Throughout the past 20 or so months, CHVRCHES have been one of those band we’ve felt intimately connected with through our screens. From their Spring 2020 “Separate But Together” livestreams to a series of riveting singles to August album Screen Violence, the Scottish electronic-pop trio remained a vocal presence through social compassion in the age of social distancing. Tonight (December 1), we’re able to get reacquainted IRL with Lauren Mayberry and the boys as they bring their sharp new LP to Boston’s House of Blues.
Screen Violence, CHVRCHES’ fourth studio album, has been well-received, buoyed by a trio of singles: April’s “He Said She Said”; Robert Smith collab “How Not To Drown”; and July’s “Good Girls”.
The LP takes its title from an early possible moniker for the band, and was resurrected a decade on to reflect the chaos of the modern word — and how we view it on a daily basis. The record centers around themes of loneliness, disillusionment, fear, heartbreak and regret, based around screen violence in three forms: On screen, by screens, and through screens.
So it all feels fairly fitting for life in 2021, as we’re overwhelmed on a daily basis by what we consume through the screens forever in front of us. Now, we get to hear it, see it, and feel it, right in front of us on Lansdowne Street.
“I think for me it was helpful to go into the process with the idea that I could write something escapist almost,” says Mayberry. “That felt freeing initially, to have concepts and stories to weave your own feelings and experiences through but in the end, all the lyrics were definitely still personal.” Martin Doherty adds: “To me, the screen aspect was a bit more literal. When we were making the record, it was like half of our lives were lived through screens. What began as a concept was now a lifeline.”
That lifeline extends into Boston this evening. Check out CHVRCHES’ August performance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon for a quick taste of what’s in store tonight.
CHVRCHES + DONNA MISSAL :: Wednesday, December 1 at The House of Blues, 15 Lansdowne St. in Boston, MA :: 6:30 p.m., all ages, $46 to $66, sold out :: HOB event page :: Ticket link