CHVRCHES (pronounced as "churches"; stylised as CHVRCHΞS) is a Scottish electronic band from Glasgow, formed in 2011. The group consists of Lauren Mayberry (lead vocals, occasionally synths and samplers), Iain Cook (synths, guitar, bass, vocals) and Martin Doherty (synths, samplers, vocals). The group's debut album, The Bones of What You Believe, was released on 20 September 2013.
Previously, Mayberry was a member of the bands Boyfriend/Girlfriend and Blue Sky Archives. Mayberry is a trained drummer and also did a four-year law degree, followed by a Masters in journalism. Cook was a member of Aereogramme and The Unwinding Hours and also wrote music for film and TV. Doherty was a live member of The Twilight Sad. According to Mayberry, "Iain and Martin went to university together so they've known each other for quite a long time".
The band started in October 2011 as a studio project between the long time friends Iain Cook and Martin Doherty. Cook already knew Lauren Mayberry from working with Blue Sky Archives and suggested her as a potential vocalist for the project.
CHVRCHES were influenced by acts such as Prince, Tubeway Army, Robyn, Depeche Mode, Kate Bush, Cocteau Twins, Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston and Laurie Anderson. The band write, record, mix and master everything in a basement studio in Glasgow.
In May 2012, they released the song "Lies". In the same year, CHVRCHES toured with Passion Pit, as the opening band for their concerts and also toured on their own. "Lies" ranked at number 28 on NME's Best Tracks of 2012. CHVRCHES also came fifth on the BBC's Sound of 2013 list.
On 25 March 2013, they released Recover EP. They performed at SXSW and won the Inaugural Grulke Prize (for Developing Non-US Act). The band also supported Depeche Mode on four shows in July during their The Delta Machine Tour 2013.
2013: The Bones of What You Believe
On 20 September 2013, CHVRCHES released their debut album, The Bones of What You Believe. The album is supported by the singles "The Mother We Share", "Recover" and "Gun".
2015–2016: Every Open Eye
Chvrches performing at Rock en Seine in 2016
The band started recording their second album in January 2015,[41] and on 5 June 2015 announced they had completed work on it.[42] Recording was conducted in the same Glasgow facility used for The Bones, which received a major upgrade to recording gear and an increase in the instrumental variety for the second album.[43] If The Bones of What You Believe was recorded with the only three synths they had at that time (Minimoog Voyager, Prophet '08, Roland Juno-106), the success of the debut album allowed the band to follow their passion for synths by adding a lot more to play with on Every Open Eye: Korg MS-20 mini, Korg Polysix, Roland Jupiter-8, Moog Sonic Six, Oberheim OB-Xa and DSI Prophet 12.[44]
On 16 July 2015, the band revealed the release date, cover art, and track listing for the new album, entitled Every Open Eye.[45] The following day they released the album's first single, "Leave a Trace".[45] The album was released on 25 September 2015.[46][47] On 12 August 2015, the second single, "Never Ending Circles", was released,[48][49] and on 10 September 2015 the third single, "Clearest Blue", was also released.[50] On 19 October 2015, the fourth single, "Empty Threat", was released. The music video was revealed on 20 November 2015.[51]
On 31 March 2016, Chvrches made their debut at Royal Albert Hall as part of the Albert Sessions in an over two hours concert. The setlist included 17 songs from their first album and their follow-up: Every Open Eye.[52] Chvrches and Solar Fields penned the original song "Warning Call" for the 2016 video game Mirror's Edge Catalyst. The theme song was released on 13 May 2016.[53]
In June 2016, a new version of "Bury It" featuring Hayley Williams was released the fifth and final single from Every Open Eye.[54] The music video for the song was illustrated by Jamie McKelvie, featuring the band and Williams demonstrating telekinetic powers.[55]
2017–2019: Love Is Dead
Chvrches performing at the Falls Festival during the Love Is Dead Tour, 2019
Chvrches began work on their third album in February 2017.[56] The album was recorded in Los Angeles, New York City, and London.[57] On 24 February 2017, Dave Stewart of Eurythmics revealed that he was in the studio working with the band.[58] On 12 December, it was announced that Greg Kurstin had produced the album, and that work on the project was nearing completion[59] Speaking about the album in an interview, Mayberry said "It's a typically Glaswegian thing to do, to feel the most misanthropic and macabre when you're in the sunniest place on earth."[60]
To promote the upcoming album, the band wiped all of their social media pages, before posting a short video containing new music captioned "GET IN".[61][62] The post was accompanied by a link to a Facebook Messenger page with the band.[63] On 31 January 2018, BBC Radio 1's Annie Mac announced "Get Out" to be her Hottest Record in the World, giving the single its world premiere.[64] The album also includes a song titled "My Enemy" featuring Matt Berninger of The National, released 28 February 2018.[65][66] The track list was unveiled on 26 February 2018.[67] On 29 March 2018, the band released "Never Say Die" as the third single from the album.[68] On 10 April 2018, the band released "Miracle" as the fourth single from the album.[69][70] Love Is Dead was released on 25 May 2018.[66][68][71] On 9 October 2018, the band released "Graffiti" as the fifth single from the album.[72][73]
In February 2019, the band was featured in a collaboration with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra for the launch of the new BBC Scotland television channel. The channel's official launch on 24 February featured an orchestral performance of "Miracle".[74][75] In March 2019, the band collaborated with EDM artist Marshmello on the track "Here with Me".[76][77]
In October 2019, the band released the original song "Death Stranding" as the lead single of the album Death Stranding: Timefall for the 2019 video game of the same title.[78][79] Chvrches played the song with Game Awards Orchestra at the opening of The Game Awards 2019 ceremony.[80]
2020–2021: Screen Violence
Chvrches performing at the Hollywood Palladium, 2021
Chvrches started working on their fourth album in February 2020.[81] Martin Doherty and Lauren Mayberry worked on the album from Los Angeles while Iain Cook worked on the album from Glasgow.[82] Chvrches started teasing the lead single for their fourth album, given the working title CHV4,[83] on 9 April 2021.[84] On 18 April 2021, Chvrches announced "He Said She Said" as the lead single for the album and it premiered on BBC Radio 1 on 19 April 2021.[85] A second single, "How Not to Drown", featuring Robert Smith of the Cure, was released on 2 June 2021.[86] The same day, the band announced their fourth album, Screen Violence, which was released on 27 August 2021.[86] On 12 July 2021 they released the album's third and final single, "Good Girls".[87] On 25 August 2021, the band performed "Good Girls" from the album Screen Violence on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.[88][89]
2022–present: New record deal and hiatus
After spending nearly a decade with Glassnote, Chvrches signed a deal with Island Records and EMI Records in 2022.[90][91] On 24 February 2023, Chvrches released the single "Over", the first to be released as part of their new record deal.[90][91] In July 2023, Mayberry announced she would be releasing solo music in advance of a solo tour in September and October of the same year while the band would be on hiatus.
In an Instagram post, she wrote:[92]
I met Iain [Cook] and Martin [Doherty] when I was 23 — a little baby of a person, in hindsight. Looking back on what we’ve achieved together, so much of it doesn’t feel real or even possible. [...] I am so proud of all the chapters our band has been able to have and I am so grateful to my bandmates for taking me on that journey with them.
She also clarified that the band was "confident that the Chvrches story has many more pages yet to be written.”[93]
In August, she announced that her first solo single "Are You Awake?" would release on September 1.[94]
On 16 August 2023, Chvrches announced that a 10th anniversary special edition of The Bones of What You Believe was planned for release on October 13 of the same year. This release would include 4 previously unreleased tracks recorded during the production of the original album, in addition to 5 live tracks and the original 12 tracks. The first of the 4 newly added tracks, "Manhattan", was released as a single alongside the announcement.[95] The 10 Year Anniversary Special Edition was released on October 20, 2023.
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…shrink me down again