Lauren Mayberry Vicious Creature

Critic's Take

Lauren Mayberry's Vicious Creature most shines on songs like “Something In The Air”, “Sunday Best” and “Anywhere But Dancing”. The reviewer praises the album's balance - glittering synth anthems sit beside quietly devastating acoustic moments, showing why these are the best tracks on Vicious Creature. “Something In The Air” is held up as a towering chorus moment, while “Anywhere But Dancing” and “Oh, Mother” are singled out for intimate emotional clarity. Overall the record establishes Mayberry as a confident solo voice, with those standout songs proving her strength as a songwriter.

Key Points

• The best song, "Something In The Air," is best for its towering chorus and the sense it matches her best previous work.
• The album's core strengths are balanced synth-pop craftsmanship and intimate, emotionally direct acoustic moments.

Themes

Critic's Take

Watching Lauren Mayberry unfold as a solo artist feels revelatory on Vicious Creature, where the best songs - notably “Something In The Air” and “Change Shapes” - crystallise her voice. The album leans into ’80s pop and ’00s R&B with theatrical flair, and tracks like “Something In The Air” confront mansplaining while “Change Shapes” is a delicious, vogue-adjacent bop. There is bite and sparkle throughout, so the best tracks on Vicious Creature are the ones that pair pointed lyrics with irresistible hooks, making this a sonic origin story worth the wait.

Key Points

• The best song, "Something In The Air", is strongest for its soaring confrontation of mansplaining and confident opener role.
• The album's core strengths are its blend of ’80s pop and ’00s R&B influences, pointed lyrical themes about female experience, and irresistible hooks.

Themes

Critic's Take

Lauren Mayberry's Vicious Creature is a solo record that relishes pop with bite, and the best songs - notably “Crocodile Tears”, “Shame” and “Change Shapes” - get the balance just right between dance-floor immediacy and pointed commentary. The icy art-pop of “Mantra” and the fragile piano-led “Oh, Mother” show off Mayberry's range, even if they sit apart from the rest of the set. Conversely, “Sorry, Etc” tries for abrasive noughties energy but ends up feeling messy rather than empowering. Overall, the album is uneven but contains intelligent, bold tunes that make this a rewarding, if searching, solo debut.

Key Points

• The best song(s) balance danceable pop and pointed commentary, exemplified by “Crocodile Tears”.
• The album's core strengths are bold, intelligent songwriting and a mix of intimate balladry with fiercer pop production.

Themes

Critic's Take

Steve Erickson watches Lauren Mayberry lean into a ruthless, take-no-shit diva persona on Vicious Creature, where moments like “Crocodile Tears” and “Mantra” amplify that femme fatale pose. He admires the Tori Amos–tinged piano of “Oh, Mother” and the menace threaded through “Change Shapes” and “Sorry, Etc.” Yet Erickson finds the irony undercut by generic synth strings and calls the closer “Are You Awake?” anticlimactic, which saps some of the album's intended bite.

Key Points

• The best song emphasizes Mayberry's femme fatale persona with provocative lyrics and melodic hooks.
• The album's strengths are its thematic focus on female experience and occasional strong arrangements, but inconsistent production and an anticlimactic closer weaken its impact.

Themes

Critic's Take

Lauren Mayberry’s Vicious Creature finds its strongest moments in the blunt opener and the album’s quieter confessions, with “Something In The Air” and “Oh, Mother” standing out. Geraghty writes with a clear ear for theatricality and emotional candour, praising the anthemic thrust of “Something In The Air” while noting the heart-stopping hush of “Oh, Mother”. She flags retro bops like “Crocodile Tears” and trancey cuts such as “Mantra” as memorable, even when the record sometimes feels like an ideas workshop rather than a unified statement. Overall, the best songs on Vicious Creature are those that balance Mayberry’s sharpened lyricism with bold musical turns, offering a compelling preview of her solo trajectory.

Key Points

• The opener “Something In The Air” is best for its anthemic immediacy and thematic punch.
• The album’s core strengths are Mayberry’s emotional candour and willingness to span theatrical pop and hushed vulnerability.

Themes

Critic's Take

Lauren Mayberry's Vicious Creature is rewarding and immediate, and the best songs here - notably “Change Shapes” and “Oh, Mother” - show why her solo voice matters. The reviewer hears pop immediacy rather than Chvrches' massive synth walls, praising “Change Shapes” as the album highlight and singling out “Oh, Mother” for its warm, Christine McVie-like heartbreak. Other tracks such as “Something In The Air” and “Sunday Best” recall her band work while “Shame” and “One of the Boys” demonstrate surprising textural risks. Overall, Vicious Creature feels personal and well-written, a solo record that rewards thoughtful listening.

Key Points

• “Change Shapes” is the standout for its strong chorus and Madonna-like shape-shifting that anchors the album.
• The album's core strengths are Mayberry's personal songwriting and pop immediacy that reward thoughtful listening.

Themes

Critic's Take

Lauren Mayberry's Vicious Creature is at its best when it slips the anchor of its obvious influences and heads somewhere stranger - that is why the best songs on Vicious Creature are clearly “Mantra” and “Sorry, Etc”. The reviewer's voice loves the novelty of “Mantra” precisely because "it doesn't sound like anything else," while “Sorry, Etc” thrills with "chaotic, fizzing drum'n'bass". Equally, tracks like “Punch Drunk” earn praise for their driving bass, distinguishing themselves from the pleasant-but-USP-free moments such as "A Work of Fiction".

Key Points

• The best song, "Mantra", stands out because of its originality and disjointed arrangement that refuses easy comparison.
• The album's core strengths are Mayberry's knack for pop melodies married to candid lyrics about sexism, identity and messy relationships.

Themes