This one goes back a few months…possibly even before the new year.

I saw a little article about Lauren Mayberry - I think she must have been performing in Boston or something.

And I saw that she was doing some solo work after (not sure if it’s permanent or just temporary) taking a break from her band, Chvrches.

I know I’ve heard of Chvrches before. I definitely knew of their existence. But after listening to some of their music they are definitely not a band I heard on the primary radio station I listen to here. So I’m not sure what I knew about them or how I knew about them.

And I had definitely never listened to their music before.

So I had made a note to listen to them sometime this year, and I did that last week.

I liked their music.

I don’t really have a scale to rate these new musicians I listen to this year…I think a good explanation of what I think is whether I feel like turning off the music, or if I’m waiting to turn it off at any point while I’m listening to it.

Do I get tired of it? Or is it listenable?

As I listened to a couple of albums’ worth of Churches, as well as some of Mayberry’s newest solo album, which sounds similar, I never got tired of it.

It is very listenable music.

I guess it’s like electronic pop? It’s not all synth-y dance music, but it’s not straight up pop music.

It’s upbeat, which I generally like.

Again, this is not a band that I’m going to seek out to watch perform live or tune into on my own if I’m looking for something to listen to…but if it comes on randomly I don’t think I’m turning it off.

Part of why I like doing this is forcing myself to listen to and learn about bands I hadn’t listened to before. How else would I have known Chvrches was from Scotland, and that 2013’s SXSW gave them a big boost?

It’s a fun and an easy way to learn something new.

And someday I’ll remember how I originally had known of the existence of Chvrches and I’ll be able to connect that with their music, which now I’ve listened to.