"Crafting songs with big synths and bigger melodies, Chvrches combine their indie roots with their love of chart-friendly pop. The mix of Lauren Mayberry’s crystalline, emotive vocals and the sweeping synths of Iain Cook and Martin Doherty on 2013's bittersweet yet anthemic debut album The Bones of What You Believe bridged the gap between the classic synth pop of Depeche Mode and New Order and the brash, EDM-influenced sounds of the early 2010s, influencing countless contemporaries along the way. Later, Chvrches brought an extra sheen to their music without sacrificing any of its depth. They went all in on their pop leanings on 2018's Love Is Dead, where their collaborators ranged from pop producer Greg Kurstin to the National's Matt Berninger. On 2021's Screen Violence, Chvrches sharpened the edges and hooks of their songs as they reaffirmed their place as synth pop standard-bearers.

Before Chvrches formed, keyboardist/vocalist Iain Cook and keyboardist/vocalist Martin Doherty became friends in 2003 while studying at Glasgow's University of Strathclyde. The pair forged their musical partnership when Doherty asked Cook to produce his band Julia Thirteen. Though little came of the sessions, they continued to work together, and became members of the band Aereogramme. By 2007, they had left that group, with Doherty joining the Twilight Sad as a touring member and Cook becoming a composer for film and television. Seeking a change from alternative rock, they founded their own experimental synth project. In September 2011, the pair invited vocalist Lauren Mayberry, who'd previously played with the band Blue Sky Archives and holds a law degree as well as a Master's degree in journalism, to sing on some demos. The sessions went so well that the trio christened itself Chvrches -- spelling it with a "v" instead of a "u" to differentiate themselves in internet searches -- and began writing songs inspired by Prince, Depeche Mode, and Kate Bush." (Promo Copy)