"Empty Threat" is a song by Scottish

synth-pop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a subgenre of new wave music that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s ...

band

Chvrches Chvrches (stylised CHVRCHΞS and pronounced "Churches") are a Scottish pop band from Glasgow, formed in September 2011. The band consists of Lauren Mayberry, Iain Cook, Martin Doherty and, unofficially since 2018, Jonny Scott. Mostly deriving f ...

from their second studio album ''

Every Open Eye ''Every Open Eye'' is the second studio album by Scottish synth-pop band Chvrches. It was released on 25 September 2015 by Virgin EMI Records and Goodbye Records. Self-produced, it is the band's follow-up to their critically acclaimed debut albu ...

''. It was released as the fourth single on 19 October 2015 via

Virgin Virginity is the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. The term ''virgin'' originally only referred to sexually inexperienced women, but has evolved to encompass a range of definitions, as found in traditional, modern ...

and Goodbye Records.

Background

Iain Cook Iain Andrew Cook (born 2 November 1974) is a Scottish musician, composer, record producer, and member of Glasgow-based pop band Chvrches. He played guitar for the Scottish post-rock band Aereogramme until their breakup in 2007. Cook also co ...

has said of the song:

Critical reception

The song received generally positive reviews. Georgia Parke of '' The Chronicle'' called it "a treat ... thankfully fast and crystal clear with Mayberry's best vocals on the album." Andrew Trendell of ''

Gigwise ''Gigwise'' is a British online music news site that features music news, photos, album reviews, music festivals, concert tickets and video content. Founded in June 2001, the site is based in London, England. History Gigwise was launched in 2001 ...

'' said it "is an overwhelming surge of happy toxins - brought on by the kind of soundtrack to those moments in 80s movies where the losers figure it out and come out on top. So shamelessly satisfying, this is the audio equivalent of high five."

Music video

The music video for "Empty Threat" was filmed at

Rapids Water Park Rapids Water Park is a water park in Riviera Beach, Florida, United States, that occupies 30 acres. The park includes 42 slides and attractions, including a wave pool (up to six-foot waves), dual seven-story speed slides, and a quarter-mile lazy ...

Riviera Beach, Florida Riviera Beach is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States, which was incorporated September 29, 1922. Due to the location of its eastern boundary, it is also the easternmost municipality in the Miami metropolitan area, which was home to ...

, with Austin Peters directing. Peters shot on

16 mm film 16 mm film is a historically popular and economical gauge of film. 16 mm refers to the width of the film (about inch); other common film gauges include 8 and 35 mm. It is generally used for non-theatrical (e.g., industrial, educ ...

, citing an emotional quality of film that he feels digital media lacks. According to Peters, the band weren't included in the music video in part because they weren't particularly interested in being in it, but also because the premise of the video didn't really justify including the band; had the band been a group of high school goths, he said, their presence would have contributed greatly to the video and its atmosphere. Regardless, Peters felt the band were extremely supportive of the idea and were a pleasure to work with. The video was released through Chvrches' YouTube channel on 20 November 2015.

Charts

References

{{authority control 2015 singles 2015 songs Chvrches songs Virgin EMI Records singles Songs written by Iain Cook Songs written by Lauren Mayberry Songs written by Martin Doherty