Chvrches on new single ‘Over’: ‘it’s been a while since we pressed the pop dial’

Chvrches have told Rolling Stone UK about their recent single ‘Over’, while also teasing plans to mark the tenth anniversary of their debut album later this year.

The Scottish synth-pop trio – Lauren Mayberry, Iain Cook and Martin Doherty – released the powerful one-off track last month as well as confirming details of three UK headline shows this summer.

Speaking to Rolling Stone UK, Mayberry explained how the new effort was originally meant to feature on their 2021 album ‘Screen Violence’ – which took aim at our increasing dependency on mobile phones and modern technology. The one-off release has now been changed in order to distance it from that album.

“There was originally a more Screen Violence-y version, but we’ve changed the lyrics,” explained Mayberry.

“It didn’t make sense on its own and it would have just seemed really dark and sinister. It’s not what you want to lead with all the time. Chvrches has always been about the balance between the light and the dark. It had been a while since we pressed the pop dial, so it was nice to get back into that head space”.

The track, produced by renowned Swedish studio whizz Oscar Holter, is instead defined by a desire for better times ahead. “Keep me in the dark/ Then fast-forward to the part/ With endless nights and neon lights/ I’ll be beautiful and starry-eyed,” sings Mayberry.

While new songs can traditionally kick off a new album campaign, the group were also keen to stress that the release is a one-off.

“We just thought it deserved its moment to shine,” said Cook. “In terms of whether it points the direction of future stuff, we have no idea. It’s something we won’t discuss until we’re at the point of writing the next album. That tends to be how it is. We’ll have to wait and see.”

But either way, it marks the start of a big year for the band as they gear up to celebrate ten years since releasing their debut album ‘The Bones Of What You Believe’ in September 2013.

“It feels like ten years, but in some ways it doesn’t,” explained Doherty.

“If I think back to where my life was ten years ago, it feels like I’ve lived five lifetimes, but in other it feels like five minutes since that record came out. It’s a strange feeling.”

“We’re digging through our hard drives and uncovering artefacts from that era, super-early versions of songs and demos that didn’t make it,” explained Mayberry.

“We’re at the admin stage, but we definitely want to do something because that album will always be significant to us and it feels significant we’re still here after ten years. We’re definitely going to do something and we’re not going to short change the fans on that.”