CHVRCHES have kicked off a new era with “Roses,” their first new song in three years.
“Roses” finds the trio of Lauren Mayberry, Iain Cook, and Martin Doherty reprising the darker, knottier approach of their acclaimed 2021 album Screen Violence and leaning heavier into a rock sound than ever before. Acoustic drums crash and guitars whine; the band’s usual synthesizer magic is still there, but it’s more of an atmospheric touch this time around.
Lyrically, Mayberry takes aim at how notions of Classical Britain — including feudalism, colonial violence, monarchy, and plagues — have infected contemporary life in the UK. She interpolates the English folk song “Ring a Ring o’ Roses” in the chorus, which is often associated with England’s Great Plague in the 1600s, the Bubonic Plague before it, and the Second World War. “All these things for God and for King/ We all keep going round,” Mayberry sings, later rapping in the bridge, “A woman is a woman even if you want her dead/ Siphoning the bodies as a way to get ahead.”
“This is the longest break we had ever taken between albums and when we got together to write new music, we wanted to really push ourselves and not be retreading ground we’d walked before,” Mayberry said in a statement. “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…” Stream “Roses” below.
CHVRCHES have remained busy since the release of Screen Violence five years ago. They notably signed a new record deal in 2022 with Island Records and shared the one-off single “Over” the following year. Mayberry went solo and released her debut album Vicious Creature; Doherty linked with touring drummer Jonny Scott to form a new band, The Leaving, and unveiled their debut album Ultimate Buzz earlier this year. CHVRCHES also released a cover of Robert Palmer’s “Addicted to Love” for the Hulu series Tell Me Lies back in January.
The group have announced a pair of shows taking place in Glasgow on October 26th and London on October 29th to celebrate their new era. Fans can enter a ballot to purchase tickets here. Meanwhile, CHVRCHES will return to North America in November to play Mexico City’s Corona Capital.
