"Gun" is a song by Scottish

synth-pop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a music genre that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s b ...

band

Chvrches Chvrches (stylised CHVRCHΞS and pronounced "Churches") are a Scottish synth-pop band from Glasgow, formed in September 2011. The band consists of Lauren Mayberry, Iain Cook, Martin Doherty and, unofficially since 2018, Jonny Scott. Mostly deriv ...

from their 2013 debut album ''

The Bones of What You Believe ''The Bones of What You Believe'' is the debut studio album by Scottish synth-pop band Chvrches, released on 20 September 2013 by Virgin Records and Goodbye Records. Recorded between 2011 and 2013 in Glasgow, the album was written, composed, and ...

''. It was released as the band's third official single on 15 June 2013 via

Virgin Virginity is a social construct that denotes the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. As it is not an objective term with an operational definition, social definitions of what constitutes virginity, or the lack thereof ...

and Goodbye Records.

Release history

"Gun" debuted on

Zane Lowe Alexander Zane Reed Lowe (born 1973) is a New Zealand radio DJ, live DJ, record producer, and television presenter. After an early career in music creation, production and DJing, he moved to the UK in 1997. He came to prominence through pr ...

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and Contemporary hit radio, current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including ...

show on 27 May 2013. It was later streamed on the band's official

SoundCloud SoundCloud is a German audio streaming service owned and operated by SoundCloud Global Limited & Co. KG. The service enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is ...

page. The song was first available on the Japan-only ''EP'' on 10 July. The single was released 15 July in the United Kingdom as a download and 12" pink vinyl. A ''Gun (Remixes)'' EP, featuring four remixes by various artists, was also released along with a promotional single on 11 July.

Critical reception

The song received positive reviews. Amrit Singh of

Stereogum ''Stereogum'' is a daily Internet publication that focuses on music news, reviews, interviews, and commentary. The site was created in January 2002 by Scott Lapatine. ''Stereogum'' was one of the first MP3 blogs and has received several awar ...

described the song as "great, hook-y fodder for dusk at a summer festival side-stage, the sort of infectious, female-fronted empowerment jam that could catch you off guard while walking from one big act to another, and make you a fan." Jamie Milton of

This Is Fake DIY ''DIY'' is a United Kingdom-based music publication, in print and online. Its free print edition is released monthly with a physical circulation of 40,000 in UK venues, clubs and shops. DIY Magazine ''DIY'' was launched in 2002 by then-editor ...

described the song as "the sound of a band honing their craft when they could have stuck to one winning formula," noting the differences in mood and lyrics compared to the band's previous tracks "Lies" and "Recover". Ian Cohen of

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

called the song "brilliantly major-key without being cloying, extroverted without coming on too strong, synthetic but not stiff and metaphoric without being impressed with its own cleverness." Robin Murray of '' Clash'' described the song as "compact, effortlessly catchy and stylish as hell ... as usual, though, there's a dark side with Lauren Mayberry intoning the lyrics." Robert Leedham of Drowned in Sound interpreted the lyrics as "an intention to emotionally dismember a former beau," writing: "it is far too catchy to be taken as a terror-inducing threat; its fizzing splendour will slay your ears."

Music video

A music video for the song was released on 14 June 2013.

Track listing

Personnel

;Chvrches *

Lauren Mayberry Lauren Eve Mayberry (born 7 October 1987) is a Scottish musician who is the vocalist and percussionist of the Pop music, pop band CHVRCHES. In CHVRCHES, Mayberry co-writes and co-produces the songs with Iain Cook and Martin Doherty, and sings as ...

– lead vocals, additional synthesizers, production *

Iain Cook Iain Andrew Cook (born 2 November 1974) is a Scottish musician, composer, record producer, and member of Glasgow-based pop band Chvrches. He played guitar for the Scottish post-rock band Aereogramme until their breakup in 2007. Cook also com ...

– synthesizers, guitar, bass, vocals, production *

Martin Doherty Martin Clifford Doherty (born 24 December 1982) is a Scottish musician, singer and record producer. He is a member of Glasgow-based pop band Chvrches, with whom he has recorded four studio albums. Prior to forming Chvrches, Doherty was a tour ...

– synthesizers, samplers, vocals, production ;Other personnel *

Rich Costey Richard Costey is an American music producer, mixer, and engineer. He has worked with musicians across genres including rock, indie, pop, hip-hop, and electronica. Notable collaborators include Fiona Apple, Vampire Weekend, Foo Fighters, Sig ...

– mixing *Jonny Scott – drums

Chart positions

Remixes

The song was remixed by various musicians, including

Venice, California Venice is a neighborhood of the City of Los Angeles within the Westside region of Los Angeles County, California, United States. Venice was founded by Abbot Kinney in 1905 as a seaside resort town. It was an independent city until 1926, whe ...

-based producer Groundislava and musician Jamie Isaac. Both remixes received positive reviews. Larry Fitzmaurice of

praised the Groundislava remix, stating that "he has taken the tune and ratcheted up the energy to maximal level, to the point where it resembles something approaching Unicorn Kid's own

rave A rave (from the verb: '' to rave'') is a dance party at a warehouse, club, or other public or private venue, typically featuring performances by DJs playing electronic dance music. The style is most associated with the early 1990s dance mus ...

-revivalist creations." On the Jamie Isaac remix, Michael Cragg of ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' stated that Jamie Isaac "strips the song back to its bare bones while is augmenting the central beat by simple handclaps, adds in his own backing vocals, tweaks everything to make it seem oddly sinister and just lets it all simmer gently."

References

External links

* * {{authority control 2013 singles 2013 songs Chvrches songs Songs written by Iain Cook Songs written by Lauren Mayberry Songs written by Martin Doherty Virgin Records singles