PVRIS - ‘Evergreen’ - review
PVRIS - Evergreen (HIVE)
PVRIS has been a staple in the alternative community since the release of their debut album ‘White Noise’ in 2014, combining the electronic elements that were once foreign in the rock genre to create a sound that was wholly new and that many of us have come to know and love. Their work has never been easy to define, switching between genres seamlessly throughout each new release. Their eclectic fourth album ‘Evergreen’ is no exception.
Their sound has obviously evolved since the early days of the band, choosing to take a more intricate route instead of the crushing-electro rock that they burst onto the scene with nearly ten years ago. On ‘Evergreen’, PVRIS has chosen to refine this sound and expand on the sounds that become synonymous with the band and their performances.
The first half of the album stays true to their roots, utilizing electronic elements and Gunn’s skills as a multi-instrumentalist to create a brash, energetic episode that would have no problem in inciting mosh-pits with its anthemic choruses and pulsing electric bass lines. Opening track ‘I don’t wanna do this anymore’ has no problem in hooking in listeners with its repetitive nature that is a clever trick – this repetitiveness means that the hook gets stuck in listeners heads extremely easily, creating a theme for the next half hour of listening. Evergreen whips between lively tracks like ‘Good Enemy’ and ‘Goddess’ with their catchy vocal hooks and punchy drumbeats that are built for festival season and their upcoming arena tour with Fall Out Boy.
Whilst energetic, there are some moodier and darker parts of the album that allow Gunn to showcase her range as an artist. ‘Hype Zombies’ utilizes industrial synths to create a foreboding intro before her voice carries us through lyrics about self-confidence and belief in herself. The track builds in intensity throughout before it ultimately reaches its crescendo near the end, utilizing the strings that are heared throughout PVRIS’ work to create a sense of familiarity for listeners.
Searching the definition of ‘evergreen’ will offer words like timeless, fresh, and unlimited; this is exactly what this album has become for PVRIS. Fans that have followed the band through previous releases will recognize their distinctive sound throughout ‘Evergreen’, though it builds upon the existing building blocks to dig deeper into what makes this band tick. It whips between the energetic and emotional with a frantic nature, sandwiching the stripped back, raw ‘Anywhere But Here’ between tracks that use industrial and dynamic instrumentation. These abrupt changes have been what has drawn fans to the band since its inception, creating a sense of the unexpected throughout their discography. This sound has evidently been refined throughout the last ten years and ‘Evergreen’ is the next stage in its evolution. It’s a more mature and self-confident sound from Lynn Gunn, all whilst still having the same level of exploration into her mutli-instrumental talents as past records.
Rating: 5/5
