At this point in the game, Scottish synthpop trio Chvrches are well-known for their cover game. Dropping by the BBC Radio 1 Lounge — where some of the best covers currently floating around the web have been recorded — Lauren Mayberry and co. tackled Calvin Harris and Rihanna’s collaborative summer jam “This Is What You Came For.”
I maintain that the song is one of the best pop songs to come out this summer, and despite the fact that our voting crowned another winner, the ripples of this song are still being felt on summer nights around the world.
While the original is much more geared toward EDM, stippled drums, unmissable drops, Chvrches strip it back a bit without losing any of the song’s desire. In fact, Mayberry turns it into a much more plaintive and sad declaration. Or maybe my own comings and goings have changed the way I feel about the song’s sentiment since the last time I heard the track.
Either way, Chvrches do a hell of a job with an enormous and difficult pop song, which is sort of what their band’s whole ethos is built on. Smart pop, if you will. Watch them break it down in the Live Lounge below.
