''Screen Violence'' is the fourth studio album 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 ...

. It was released on 27 August 2021 through

EMI Records EMI Records (formerly EMI Records Ltd.) is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British flagship label by the music company of the same name in 1972, and launched in January 1973 as the succ ...

in the UK and

Glassnote Records Glassnote Records (also known as Glassnote Entertainment Group LLC) is a record label that was launched by American music executive Daniel Glass in 2007. The label primarily has a lineup of indie rock and alternative rock artists, most notably M ...

in the US. Lead single " He Said She Said" was released on 19 April. The album was announced alongside the second single, "How Not to Drown", a collaboration with Robert Smith, lead singer of

the Cure The Cure are an English Rock music, rock band formed in 1978 in Crawley, Crawley, West Sussex. Throughout numerous lineup changes since the band's formation, guitarist, lead vocalist, and songwriter Robert Smith (musician), Robert Smith has re ...

. The album was promoted with a North American tour from November to December 2021.

Background and recording

The album began in 2020 during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

as ideas shared over video calls and audio-sharing programs. It was produced by the band and recorded between

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

and

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. Frontwoman

Lauren Mayberry Lauren Eve Mayberry (born 7 October 1987) is a Scottish singer, musician and songwriter. She is the vocalist and percussionist of the Scottish pop band Chvrches. In Chvrches, Mayberry co-writes and co-produces the songs with Iain Cook and Ma ...

said it felt "freeing initially" for the album to start out as something "escapist" but that the lyrics ended up being "definitely still personal". The album title came from an idea for the name of the band, but was then adapted for the title of the album due to the theme of violence "on screen, by screens and through screens – with songs addressing feelings of loneliness, disillusionment and fear, among other emotions".

Martin Doherty Martin Clifford Doherty (born 24 December 1982) is a Scottish musician, singer and record producer. He is a member of Glasgow-based pop band Chvrches, with whom he has recorded four studio albums. Prior to forming Chvrches, Doherty was a tou ...

called the album title "a bit more literal han just a concept When we were making the record, it was like half of our lives were lived through screens." The single "How Not to Drown" evolved from a piano and drum demo recorded by Doherty and was written during a time when he was dealing with "crippling depression and anxiety". ''Screen Violence'' is also the first Chvrches studio album to not have a track where Martin Doherty provides the main vocals, though Doherty does sing the bridge on "Violent Delights".

Track listing

Personnel

Chvrches *

– vocals, keyboards, percussion, production *

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 ...

– keyboards, programming, guitar, bass, production, mixing *

– keyboards, programming, guitar, bass, additional vocals on "Violent Delights", production, mixing Additional personnel * Robert Smith – vocals, bass (playing a

Fender Bass VI The Fender Bass VI, originally known as the Fender VI, is a six-string electric bass guitar made by Fender. Design concept and history The Fender VI was released in 1961 and followed the concept of the Danelectro six-string bass released in 1956 ...

) and backwards guitar on "How Not To Drown" *

Gavin Lurssen Gavin Lurssen is an American mastering engineer. He owns Lurssen Mastering in Hollywood, California.mastering * Samuel Stewart – vocal engineering * Scott Kiernan – creative direction * Lary 7 – original cover photography

Charts

References

{{Authority control 2021 albums Chvrches albums Glassnote Records albums EMI Records albums