"Clearest Blue" is a song by the Scottish

synth-pop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a music genre that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s b ...

band

Chvrches Chvrches (stylised CHVRCHΞS and pronounced "Churches") are a Scottish synth-pop band from Glasgow, formed in September 2011. The band consists of Lauren Mayberry, Iain Cook, Martin Doherty and, unofficially since 2018, Jonny Scott. Mostly deriv ...

and the third single from the band's second studio album, ''

Every Open Eye ''Every Open Eye'' is the second studio album by Scottish synth-pop band Chvrches. It was released on 25 September 2015 by Virgin EMI Records and Goodbye Records. Self-produced, it is the band's follow-up to their critically acclaimed debut albu ...

''.

Background

While talking about the origins of the song on the ''

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'' podcast,

Martin Doherty Martin Clifford Doherty (born 24 December 1982) is a Scottish musician, singer and record producer. He is a member of Glasgow-based pop band Chvrches, with whom he has recorded four studio albums. Prior to forming Chvrches, Doherty was a tour ...

and

Iain Cook Iain Andrew Cook (born 2 November 1974) is a Scottish musician, composer, record producer, and member of Glasgow-based pop band Chvrches. He played guitar for the Scottish post-rock band Aereogramme until their breakup in 2007. Cook also com ...

explained that the trio originally intended "Clearest Blue" to be a laid-back song with just two chords. Still, because they are notoriously bad at sticking to their own rules, they end up with something completely divergent from those ideas. After coming up with the base sample, they bounced ideas around, with Doherty adding "nonsense vocals" to establish the basic cadences of the song.

Lauren Mayberry Lauren Eve Mayberry (born 7 October 1987) is a Scottish musician who is the vocalist and percussionist of the Pop music, pop band CHVRCHES. In CHVRCHES, Mayberry co-writes and co-produces the songs with Iain Cook and Martin Doherty, and sings as ...

began writing the lyrics to replace these vocals but found herself frequently concerned that her pessimism would bleed through into the song's lyrics in parts intended to be hopeful. The song is typically described as building and building until it ultimately explodes at its melodic climax, but Doherty described it as more of an analytical climax, and that the vocal approach is not intended to be "super climactic, like punching the air" and that it is better described as a "moment of rest".

Live performances

"Clearest Blue" debuted at

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on 15 July 2015 as the opening song of Chvrches' first show since the conclusion of the 2013–2014 ''

The Bones of What You Believe ''The Bones of What You Believe'' is the debut studio album by Scottish synth-pop band Chvrches, released on 20 September 2013 by Virgin Records and Goodbye Records. Recorded between 2011 and 2013 in Glasgow, the album was written, composed, and ...

'' tour. Chvrches further promoted the song in several live appearances, including at the

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and ''

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''.

Critical reception

"Clearest Blue" received positive acclaim from critics. ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

'' called it "the album's most heart-bursting moment". A review from ''

Stereogum ''Stereogum'' is a daily Internet publication that focuses on music news, reviews, interviews, and commentary. The site was created in January 2002 by Scott Lapatine. ''Stereogum'' was one of the first MP3 blogs and has received several awar ...

'' said this "might be the strongest for a simple reason: it builds and builds and builds and doesn’t break down until you’ve nearly lost faith that it will". ''

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'' called the song "earnest and danceable" and praised its powerful opening notes, but "the song blossoms about halfway through with a breathtaking breakdown that bursts through the tension they've been building up".

Music video

A music video for the song was released on 19 February 2016.

Use in popular culture

"Clearest Blue" is used in the soundtrack of ''

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'', playing on the in-game radio station Horizon Pulse. It is also included in the soundtrack to season 1 of ''

The Politician ''The Politician'' is a Caroline era stage play, a tragedy written by James Shirley, and first published in 1655. Publication ''The Politician,'' along with another Shirley play, '' The Gentleman of Venice,'' was published by the bookseller Hu ...

'' and in season 1, episode 3 of

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's '' Heartstopper''.

Track listing

Charts

Certifications

References

{{authority control 2015 singles 2015 songs Chvrches songs Virgin Records singles Songs written by Iain Cook Songs written by Lauren Mayberry Songs written by Martin Doherty Music videos directed by Warren Fu