophomore album, Every Eye Open, as well as feminism, writer’s block and coming of age as a band – this is one conversation that was never going to be dull.
Exchanging comments on the lead-up to releasing an album, Mayberry is clearly aware of the expectation riding on this second album. Traditionally this is the difficult one, and it seems that a lot of people have been at pains to remind her of that fact, “People ask us in every single interview if you feel like there’s a lot of pressure. I feel like I’d explode from answering another question about pressure.” Something that Tucker clearly sympathises with, concurring that removal from the industry spotlight is sometimes no bad thing.
“Sometimes it’s useful to have that element of people not knowing what you’re doing and not paying attention.”
Touching on the writing process, Mayberry confesses to keeping a notebook full of phrases and half formed lyrics, or “nonsense”. Though the music comes first, it’s clear that writing is Mayberry’s passion. Asked about her favourite writers and poets, the fact that she is currently re-reading Jesscia Valenti’s Full Frontal Feminism seems fitting. Advocating non-fiction for on tour, when it comes to narrative writing she says “Anne Carson and Angela Carter are folks I hold close to my heart because they have such unique ways of telling stories. I think in reading a few sentences of text you can just tell the tone, and that’s something I love in prose writers, but in lyricists as well.”
In terms of her own lyric writing, it does’t always come easily; “I remember at the start, there was a two-week period where I couldn’t get anything done. I would start writing something and then I’d be like, “I don’t like this.” It was two steps forward and one step back… Then, finally, the writing came really quickly, the record came thematically together, I hope. It just took ages to get started. I think I was over-thinking it.” She goes on to talk about her own stance as a writer, and writing from a personal stand point, feeling like she has found a more “assertive character” and the confidence to try new things on Every Eye Open.
Already recognised as an assertive character, the interview touches on Mayberry’s outspoken response to sexism and online bullying. It’s a graceful and level headed conversation, but one that touches on the infuriating remnants of blatant sexism within the industry. And you get the feeling that although Mayberry won’t be losing her temper, she will not take it lying down. The same goes for online trolls. Torn between appreciation of the internet as the platform that launched Chvrches, and frustrated by the opportunities to blast and bully from behind its protective anonymity.
“Seeing people communicate about the band online has been amazing, but I think a lot of people spend a lot of time talking about what they hate rather than what they love. I don’t want to get trapped in that.”
What comes across most from Mayberry is a real sense of positivity. Though she is far from naive, she isn’t angry or angst-ridden. Discussing the new album she comments that “I’d convinced myself that I’d written some sadder songs on the record, which is some of the darker stuff we’ve written, but it’s also some of the most hopeful… I hope that’s what people take away.”
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Eo84jDIMKI]
Read the full interview here.
Justin Bieber’s stellar new single What Do You Mean, has been making waves everywhere. The track has earned itself a number one spot on the Billboard charts, which is a first for the singer and (if you haven’t already noticed) has been getting significant praise from us here.
Regardless of whether you think J Biebz is just shamefully trying to cultivate a new self-image, or has genuinely evolved into an artist of calibre- What Do You Mean is a pop song for the ages. If you need any more convincing, take a listen to CHVRCHES cover of the track on BBC Radio 1’s Live Lounge, which is kind of the same as triple j’s Like A Version.
The track originally stays true to the same electronic sound that Diplo and Skrillex have created for Bieber, but CHVRCHES have molded it into something else entirely. It chill-inspiring, carrying the elements we all love and expect from the band.
“We just want to have a bit of fun with it,” the band’s Martin Doherty said. “I’m a huge fan of that tune, and [Bieber’s] recent output with Jack U as well. It’s really, really good”.
Take a listen to the wonderful cover below.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=moD5muTQcwY&w=560&h=315]
MORE: Accepting yourself as a Believer: a step-by-step guide
Amidst news of a new album, not to mention powerful comments on misogyny in the industry and online haters, CHVRCHES has released yet another new song, and it’s just as good as their previous teaser singles Never Ending Circles, Every Open Eye and Leave a Trace. This new track – Clearest Blue – is perhaps their most energetic effort out of the three, most reminiscent of their debut record The Bones of What You Believe.
In true CHVRCHES style, Clearest Blue is underscored by glitchy electronic tones, and with a very frenetic beat that induces sweaty palms and shaky legs upon first listen. Despite unwelcome throwbacks to the Black Eyed Peas’ very wailing 2009 hit, vocalist Lauren Mayberry’s impassioned cries of “meet me halfway” add a desperate tension to the track as it continues to crescendo. Indeed, Clearest Blue is a song that builds and builds, finally erupting with explosive vigour at around the 2-minute mark. The rest of the track is a no-holds-barred electronic banger that’s sure to have fans vibing at live performances. Just check out the crowd at their performance of it at Pitchfork Music Festival!
Sadly, we won’t be seeing CHVRCHES anytime soon, as they continue their tour across American for the rest of 2015. Their upcoming album Every Open Eye is released 25 September – it’ll be a long two weeks waiting for it.