Marshmello – “Here With Me” (Feat. Chvrches)
If you are relatively unfamiliar with the figure known as Marshmello, we’ve got some catching-up to do. Marshmello is a 26-year-old dance producer from Philadelphia. He performs while wearing a giant and ridiculous mask that makes his head look like a smiling marshmallow. In his generally-pretty-fun music videos, he’s a marshmallow-headed teenager — with marshmallow-headed parents, and marshmallow-headed sports heroes — trying to make his way in the world. Even in an era when electronic dance music is no longer the dominant commercial force that it once was, Marshmello remains overwhelmingly, bafflingly popular. “Happier,” Marshmello’s collaboration with Bastille, recently peaked at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100. And if you’re a struggling festival-indie band, that marshmallow face might look something like salvation.
You are probably more familiar with Chvrches. The Scottish synthpop trio made their name with two excellent albums of fizzy, emotionally forthright music. But last year, Chvrches made Love Is Dead, a significantly more commercial album that paired them with big-name pop producer Greg Kurstin. It did not go well. The album came out to a critical shrug, and Chvrches have actually been moving their way down the bill on festival posters since its release — though, honestly, they’re still doing fine for themselves.
Today, Marshmello has released a new single called “Here With Me.” It’s billed as a Chvrches collab, and it features a warm and sincere guest vocal from Chvrches singer Lauren Mayberry. The song is standard-issue dance-pop fluff, with a bit more of an emotional pull to it thanks to Mayberry’s performance. It’s the sort of song that you might forget about immediately after hearing. And there is a very real chance that it will soon become Chrvches’ biggest hit. Listen below.
“Here With Me” is out now at the streaming services.