In this Episode…
The text of this review was originally published on Dec. 9, 2024 by Atwood Magazine.
The shortcomings of Vicious Creature are not Lauren Mayberry’s fault.
The frontwoman for the Glasgow-based electro-pop trio CHVRCHES, formed in 2011, has seen much success with her band since then, so her curiosity about what a solo effort could be was sure to develop. Mayberry’s Vicious Creature is out now via Island Records.
She affirms, “There’s things I’ve never been comfortable performing or sharing with a band of men. As much as my time with the band has always had this feminist narrative underpinning it, a lot of my role felt like it was more about me trying to fit in than leading the conversation.”
It wasn’t until the final track on Vicious Creature, “Are You Awake?” that I got chills. Much of the rest of the album left me cold.
Hello friend!
Or future friend? Hopefully, not future enemy? I suppose that to be an actual enemy, one would have had to have a falling out of a friendship. Wait, I am getting away from the point of this missive.
About this podcast…
I have accumulated quite a few expansive pieces on Substack over the past almost-year, and I am now reading them for you as podcasts!
These episodes generally come in at around the 15 to 20-minute mark.
Perfect for:
Confidently and conscientiously behaving like the kind of person who brushes the newly fallen snow from the roof of your car before driving.
Not allowing drivers behind you on treacherous snowy roads to have copious amounts of snow obscuring their driving because you did the above.
Arriving at your destination safe and entertained by a voice that, as we speed towards ten episodes, you have grown to enjoy or at least become tolerant of.
I would love to entertain you, so please listen on Substack, Spotify, Apple, YouTube, or your favorite podcast app.
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