Lauren Mayberry : "Vicious Creature"

First off I am not a big fan of solo albums as I feel it's more often time better spent putting out an album with your band. Here are a great many of my favorite singers like Bruce Dickinson to Bryan Ferry who I feel this way about it. he steps out of the shadows of Chvrches for this album. Some catchy 90s-tinged songs are not far removed from what she does in Chvrches though perhaps a little poppier.  You could have Miley Cyrus or Allie-X sing these songs and it would not be dramatically different. I think Mayberry benefits from her partners in Chvrches as it balances out the pop side, and takes some of the sugar out of the mix. Watching her little pixie ass in the videos does not really change my mind on this. I felt pretty confident on the first song, but the pop elements began to weigh on me and she sounds less unique on these upbeat ditties. 

Maybe she just needs to get this out of her system? Her voice is the same, and these lyrics might work better over different music. "Change Shapes" bounces along, but does not have the depth of her previous work. I expect a lot from her as the Chvrches albums are so great, so just dialing in pop music is going to wear thin on me. There is a more organic feel to 'Anywhere But Dancing" as she is just singing again the strum of a guitar, which is different but works. 

. "Punch Drunk" is quirky indie pop, that is more organic than not. It builds kind of like "Madonna's "Ray of Light".  "Oh Mother" is an honest enough ballad so that is all you can really ask for from it, prefer it over the more overt pop" "Sorry etc" is more post-punk than the rest of this album up to this point,  "Mantra" proves she does not have abandon pop beats, as the more electronic side works well here.  The same can be said for the more atmospheric groove of " "A Work of Fiction" has a more 90s pop feel to me.  "Are You Awake' of an example of when doing something different that is not her band works for her. It's a piano ballad and feels more like she is just taking room to breathe while being true to the vibes of her band apart from them. There are some strong moments and maybe it needs to just grow on me, but I'll still round this down to a 9, as it's not as good as Chvrches but does allow you to hear some different sides of her, though her vocal approach is not wildly different. 

pst627