CHVRCHES @ SWG3, Glasgow, 12 Mar

CHVRCHES return to Glasgow for a long-overdue hometown show and bring with them bags of charisma, drama and brilliance

Live Review by Anita Bhadani | 16 Mar 2022
  • CHVRCHES live at TRNSMT 2018, Glasgow Green

'It’s hard to hit rewind / When I feel like / I feel like I’m losin' my mind'.

CHVRCHES take to the stage at SWG3, and launch into an anthemic He Said, She Said, the lead single from 2021’s Screen Violence. On the songwriting process lead singer Lauren Mayberry said in an interview with Annie Mac: “I feel like it was better to scream frustration into a pop song than scream it into the void – and hopefully that’s something that anybody can relate to at this moment.”

Indeed, Screen Violence is an album full of loud, difficult feelings that often go unspoken. There’s a sense of catharsis in hearing CHVRCHES perform these songs live, channelling isolating feelings and darkness into defiant, visceral synth-pop songs experienced collectively. On stage the band’s presence is arresting. Bathed in neon fluorescent hues, Jonny Scott is on drums, while Martin Doherty and Iain Cook control the keys and electronics. Taking centre stage, Mayberry is charismatic, drawing the crowd in with her infectious energy and powerhouse vocals; spinning around and taking time to joke with the audience between songs. 

About a third of the way into the set, there’s a definitive shift in energy – almost akin to an electricity in the air – as the band truly settle into the groove. The bass grows in intensity, the lights get brighter and the theatrics even more spectacular. This momentum builds throughout their set, until Mayberry leaves the stage and returns after a pause, arms outstretched to the crowd, running crimson with fake blood. Contrasted with the charm of their characteristic synth-pop sound, it’s dramatic, borderline camp, and utterly brilliant. 

It’s an apt encapsulation of the band’s use of horror throughout this era of their creative output, to magnify experiences that exist in the everyday, beyond fiction alone. But the intensity is punctuated throughout with moments of light. This is CHVRCHES' first show in their hometown of Glasgow for some time, Mayberry tells us. For the occasion, she’s brought a Scotland flag with her which, after a brief hesitation, she drapes on stage. The band play on past their scheduled finishing time, which is warmly welcomed by the crowd. “If you’re going to play a set," Mayberry says, "you’ve got to do it right.”

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