It’s about time that I admit something.
For years I’ve stated repeatedly that my favorite band is 311. That was indeed the case for many many years. Even to this day, when a 311 song starts playing, I have to jam. As an upbeat dancehall style (rock/reggae fusion), it is impossible to not— as in Applied Science Nick Hexum suggests to— “Nod your head to this”. Movement is necessary to the jam.
But they’ve been supplanted. It’s been so for some time, though I found admitting it to be like pulling teeth from an angry tiger… although I expect few have had this experience to know how accurate it is. Another band came in and gripped me on so many levels…
Who pushed 311 to #2?
The Scottish indie electro-pop band led by Lauren Mayberry, Iain Cook, and Martin Doherty (as the band is a trio) somehow came in and ripped out that title from the moment I heard The Mother We Share. It is beyond my understanding how on the very first time I heard that song (and sometimes even to this day) it brings tears to my eyes— as do many of their songs.
Even songs like My Enemy, which I believed that I didn’t like, sneak in to punch me in the gut after some successive listen. There’s just a spell they have over me that I don’t want broken.
Don’t know necessarily who I am talking about? They had a mainstream hit with their collaboration with Marshmello: Here With Me. But even that song, as good as it may be, pales in comparison to songs like: Deliverance, Lies, Heaven/Hell, Warning Call, Clearest Blue, etc.
While I still love 311, I have to admit that they no longer hold that top spot. And as long as Lauren, Iain, and Martin continue to produce the content they do, I don’t see Chvches losing the top spot any time soon.
Jeremy C Kester 
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