Reading & Leeds 2017: PVRIS: “We were stepping back and letting the universe do some work"

One night, Lynn Gunn reached New Orleans, got to her room and lay down. All she heard was silence. After PVRIS's whirlwind debut ‘White Noise', the success, the relentless touring, it wasn't until this moment that she realised she hadn't heard exactly this – nothing – in years.

"It was the first break I had in over two, three years of touring. It was the first time we had more than four or five days off," remembers Lynn. They were in the garden district, a beautiful area of the city where she was surrounded by scenery to admire at every turn. "I just remember getting to my room, laying down and hearing silence. I didn't hear the rumbling of a bus; I didn't hear the sound of a band in the background or any kind of external noise. It was just peace and quiet. I heard crickets; I heard the wind. It was really the first moment I breathed in years."

Life can't always be taken at face value. PVRIS's second album ‘All We Know of Heaven, All We Need of Hell' is similar. Up front, it can feel almost euphoric at points as you listen, but it wraps more melancholy tales, discovering yourself, admitting things aren't great in its poppy claws. There is no black and white, but a shade of greys in navigating the human condition. These thoughts began to unwind as Lynn lay there in silence, with crickets chirping close by.