Lauren Mayberry of CHVRCHES has been teasing plans for her solo debut for a while now, and it's finally time to let the cat out of the bag: her studio album Vicious Creature is due December 6 on Island Records, and today, we get a new preview, as well as some supporting tour dates.
Initially rolled out as solo singles (including this month's "Something in the Air"), the 12-track album is said to reveal themes of sexuality and empowerment, with the artist joining forces with producers Greg Kurstin, Matthew Korma, Tobias Jesso Jr., Ethan Gruska and Dan McDougall.
"So much of this process has been an exercise in empowering myself to listen to my own intuition — something I really trained myself out of," Mayberry said in a release. "That's ultimately why you start making things — because you felt a feeling, and you wanted to articulate that somehow. I think it was important for me to relearn that kind of independence, and recognize what I bring to any table I choose to sit at."
New single "Crocodile Tears" unveils "a sort of character where I could really let go of the idea that I need to be 'nice,'" Mayberry shared, "because I think that holds so many women back in their lives. If I didn't have to be seen as 'nice,' I would feel comfortable telling certain people to fuck off when they treat me like shit — on this record, and in these songs, I get to do that."
Mayberry will take her new material on the North American road in early 2025 after wrapping a tour of Europe and the UK next month. The US dates begin in San Diego on January 28, after which a Toronto performance will take place at the Concert Hall on February 7. The tour concludes in Los Angeles in early March.
Check out "Crocodile Tears" below, where you will also find the full album tracklist and Mayberry's 2025 tour schedule.
Vicious Creature:
1. Something in the Air
2. Crocodile Tears
3. Shame
4. Anywhere but Dancing
5. Punch Drunk
6. Oh, Mother
7. Sorry, Etc
8. Change Shapes
9. Mantra
10. A Work of Fiction
11. Sunday Best
12. Are You Awake
Lauren Mayberry 2025 Tour Dates:
01/28 San Diego, CA - House of Blues
01/29 San Francisco, CA - Fillmore
01/31 Salt Lake City, UT - Soundwell
02/01 Denver, CO - Gothic
02/02 Lawrence, KS - Granada Theater
02/03 Minneapolis, MN - Fine Line
02/05 Chicago, IL - Thalia Hall
02/07 Toronto, ON - Concert Hall
02/08 Buffalo, NY - Electric City
02/09 Columbus, OH - Newport Music Hall
02/11 Boston, MA - Royale
02/13 New York, NY - Webster Hall
02/14 Albany, NY - Empire Live
02/17 Philadelphia, PA - Union Transfer
02/18 Washington, D.C. - 9:30 Club
02/20 Atlanta, GA - Masquerade - Hell
02/21 Charlotte, NC - The Underground
02/22 Nashville, TN - The Mil at Cannery Hall
02/24 Houston, TX - White Oak Downstairs
02/25 Dallas, TX - Granada
02/26 Austin, TX - Emo's
02/28 Phoenix, AZ - Crescent Ballroom
03/02 Los Angeles, CA - The Belasco