Label: Hopeless Records
Released: 14th July 2023
“Pray for better times, because something doesn’t feel right,” sings Lynn Gunn on ‘ I Don’t Wanna Do This Anymore’, the direct opening track to PVRIS’ fourth album ‘Evergreen’ that sees her ready to walk away. And who could blame her for feeling disillusioned? After taking ownership of the band she’d always steered for 2020’s ‘Use Me’, the album was hit by numerous delays while headline runs were postponed, then cancelled due to COVID. A label change stamped out any remaining momentum, while Machine Gun Kelly’s reimaging of PVRIS’ 2014 single ‘My House’ saw a wave of new fans crying out for a return to the band’s angsty roots.
Lynn’s response is ‘Evergreen’, a pulsating electro-rock album that’s as ambitious, artistic and brilliant as anything PVRIS have ever put their name to. Flickering between swaggering guitar anthems like the joyous ‘Good Enemy’, the moody ‘Animal’ or ‘Hype Zombies’ mosh-pit inciting energy and pretty, delicate moments of calm reflection, the record embraces the contradictions that have always been part of this band’s charm. ‘Love Is a…’ is a lush, trance-inspired song about surrender, while the stripped-back ‘Anywhere But Here’ is full of escapist romance. It’s a record full of extremes, but it never feels jarring with the PVRIS world, fully formed and fearless.
While many of their peers are relying on nostalgia, PVRIS have taken the snarling attitude of what’s come before and twisted it into something new. The album has been described by Lynn as “anti-virality and anti-instant gratification”, but every track hits hard, from the twinkling rage of ‘Take My Nirvana’ to the glitching ‘Senti-Mental’. There’s a fierce air of defiance to ‘Evergreen’, but there’s also a whole lot of peace as Lynn brings together all of PVRIS’ conflicting ideas into one gorgeous record that sets up the future perfectly.
