Dying In A Dream

Chvrches “California”

“California” expresses a sort of existential buyer’s remorse, in which a move to California doesn’t quite deliver on all its promises and leaves a person unmoored, lonely, and feeling trapped by their own quest for success. Lauren Mayberry’s vocal conveys a bittersweet melodrama without getting too maudlin, partly because the arrangement does a good job of presenting a sense of stasis despite a pop dynamic that nudges the chorus towards an anthemic quality. They achieve a very smart balance here, honoring the emotion at the core of it while recognizing it as small and personal and rooted in some degree of privilege.

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