Band is plotting first album since 2021
(photo: Jody Evans)
Five years after the release of their last album, CHVRCHES — Lauren Mayberry, Martin Doherty and Iain Cook — have returned with “Roses,” a blast of tense synth rock that signals a decidedly new chapter for the Scottish band. It’s out now as the group’s first release via Futures Music Group (Lykke Li, Phantogram, Mt. Joy) after a long stint with Glassnote.
“Roses” offers the first taste of new material that CHVRCHES say will push beyond the sonic territory they’ve previously explored. After their longest-ever break between albums, the Glasgow trio returned to the writing process with an explicit vision. Their last album, 2021’s Screen Violence, debuted at No. 1 in Scotland and No. 4 in the U.K.
“When we got together to write new music, we wanted to really push ourselves and not be retreading ground we’d walked before,” Mayberry says. “I really think we achieved that. It feels like the most coherent vision we’ve had as a band. We’re excited to be back.”
CHRVCHES has been largely inactive since 2023, with Mayberry releasing her debut solo album, Vicious Creature, in 2024. The group did reassemble in March during a My Bloody Valentine-headlined Teenage Cancer Trust benefit at London’s Royal Albert Hall, during which it debuted additional new songs “Lullabies,” “Nightmares” and “Conman.”
Those songs could reappear at two intimate shows next month set for Glasgow on Oct. 26 and London on Oct. 29. Fans can enter to win tickets through CHRVCES’ web site.