BAND OF THE WEEK: PVRIS
PVRIS (LtR; Brian MacDonald, Lynn Gunn and Alex Babinski.)
Meet your new favourite band Pvris (pronounced Paris, as opposed to Puvris, P-Virus or anything else you had in mind.)
Pvris formed in Lowell, Massachusetts in 2012 under the name Operation Guillotine. Originally a five piece metalcore band, the lineup soon changed and the band became a foursome consisting of Lynn Gunn (lead vocalist), Alex Babinski (lead guitarist), Brian MacDonald (bassist) and Brad Griffin (drummer). Over time, the band evolved and there was a marked change in their musical direction as they moved from a harder sound featuring the occasional screamed vocals to the post-hardcore influenced synthpop that we love them for today.
The decision for the band to change their name from Operation Guillotine to Paris came easily; a friend passed Lynn a piece of paper in art class one day with the word ‘Paris’ on it, she liked it and it stuck. The newly named Paris soon started to gain recognition as they relentlessly searched out opportunities to play gigs in their local area. In the Summer of 2013, they won the Battle of the Bands competition at their local Warped Tour date. As a result, they earned the privilege of playing as a side act on the Ernie Ball Stage for a week of Van’s Warped tour. This was their first taste of success, their first glimpse at the crowds that would be pushing to be front row at their sets before long, and it served as an incentive to make the band work harder still.
On July 17th 2013 Pvris signed to the label Tragic Hero, who have been working to further the careers of up and coming bands for the last ten years. It was also during this time that the band officially changed their name from Paris to Pvris, a decision which had to be made due to copyright issues; the official announcement was made on the bands Facebook page on July 26th. After completing a US tour with labelmates A Skylit Drive towards the end of 2013, the band parted ways with drummer Brad Griffin and continued as a three piece.
Following Brad’s departure, the remaining members of Pvris entered the studio with Blake Harnage (and excellent musician in his own right and the guitarist of American rock band Versa) to record their first official release as Pvris. The world was graced with the band’s four track Acoustic EP on the first of April, 2014. This collection of songs is haunting, incredibly atmospheric and feels exceedingly intimate compared to many over-produced debut releases. The lyrics are clever, the vocals are honest, and the band seem so raw yet so professional; there is no confusion about their musical direction and they seem to know exactly who they are, but their unwavering love of music and sheer passion for creation shines through in everything they do and produce. They are truly a breath of fresh air.
A mere two months after the Acoustic EP was released, Pvris signed to Rise Records and Velocity. They had initially accepted an offer from another label, but on the day they were due to sign those contracts no other than Kellin Quinn (Sleeping with Sirens’ frontman, then signed to Rise) told them that he could get them a better deal elsewhere. The rest, as they say, is history for Pvris, the first female-led band to sign with Rise Records.
The first single from the band’s debut album was released on the 24th of June 2014. Pvris had laid low for almost half a year, but the wait for ‘St. Patrick’ was infinitely worth it. The single’s visually stunning music video soon went into regular rotation on channels such as Kerrang! and MTV Rocks both in the States and across the pond, and the track’s energetic electro-pop production made it easily accessible to fans of all genres.
During their time as part of the Warped Tour roster in 2014, Huffington Post listed Pvris as one of the “18 Artists You Need To Know Halfway Through 2014”, noting lead vocalist Lynn Gunn as “a force that cannot be denied, redolently poignant in both her most excitable and serene vocalizations. […] the label may have just made its smartest acquisition yet.”, and they certainly weren’t wrong. In November 2014, the band’s debut album ‘White Noise’ was released. The band again worked with Versa’s Blake Harnage to harness the “weird and electronic” energy of their demos. The result is a comprehensive collection of undeniably catchy sing-your-heart-out pop/rock bangers. I’d be hard pressed to name another album so brave yet so accessible, so easy to listen to but so loud in all the best ways.
The album was recorded nocturnally as this was how Harnage preferred to work, and Lynn Gunn has also stated in interview that she feels as though her vocals are better at night. As a result, the band woke up at around 3pm every day, staying up in the studio until 8 or 9am the following morning. The album’s working title was ‘Haunt’, and although the band eventually settled on the title ‘White Noise’ after one of the album tracks, the album does deal with a lot of metaphorical ghosts. Gunn says she was going through a dark place when she composed a lot of the subject matter, telling DIY Magazine “A lot of that record, I wrote when I was having a really bad time mentally. I don’t like calling it depression but it seemed like that and I couldn’t pinpoint what my issues were, or what was wrong with me but I knew there was something wrong. My problems weren’t tangible things, they weren’t thing I could see or explain to people so in a way it was like they were ghosts or spirits that were haunting me.” It helps that all three members of the band are huge horror buffs and fans of all things spooky. There is a consistent theme of the paranormal running throughout their music videos, and even the album’s track titles themselves (‘Ghosts’, ‘Let Them In’) create a wonderfully ghoulish atmosphere.
After seeing Pvris live at Leeds Festival last Sunday, featuring anybody else as our premier Band of the Week here on Sonic Reverb would’ve been an injustice. The Pit was absolutely packed out, Gunn’s crowd control was incredible and the sense of unity and release I felt as part of a mass of sweaty bodies in a tent screeching that this was MY HOUSE was incomparable to anything else I’ve ever experienced at a gig. No matter how energetic the crowd became, everybody looked after everybody else and the people who kept me steady on my feet are completely representative of the kind of people Pvris are. I’m proud to say that I’ve been a fan for the past twelve months and intend on standing by these incredibly talented musicians and lovely humans for the many years that they’ll no doubt spend in this industry. We’ve already bought tickets to see them supporting Bring Me the Horizon in November on the boys’ UK tour, for Christ’s sake!
Here’s to Lynn, Alex and Brian. Here’s to their continued success in this industry. Here’s to the friends we’ve made through them and the comfort their words have brought so many people who may otherwise have felt like outcasts. Above all else, here’s to the future!
Thanks for reading, see you next time..
Originally published at www.sonicreverb.com.
