Albums to watch

Screen Violence

Chvrches

Screen Violence

Fourth album from the Glasgow synthpop trio includes a contribution from The Cure's Robert Smith

ADM rating[?]

7.8

Label
Virgin
UK Release date
27/08/2021
US Release date
27/08/2021
  1. 10.0 |   DIY

    Their most euphoric rallying cry to date
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  2. 9.0 |   Northern Transmissions

    Sonically and overall ‘Screen Violence’ feels like a huge leap forward for CHVRCHES; as a group who’ve worked their way up festival bills and to bigger venues over their decade as a group, their fourth album is custom built to fill those colossal expanses
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  3. 9.0 |   Vinyl Chapters

    The excellence of Screen Violence is threefold. It lies in the album’s overall themes (self-reflection and the prevalence of technology in the band’s career and lives), musical broad brushstrokes (signature production and sound) and the finer details (lyric setting). This combination creates an effect that is nothing short of captivating
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  4. 9.0 |   All Music

    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
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  5. 9.0 |   Gigwise

    Their most intriguing record since their debut
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  6. 8.3 |   A.V. Club

    There’s only so much distance from the group’s debut, but the Glasgow band’s latest record gets deeper — and better — with repetition
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  7. 8.0 |   The Observer

    The Glaswegian trio use horror film tropes to explore fame, double standards and battles closer to home on their intense fourth album
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  8. 8.0 |   The FT

    The Scottish synth-pop trio radiate more confidence than ever in the high drama and retro hooks of their fourth album
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  9. 8.0 |   The Skinny

    Chvrches' new album explores how we live on, by, and through screens in the trio's signature sparkling synth-pop style
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  10. 8.0 |   PopMatters

    There are some gorgeous highlights on this album; there’s no filler, an impressive feat for a record with ten tracks
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  11. 8.0 |   Uncut

    Screen Violence is a punchy and determined effort, full of big hooks ands awash with glittering synth textures. Print edition only

  12. 8.0 |   Albumism

    The trio has crafted a near-perfect post-pandemic (oh please God) synth-pop journey that is at once an escape and a finding of common ground
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  13. 8.0 |   The Independent

    It’s their best album to date
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  14. 8.0 |   Evening Standard

    For anyone who isn’t in the mood for escapism, here’s a great way to wallow in the bad stuff
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  15. 8.0 |   Clash

    Essentially, ‘Screen Violence’ enjoys gouging into the heart of 2021, and offering it up to an unsuspecting stranger. CHVRCHES have cut a glistening gemstone out of the Covid zeitgeist
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  16. 8.0 |   musicOMH

    Chvrches are in a comfy place at the minute: their sound isn’t all that new or exciting anymore, but it’s still as enjoyable as ever, with more anthemic lyrics and shiny synths than you can shake a memory stick at
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  17. 8.0 |   NME

    The Glasgow trio embody the digital experience on an album about the dystopia within our phones screens, with help from The Cure's Robert Smith
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  18. 8.0 |   Exclaim

    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
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  19. 8.0 |   No Ripcord

    Her empowering message points at the daily toxic attitudes that female celebrities deal with. Screen Violence also projects confidence in a musical sense with its grand synth-pop and new wave, resisting and challenging the misogyny that unfortunately reaches far beyond our screens
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  20. 7.5 |   Spectrum Culture

    The trio may no longer sound as cutting edge as they did on their debut, but they’re certainly not going gently into the dark of their mid-career
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  21. 7.2 |   Pitchfork

    On its fourth album, the Scottish trio steps back from the grandest pop aspirations and embraces a horror-movie concept without losing its signature brightness and sense of joy
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  22. 7.0 |   Slant Magazine

    Chvrches’s fourth album, Screen Violence, is imbued with a more overt sense of political purpose, but it’s also abundant in hooks
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  23. 7.0 |   Loud And Quiet

    Whilst never quite hitting the heights of those massive early singles, Screen Violence is the sound of Chvrches back on track
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  24. 7.0 |   The Line Of Best Fit

    For the bigger part of Screen Violence, Chvrches keep things exciting while staying unapologetically themselves
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  25. 7.0 |   Rolling Stone

    The Glasgow band tackles the misogyny and despairs of the digital age on their latest album
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  26. 6.1 |   Paste Magazine

    The Scottish synth-pop trio retread well-trodden territory on their fourth album
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  27. 6.1 |   Beats Per Minute

    Screen Violence will struggle to hold listeners’ attention, no matter how in-your-face they’ve returned with their formula. 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
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  28. 6.0 |   Mojo

    When Robert Smith guests on the strident How Not to Drown it's a perfect retro storm. Yet the opening Asking For A Friend has a very 2021 clatter, while Violent Delights evokes a sugar-free Ellie Goulding. Print edition only

  29. 6.0 |   The Irish Times

    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
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