Screen Violence

For their previous album, Love Is Dead, Chvrches worked with external producers such as Greg Kurstin and oriented their sound closer to pop music. ==Recording==

The title Screen Violence came from an discarded name for the band, and was initially floated as a new album concept in 2019, inspired by the theme of violence "on screen, by screens and through screens". As the pandemic began, the album was continued remotely, with collaboration being done via programs such as Zoom; Doherty noted that the album's name became "a bit more literal" with its onset, with the band feeling "like half of our lives were lived through screens." Doherty stated that the lack of touring allowed more experimentation with sounds and techniques. It features vocals by the Cure frontman Robert Smith, who was approached by the band's manager, despite Doherty considering it implausible Smith would get in touch. Once Smith approached the band, they sent the track and he sent back his vocal performance. ==Composition and themes==

Like Chvrches' previous work, Screen Violence is a synth-pop album, though it is tonally darker than the band's past albums. Experimentation during the pandemic led Doherty to incorporate more guitar elements. It has been described as having a horror theme, In an interview for the album, Mayberry noted that women were not often centred in these movies. Mayberry stated she intended to take a "different" lyrical direction from Chvrches' earlier work, abandoning the "parameters [she] would normally put in place" in favour of more narrative-based lyrics, and citing Nick Cave and Jenny Lewis as inspiration. Mayberry said it felt "freeing initially" for it to start out as a more abstract and "escapist" concept, but the lyrics ended up being "definitely still personal", The lyrics of "How Not to Drown" are about being "disillusioned about music and the industry", reflecting a time when Mayberry was considering leaving the band. The album also incorporates more direct horror references; "Violent Delights" references A Nightmare on Elm Street. ==Release and promotion==

Lead single "He Said She Said" was released on 19 April 2021. The album was announced on June 2 alongside the second single, "How Not to Drown", in collaboration with Robert Smith. The third single, "Good Girls", was released on July 12. In early August, horror filmmaker and composer John Carpenter released a remix of "Good Girls", with Chvrches releasing a remix of his track "Turning the Bones" in exchange. The music videos for all three singles were made in collaboration with visual artist Scott Kiernan, who the band found through a Moog advertisement; Kiernan also took a role as creative director for Screen Violence. The album was released on 27 August 2021 through EMI Records in the UK and Glassnote Records in the US. On October 29, the band released a "director's cut" edition, containing three additional songs. The album was promoted with a North American tour from November to December 2021. The next year, they collaborated on a guitar pedal named after the album with Old Blood Noise Endeavors. ==Reception==

The ratings aggregation website Metacritic described Screen Violence as having "universal acclaim", holding a score of 81/100 based on a weighted average of critical reviews. Robert Smith and Chvrches won the Best Song By A UK Artist award for "How Not to Drown" at the NME Awards 2022. ==Track listing==

Credits adapted from Tidal. Chvrches • Lauren Mayberry – vocals, keyboards, percussion, production • Iain Cook – keyboards, programming, guitar, bass, production, mixing • Martin Doherty – keyboards, programming, guitar, bass, additional vocals on "Violent Delights", production, mixing Additional personnel • Robert Smith – vocals, bass (playing a Fender Bass VI) and backwards guitar on "How Not To Drown" • Gavin Lurssen – mastering • Samuel Stewart – vocal engineering • Scott Kiernan – creative direction • Lary 7 – original cover photography ==Charts==