Scottish synth-pop band, CHVRCHES, released their latest album Screen Violence in August. The work stands out for a number of reasons, including for a guest spot by Robert Smith of The Cure, and for being what Pitchfork describes as "full of nightmare imagery, alluding to sleep paralysis, drowning, gutting, and the 'final girl,'" the latter referring to the female survivor of horror films.
The band is now on tour and will be at Stage AE on Mon., Nov. 22.
The trio took some time to do a 5 Questions with Pittsburgh City Paper ahead of the show.
1. What have you missed most about touring/playing live?
Playing live has always been such a big part of CHVRCHES and it always feels like the best, most direct way to communicate with our fans. The response to the new songs so far has been amazing but it's always special to see how people connect with certain songs and what those songs mean in their lives.
2. How is Screen Violence different compared to your previous albums?
Tonally, Screen Violence is darker than a lot of the previous CHVRCHES material but there is still an undercurrent of hope and perseverance. We always joke that, if we were allowed to name our genre, we could call it dance-cry or tragedy-dance. Trage-dance? There's something freeing about being able to feel something sad in a cathartic, celebratory way. I think everyone could use a bit more of that right about now.
3. Which songs have been your favorite to play on tour so far?
A song like "The Mother We Share" will always be a special part of the set because it was such a pivotal point for the band, but seeing people connect with the songs from Screen Violence — especially tracks like "Asking For A Friend" and "Final Girl" — is really moving because those songs were written at then height of 2020 lockdown when things really did feel quite hopeless. The fact those songs can now be associated with moments of joy for people, and for us, is really something.
4. I see you’ve played at Stage AE before. What are you excited for upon returning to the venue and Pittsburgh?
We have always had a great time when we've played in Pittsburgh and are excited to come back. The crowds have always been very kind and generous. We thought a lot about the visuals and stage show for the Screen Violence tour and I can't wait for people to see it.
5. What are you most looking forward to with this tour?
Bringing the new songs to life has been really fun. We always thought about Screen Violence as a very visual album but weren't fully sure if we'd be able to tour it, so getting to play these shows at all is really incredible. We really want the live show to feel like an escape for people, and I think we achieved that with this show. This is the CHVRCHES live show I am most proud of and we can't wait for people to see it.
CHVRCHES with Donna Missal. 7 p.m. Mon., Nov. 22. 400 North Shore Drive, North Side. $33-85. promowestlive.com
