Chvrches Had a Heavenly Year
In late 2013, the Scottish synth-pop group, Chvrches released the standout, ultra-moody track, “Lies” from their album, The Bones of What You Believe. The haunting video can’t help but evoke the impassive quality of the early new-wave ‘80s. (Think part Berlin’s “Metro,” part The Human League’s “Mirror Man,” but with a sleek modernity.) The imagery in “Lies” is full of international intrigue; secrecy and eavesdropping; deceit and danger, as well as pensive brooding in the shadows, none better conveyed than by the lead singer, Lauren Mayberry—the Natalie Portman of pixie-cool electronica.
Last year also saw the release of “Gun,” a pulsating, up-tempo track with a trippy kaleidoscopic video treatment that allowed Mayberry’s black eyeliner to become one of the prominent elements; “Recover,” which once again showcased Mayberry’s sweetly soft, yet determined enunciation. There was an intergalactic-inspired video, along with a second version that was more of a travelogue, documenting the band’s relentless touring and press schedules, pinpointing to just some of the reasons for their recent popularity.
Chvrches is approaching the end of 2014 busier than ever. The Coldplay-sounding “Under the Tide,” released in September, doesn’t include the ethereal styling of Mayberry at the helm, yet she returns to lead vocals on “Dead Air” from The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part I soundtrack. And speaking of soundtracks, the exceptional “Get Away” was part of the BBC’s “Radio 1 Rescores: Drive.” Curated by the radio DJ and producer, Zane Low, the project was created as a re-imagining of the new-wave, ‘80s-inspired score and soundtrack to the superb 2011 Nicolas Winding Refn film. “Get Away,” as is “Lies,” is signature Chvrches (steady verses; quieter moments in the bridge; the buildup back to the explosive chorus).
And finally, just a few weeks ago, the group performed at the VH1 “You Oughta Know Live in Concert,” which highlights some of the artists and bands that achieved breakout success in the current year, and naturally, ones to watch in the year to come. Although originally released in 2012 and later re-released in Fall 2013, they performed their debut single, “The Mother We Share,” taking novices a.k.a. future fans back to the beginning, giving them the chance to discover just how heavenly Chvrches is.
Band Together: Sly & The Family Stone: “Dance to the Music”
More than just a ‘60s/’70s funk group, Sly & The Family Stone were a musical army. Instead of guns, there were guitars; rather than a single bugle, a serious horn section. In 1968, they issued an official order to their “souldiers,” and really anyone who wanted to enlist, to simply dance to the music. Sly Stone (Sylvester Stewart), the grinning general and deep-voiced patriarch of this revolutionary group, entrusted one of his officers, the trumpeter Cynthia Robinson, to shout this decree. It’s Robinson’s exclamation at the dawn of “Dance to the Music” that became a soulful reveille heard loud and clear across this great land via vinyl and 8-track; an impassioned cry that also has Robinson later shouting, “All the squares go home!”
Sly meticulously breaks down the rich, full sound that is “Dance to the Music,” creating a compelling brass-clad argument for why one and all should follow this new order. The track celebrates the unique and necessary role each instrument has in constructing and layering a song. Whether you were moved by ‘50s-inspired doo-wop harmonies, Wilson Pickett’s “Mustang Sally,” or maybe you “only need a beat,” there’s no excuse not joining this “dance, dance revolution”; whatever you like, it’s got you covered. Just as diverse individuals would ideally come together to make up a harmonious society based on integration, not segregation, every instrument is an important contribution, “everybody is a star.”
It was some 25 years after its release when Madonna, on The Girlie Show World Tour, incorporated a version of this treatment into the finale song, “Everybody,” as the way to introduce her band members. (Skip to 4:44 of the footage embedded below; also her introduction of the bass player, Victor Baley is one of my favorite moments on DVD.) She also mashes up the second verse from Sly & The Family Stone’s “Everybody is a Star” into the beginning of this live performance.
“Dance to the Music” is Sly’s vision of music as the way to unify, allowing all of its listeners a period of détente, where the focus is less on enemy lines and more on bass lines.
Madonna also sung part of Sly & The Family Stone’s “Family Affair” as the intro to “Keep It Together” on her 1990 Blond Ambition World Tour. Both tracks speak about the complicated relationships, yet unconditional love, that can exist within the family structure. Madonna co-wrote hers about her own upbringing, and later found it translated to her role as “mother figure” to her corps of dancers.
Miramax Films. Director: Alek Keshishian.
Volume One is the Loneliest Number: She & Him: “Black Hole”
The actress and singer, Zooey Deschanel and the musician and producer, M. Ward teamed up to form the alt-country/pop duo known as She & Him. Their first release, 2008’s aptly titled Volume One, consists of 13 songs (nine of which Deschanel penned, one she co-wrote, and three covers). Their sound, which often feels sunny like a Southern California beach (boys) day, is often offset with Deschanel’s overcast lyrics, as represented in the opener, “Sentimental Heart” and this track, “Black Hole.”
“And it just gets/So foggy/It’s nowhere in here/And it’s everywhere else/That I don’t want to be/But I’m stuck here/Getting misty over you/I’m alone on a bicycle for two.” It’s this last line that creates such a vivid image of a lonely someone newly single. Deschanel takes that idea of the tandem bike, which has traditionally been seen as an innocent, happy-go-lucky activity shared between two people, and veers it off course.
She also incorporates inclement-weather-related terms (“rain” [in my head]; “foggy”; “misty”) as analogous descriptors for obsessive mental “spinning,” confusion, and sadness, respectively. “Black Hole” conveys how difficult it can be to move forward, not just literally, for a bicyclist without a riding partner, but emotionally, for this “she” in the song now finds herself without a “him.”