Chvrches
Scottish electro-pop trio Chvrches will be touring with a live drummer for the first time when they open their upcoming tour at SDSU’s Open Air Theatre on September 20, where they’ll be plugging their third album, Love Is Dead, due at the end of May. Four singles have been circulated so far; “Get Out,” “My Enemy” (featuring Matt Berninger of the National), “Never Say Die,” and the newest, “Miracle,” which takes their propensity for epic bombast and bluster to levels that even Freddie Mercury might find a bit over-the-top. You can ascribe either thanks or blame for this newly double-stuffed wall of sound to the fact that, for the first time, their album isn’t independently produced. Instead, they brought in frequently flowery Eurythmics mainman David Stewart and producer Greg Kurstin, the latter best known as the primary musician on, producer for, and co-writer of Adele’s monster hit “Hello.” If you already thought Chvrches was pretty much the modern day incarnation of Depeche Mode and New Order, just imagine either of those bands fronted by Meatloaf and Kate Bush, and that’s a good idea of how the new album is likely to come off in a full live band setup.