Chvrches have covered of The Postal Service‘s ‘Such Great Heights’ and Robert Palmer‘s ‘Addicted To Love’ for the Tell Me Lies soundtrack.
The covers from Lauren Mayberry and co. have been made for the third season of the hit show – which creators recently revealed will be the last.
In their version of ‘Addicted To Love’, the trio put their own unique spin on Robert Palmer’s 1985 classic, swapping out the high-energy synths for a stripped back piano melody, and substituting the original charismatic vocals for a more melancholic approach.
For the cover of ‘Such Great Heights’, Chvrches stay more loyal to the original version, gradually fading in with a thumping beat, before Mayberry’s soaring vocals are introduced and build towards the euphoric chorus.
“It was such a treat to get to make music for the season premiere and the season finale of this show,” the singer shared. “Bookending the insanity and the heartbreak of the season three arc was an honour [and] ‘Such Great Heights’ is basically a perfect song, so we were excited and terrified to cover it in equal measure.
“The Postal Service is such a special band and their music means a lot to us,” she added.
Mayberry also spoke to Billboard about the cover of ‘Such Great Heights’ and revealed what it is about the band that makes their songwriting stand out to her.
“I always liked the balance of joy and melancholy in the Postal Service’s music,” she began. “I did email Ben [Gibbard, frontman] about it to make sure they wouldn’t find it weird and so that he didn’t think we were being creepy. He was characteristically lovely about it, of course.”
As for why she wanted to contribute to the final season of Tell Me Lies, Mayberry added: “I think having a genuine love for the show put me in a good position to know what I would want the pay off of that final scene to feel like, from a fan’s perspective.”
She also shared how the college sections of the show, which are set in 2008 and 2009, resonated with her as she was “at university at that time too, and there was no dialogue around ‘toxic’ relationships in the way there is now”.
This isn’t the first time that Chvrches have shared their love of The Postal Service and Ben Gibbard – who is also frontman for Death Cab For Cutie.
Back in 2016, both Chvrches and Death Cab hit the road together, with the former celebrating their ‘Every Open Eye’ album and the latter touring in support of ‘Kintsugi’.
While performing in South Carolina as part of that tour, Mayberry also made a cameo during Death Cab’s set, joining Gibbard in renditions of ‘Brothers on a Hotel Bed’ from the ‘Plans’ album.
The two covers from Chvrches come as the trio are currently back together and adding the finishing touches to a new album. The Scottish synth-pop band haven’t released a record since 2021’s ‘Screen Violence’, but did play live up until 2023 and also supported Coldplay at Milan’s Stadio Giuseppe Meazza.
Over the past few years, the members have turned their sights to various solo projects. These included Mayberry sharing a debut solo LP ‘Vicious Creatures’ in 2024, and joining forces with IDLES‘ Joe Talbot, The National‘s Aaron Dessner, and more. Most recently she made a guest appearance on Lucia & The Best Boys’ joyous new single, ‘Lonely Girl’.
Iain Cook teamed up with Scott Paterson for a series of releases under the name Protection in 2022 and 2023, and Martin Doherty launched a new project called The Leaving late last year with the band’s longtime drummer Jonny Scott.
Last summer, Chvrches first told fans that they had started work on a new album, and earlier this month, Doherty and Scott told NME about what fans could expect from the project.
“It’s going to surprise people, and I hope it’s going to delight them and rip some faces off,” Doherty revealed, also adding that it was 90 per cent complete. “It’s quite hard, but not to the point where you won’t recognise the band. It’s still the same people and DNA.”
As for Tell Me Lies, the latest season has been well received by fans, with five million viewers tuning in globally for the premiere episode. This is a 150 per cent increase on the season one opener.
The final episode, titled Are You Happy Now, That I’m on My Knees?, is available on Disney+ in the UK, and the first two seasons are also available to watch on BBC iPlayer.
