The Scottish synth-pop trio Chvrches’ excellent new album is called Screen Violence, which was an early proposed name for the band. “We initially came up with ‘Screen Violence’ because we all love that era of horror movies — the David Cronenberg-y Videodrome type space,” says singer Lauren Mayberry.
Chvrches explores horror tropes on the new album, its fourth. “Every song has a reference to something in the cinematic or horror movie universe,” Mayberry says. The band even teamed up with Halloween director John Carpenter, himself a musician, on a split 7-inch.
MacBook Air
“In March 2020, Iain went back to Scotland, and myself and Martin stayed in Los Angeles. The rest of the record was made remotely using Zoom and Audiomovers. My poor little laptop, she’s on her last legs and struggled running so many programs. I had to get a fan stand because it was overheating.”
Amazon Kindle
“I was adamant for a long time that I did not want to get a Kindle, because I, like many people, am uncomfortable with parts of Amazon. But on tour, the Kindle is practical. I just finished a book called Dead Girls by Alice Bolin.”
HeimVision A80S Sunrise Alarm Clock
“For the 10 minutes before it goes off, it will start to light up, and then it whispers chimes to you. My boyfriend set an alarm on his phone the other day, and he used the the fuckin’ nuclear radar sound. I like not to shit my pants from panic at 7 a.m.”