Scottish synth-pop legends Chvrches have been quiet for a few years now, but now the trio have returned with new single ‘He Said She Said’.
The song is the first to be released from Lauren Mayberry, Iain Cook and Martin Doherty since they dropped ‘Death Stranding’ in 2019, taken from the soundtrack of the video game of the same name.
It also comes after the band appeared to have teased new music last week, with cryptic posts that explain some of the lyrics of ‘He Said She Said’.
In a press statement, Mayberry said the song is written about how “being a woman is fucking exhausting”.
“Like everyone, I’ve had a lot of time to think and reflect over the past year; to examine experiences I had previously glossed over or deeply buried,” Mayberry said.
“I feel like I have spent a lot of my life (personally and professionally) performing the uncomfortable balancing act that is expected of women and it gets more confusing and exhausting the older I get.”
She goes on to explain exactly what those expectations are, saying “Be successful but only in the way we want you to be. Speak up for yourself but not so loudly that you steal men’s thunder.
“Be attractive but only for the benefit of men, and certainly don’t be vain. Strive to be The Hot Sad Girl but don’t actually be sad in a way that’s inconvenient for anyone. Be smart but not smart enough to ask for more than what you’re being given.”
“‘He Said She Said’ is my way of reckoning with things I’ve accepted that I know I shouldn’t have. Things I pretended weren’t damaging to me,” she concluded.
“Being a woman is fucking exhausting and it felt better to scream it into a pop song than scream it into the void. After the past year, I think we can all relate to feeling like we’re losing our minds.”
Listen to ‘He Said She Said’ below.
