A Rejected Band Name Became The Driving Force Behind The New CHVRCHES Album

Throughout the last 18 months, the majority of us have spent more time than ever on our screens, whether it be for work, staying in touch with friends and family or just for some straight up digital escapism from the world around us.

For Scottish synth-pop trio CHVRCHES, the forced low gear shift as the COVID-19 pandemic gripped globally was an entirely unpredicted and unprecedented jolt for a band frequently used to life on the go. But while the group faced following up their pop-laden 2018 full-length Love Is Dead staring down the barrel of a pandemic, a significant glance to the past emerged, as CHVRCHES vocalist and percussionist Lauren Mayberry discussed on today's episode of The Green Room podcast with host Tiana Speter. 

"We're really excited for people to hear the fruits of our lockdown labour," Mayberry told Speter. 

"And god knows, people need something to distract themselves with something to look forward to. So hopefully the record can be part of some of that for some people."

"We had the title, so 'Screen Violence' the phrase was actually a proposed band name that we never ended up using.

"I think at the time we just thought it'd be too 'retro', and we didn't want people to think we were doing an '80s pantomime.

"We were definitely inspired by that era, but not only that."

As the Scottish group toured Love Is Dead well before face masks and social distancing entered our daily vernacular, the Screen Violence moniker sat dormant - but not entirely forgotten by the trio.

"We kept it thinking maybe we would use it for something later," Mayberry recalled.

"When we were still touring our last record, it was summer 2019; and I was trying to think of ideas for what to suggest for what we could do.

"I found this big list of band names, and [Screen Violence] just jumped out at me because I knew Iain and Martin would find something in that in terms of the aesthetic and the sounds. And I knew that it was something that I could write off of, because I think there was a lot of layers to what that could mean for all of us, and for me personally.

"We didn't intend there to be the third meaning of Screen Violence, which is that we had to make it all remotely over Zoom and stuff. But, you know - I guess you can never tell where life's gonna go!"

The unique opportunities offered amongst the gloom of the pandemic didn't entirely equate to smooth sailing for CHVRCHES, but for Mayberry in particular, there were plenty of positives to be found in the rubble of 2020.

"Selfishly, it was really great to have something to focus on during all that time," Mayberry mused. 

"Normally a band is an amazing but very chaotic part of your life, 'cos it's always, like, 'touring! Moving! Go, go go!' You miss weddings, you miss birthdays, you miss all the things because you, like, have this toxic relationship with your band," Mayberry laughed wryly.

"But last year it became this really, kind of, grounding, centring thing. And it was actually very comforting, everyday we go on our Zoom meeting at this time; and sometimes we don't talk about anything, we just make music and it's nice to do that for a few hours. But sometimes we were processing what was happening on the phone call with each other in real time.

"And I think we were very lucky to have that."

You can watch the full episode of The Green Room with Lauren Mayberry and Tiana Speter diving deeper into the CHVRCHES world, including 'frilly' sonic sounds, '90s inspirations and how the band nabbed their dream collaboration with The Cure's Robert Smith.

You can watch the full episode below or here, or alternatively, you can also listen to full The Green Room podcast episodes on Spotify, Apple Podcasts - or wherever you usually get your podcasts from.

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Need more music, film, TV and comedy in your life? Check out all previous episodes of The Green Room here - and did you know you can also watch episodes of The Green Room too? Head here to check out some of the recent videos, and if you're still hunting for content to feed your ears, be sure to check out some of the other exciting Handshake Agency podcasts below!

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