Screen Violence marries visceral anger and empowerment. The result is their most euphoric rallying cry to date.
Not only is Screen Violence Chvrches’ finest work since The Bones of What You Believe, it’s also their most purposeful. It feels like they took stock of who they want to be and what they want to say, and these epic songs about letting go but holding onto the ability to feel make for a stunning creative rebirth.
Screen Violence is a punchy and determined effort, full of big hooks and awash with glittering synth textures.
Despite the daring newness, Screen Violence still feels unmistakably CHVRCHES, and one of their strongest records at that.
Creating warm, emotional synthpop is Chvrches’ forte, and Screen Violence is the kind of bruised pop record that can only be made after a year of so much loss.
It's to CHVRCHES' credit that Screen Violence doesn't suggest any shallow, put-down-your-phone answers to the questions it raises. Instead, the album makes an unflinching appraisal of present-day anxieties to summon the vitality needed to keep going, in spite of what keeps coming through the screen.
“Are the screens evil, or are we?” Chvrches wondered in a recent interview. It’s a question at the heart of Screen Violence and one the band try to answer via a heady gothic disco. It's their best album to date.
Whilst never quite hitting the heights of those massive early singles, Screen Violence is the sound of Chvrches back on track.
This band still has a lot to say. Their Solar Power might follow later, but this is not its time. Let's enjoy the beautiful and fragile vulnerability Chvrches are so good at.
Screen Violence represents an enhanced version of Chvrches and although it might not be the most radical evolution, the album marks an intriguing step forward nonetheless.
It’s a considerable improvement over the absolute mess that was Love is Dead, at the very least, but they’ve taken a step a bit too far into their past to bounce back fully.
Rather than distilling their sound into its most captivating components, Screen Violence retreads already well-trodden territory.
Fourth time around, they celebrate their decade together by setting Lauren Mayberry’s vocals — part Elizabeth Fraser, part Sugarcubes-era Bjork – against cascading banks of synthesizers ... it's a perfect retro storm.
A vast improvement on the over-zealous Love Is Dead, Screen Violence has some great moments, but still lacks the punch that made those early Chvrches records sing.
Screen Violence is a bit of a creative bounce-back for the trio.
This is everything you would expect from a CHVRCHES album, nothing more, nothing less. Except, those who want to see aesthetic development from the band might leave this experience with feelings of disappointment, because ultimately, there’s nothing new.
★★☆☆☆
Filled with so much vulnerability and confidence, “Screen Violence” trails a very ambitious path on CHVRCHES’ sonority and lyrics, and for sure makes a big growth since their last LP. With quite everything sounding splendid and the project’s concept being so relatable and transparent, it’s almost impossible not to praise such a masterpiece.
Not to say the last CHVRCHES album - Love Is Dead - was “bad”, but it lacks personality and innovation, two ... read more
Favourite: Violent Delights
Worst: Good Girls
1. Asking for a Friend - 8
2. He Said She Said - 8
3. California - 9
4. Violent Delights - 10
5. How Not To Drown - 9
6.Final Girl - 8
7. Good Girls - 7
8. Lullabies - 8
9. Nightmares - 8
10. Better If You Don't - 7.5
Average: 8.25
Quick Comment: Well that was delightful
I think it’s officially safe to declare CHVRCHES’s widely-panned third album “Love Is Dead” a fluke, or at least an unfortunate mismatch of artist aspiration and fanbase expectations from which Lauren Mayberry and co. seem to have learned. That “Screen Violence” is a major improvement over “Love Is Dead” comes as a major relief to the entire fanbase, but the album as a whole is a welcome recovery for CHVRCHES that repositions them on the ... read more
FAV TRACKS: Asking for a Friend, He Said She Said, California, ★ Violent Delights ★, How Not To Drown, Final Girl, Good Girls, Lullabies, Nightmares
LEAST FAV TRACKS: Better If You Don't
1 | Asking for a Friend 5:04 | 84 |
2 | He Said She Said 3:09 | 71 |
3 | California 4:08 | 80 |
4 | Violent Delights 5:19 | 83 |
5 | How Not To Drown 5:31 | 87 |
6 | Final Girl 4:29 | 82 |
7 | Good Girls 3:19 | 82 |
8 | Lullabies 3:44 | 80 |
9 | Nightmares 4:33 | 76 |
10 | Better If You Don't 3:31 | 74 |
#1 | / | USA Today: Patrick Ryan |
#7 | / | Consequence of Sound |
#8 | / | Chorus.fm |
#12 | / | Albumism |
#13 | / | RIFF Magazine |
#19 | / | Good Morning America |
#19 | / | Under the Radar |
#21 | / | The Young Folks |
#26 | / | Dork |
#26 | / | NME |