Chvrches’ Lauren Mayberry Goes It Alone with Ease at Granada Theater

One of the eternal traps for artists going solo is whether the new work evokes, eclipses or erases what came before. It’s a double-edged sword some balance better than others.

Lauren Mayberry, a Scottish singer-songwriter who rose to fame as a key piece of the Chvrches triumvirate, evinced no difficult in wielding that sword Tuesday night, as she performed her solo debut, Vicious Creature, in full for a Granada Theater audience which more than made up for in enthusiasm what it lacked in numbers. (By contrast, when Mayberry was last in Dallas, in November 2021, she and her Chvrches bandmates sold out the South Side Ballroom.)

Backed by a pair of musicians – Heather Nation and Marian Li-Pino – that kicked up quite a cloud of sound, Mayberry spent her 60 minutes on stage reminding those in attendance what makes her such a mesmerizing artist.

Deftly fusing blunt-force lyrics (“Maybe I’m a villain, but I find it kind of thrilling when you cry,” she sang in the night’s opener “Crocodile Tears”) with dazzling, cascading, shimmering pop songs almost diametrically opposed to the brooding, synth-pop crunch of Chvrches, the 37-year-old musician made going it alone seem almost effortless.

Some of that facility doubtless stems from the fact that, as in Chvrches, Mayberry handles the bulk of the audience interaction.

Tuesday, Mayberry breezily laid out the agenda (“We will play all the songs – as we should, there’s only 12,” she informed us early on); indulged in observations about her current location (“During the meet-and-greet, I asked what people from Dallas are called, and they said ‘nothing’ – it was really disappointing,”) and punctured the protocols of rock concerts (“We’ll pretend for the purposes of show biz, we’re only playing one more song,” she said, just before the encore).

Though the Granada Theater closed off its balcony, and the lower floor was maybe half full, those in attendance were elated to share time and space with Mayberry, roaring at multiple intervals and enthusiastically applauding her rendition of the Verve’s “Bittersweet Symphony,” the night’s lone, non-Vicious Creature tune. (The encore even began with Mayberry accepting the gift of a handmade crown from a fan down front: “I come out, I sing songs, people give me gifts, I go to bed,” she joked.)

Another reality is Mayberry was always going to fare well as a solo artist, armed as she is with one of the most distinctive, disarming voices in modern music. Her soprano glides and soars and slices – married with her restless stage presence, grand gesticulations giving way to her diminutive, 5-foot frame dancing from one side to the other, she can captivate an audience with ease.

As Mayberry describes it, Vicious Creature is a record inspired by the likes of Fiona Apple, Tori Amos and Annie Lennox, among others, and while musically, it’s difficult to discern the precise impact of those particular artists, there is no question that lyrically, Mayberry sharpened her pen in a way she does not within Chvrches.

There were multiple instances Tuesday where a line or phrase lashed out and left a mark, but none more than “Something in the Air,” a song which feels very different amid the specific moment we’re all enduring.

“Screaming through a red, a white, a blue megaphone / Go to hell or go home, or you will die on your own” felt like a sledgehammer blow, despite being couched in gleaming melody and propulsive percussion.

Sweet, with a bit of a sting – which, come to think of it, is an entirely apt description of Lauren Mayberry’s approach to her solo career.

Whether said career remains a going concern or a lark between Chrvches projects remains to be seen, of course, but should she continue down the brisk, satisfying path she’s forged thus far, sidestepping all apparent traps, no one could begrudge her.