Chanel Beads
American musician
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Chanel Beads is the musical project of American musician Shane Lavers, based in New York City and signed to Jagjaguwar.[5] Lavers works closely with singer Maya McGrory, who also records as Colle,[6] and with experimental violinist Zachary Paul.[7]
Chanel Beads | |
|---|---|
| Born | Shane Lavers |
| Origin | New York City, U.S. |
| Genres | Dream pop[1] · hypnagogic pop[2] · experimental pop[3] · art pop[4] |
| Years active | 2016–present |
| Label | Jagjaguwar |
| Website | chanelbeads |
The project's debut album,Your Day Will Come, was released in April 2024 to positive reviews.[8] A second album, deliberately given the identical title Your Day Will Come, followed in June 2026.[9]
Early life
Lavers was raised in the suburbs of Minnesota. His parents mostly listened to country-pop and Karen Carpenter, while his older brother favored Southern rap and bands such as Slipknot. Lavers developed his own eclectic taste through music discovered on torrent sites, ranging from ambient music to the Beach Boys.[10][11]
After graduating from college, Lavers followed a friend to Seattle in 2016, where he worked at a library for the blind and began playing basement shows in the local DIY scene around 2017.[7][11] It was in the Pacific Northwest DIY scene that he met Maya McGrory, who became his partner and vocal counterpart in Chanel Beads; the two later relocated together to New York City.[7][12]
Career
2016–2023: Early releases
Lavers began recording under the Chanel Beads name while living in Seattle, combining synthetic sounds and real instruments.[9] An early EP, Zut Alors, appeared in 2018.[13] After moving to New York, the 2022 tracks "Ef" and "True Altruism" attracted attention in online music circles.[9] Live, Lavers is joined by McGrory and by classically trained violinist Zachary Paul. Early performances took place at house parties, warehouses and abandoned train tunnels, and were noted for their confrontational, improvisational character.[12][7]
2023–2025: Your Day Will Come (2024)
On 8 November 2023, Chanel Beads released the single "Police Scanner", announcing a debut album on Jagjaguwar.[14] Further singles "Idea June" and "Embarrassed Dog" preceded the album, Your Day Will Come, released on 19 April 2024.[11][13] Lavers began writing the record in November 2022 while quarantining in his Brooklyn apartment, handling most instruments and production himself, with contributions from McGrory and Paul.[10] The album's cover art is a cropped image of P.S. Krøyer's painting Midsummer Eve Bonfire on Skagen Beach.[15]
The album received generally favorable reviews, holding a score of 78 on Metacritic; Pitchfork rated it 7.6, describing its unusual beauty despite oblique melodies and unstable production.[8] Reviewers also praised it in Paste, The Line of Best Fit and FLOOD.[1][8]
Following the album, Chanel Beads toured the UK and North America, appeared at festivals including South by Southwest and the Pitchfork Music Festival, and opened for artists such as Lorde, on her North American arena tour, and Mount Kimbie.[16][9] In April 2025, the project released a rework of Leya's "Corners".[14]
2025–present: Your Day Will Come (2026)
On 1 October 2025, Chanel Beads released the single "The Coward Forgets His Nightmare".[14] On 29 April 2026, Lavers announced a second album—again titled Your Day Will Come—alongside the single "Song for the Messenger".[17] A third single, "Dust in the Wind", co-written with Isaac Eiger of Strange Ranger, followed on 28 May 2026 together with the announcement of a North American tour beginning in September.[3][18][19]
The album was released on 26 June 2026 via Jagjaguwar.[9] Reusing the debut's title began partly as a joke about music-industry conventions, but Lavers came to see the phrase as evoking a tension between certainty and doubt.[20] The record again features McGrory and Paul, with additional contributors including pedal steel player Mari Rubio and Eiger.[21]
The 2026 album received positive reviews, with a critic score of 78 based on nine reviews on Album of the Year.[4] NME viewed it as an act of refinement rather than repetition,[22] The Line of Best Fit rated it 8/10,[23] and The Guardian described the project as an indie breakout of the year.[24] In June 2026, the project played its first Australian shows at Vivid Sydney and Melbourne's RISING festival, along with a Brisbane headline date.[16]
Musical style
Chanel Beads' music has been described as dream pop,[1] hypnagogic pop,[2] and experimental or art pop.[4] Lavers combines real, synthetic, and manipulated instruments, drawing influence from 1980s acts such as the Blue Nile, Prefab Sprout and David Sylvian, as well as sound collage.[10] His recordings incorporate degraded audio clips and found sounds alongside pop melodies,[20] and his songs often unfold through unconventional structures that build toward emotional climaxes, exploring themes of memory, identity, and the contradictions of modern digital life.[16]
Band members
Discography
Studio albums
- Your Day Will Come (2024)
- Your Day Will Come (2026)
Extended plays
- Zut Alors (2018)
Singles
- "Strobe Light Two / Layup" (2020)
- "Let's Go Out Tonight" (2022)
- "Ef / Shining Armor" (2022)
- "True Altruism / Ache" (2022)
- "Police Scanner" (2023)
- "Idea June" (2024)
- "Embarrassed Dog" (2024)
- "On the Everlasting Arms / Instrumental" (2024)
- "Corners (Chanel Beads Rework)" (2025)[14]
- "The Coward Forgets His Nightmare" (2025)
- "Song for the Messenger" (2026)
- "Dust in the Wind" (2026)