PVRIS' evolution has always been driven by lead singer Lynn Gunn, but it's taken up until their third album, Use Me, for her to admit it. Lynn is ready to show the world what she's been working on over the last couple of years, and how she's grown both as a musician and a person. She's dealt with personal issues, such as battling depression and overcoming the loss of her voice, and Use Me is a culmination of the lessons learnt while exorcising those demons.
These demons are laid bare in the opening track of Use Me. Gimme A Minute's opening line - Wide awake / Just cut the head off of a snake - is a motto for the album's creation. Lynn has been through a lot since the band last released an album, 2017's All We Know Of Heaven, All We Need Of Hell, and she's ready to tell the world about it.
Speaking to Kerrang about the decision to reveal to the world that she was the sole creative force behind PVRIS, Lynn says it's been cathartic. “I felt really apathetic and really stuck before I basically ‘came out’. As soon as [the band] sat down and talked about it and got the green light from everybody, it felt great.
"It’s really beneficial for all of us as a unit. Everybody has their own things they’re trying to do off the road, so it allows for more freedom on everybody’s end. And it’s a lot more inspiring for me to be able to just go for it.” There's freedom on Use Me not heard on PVRIS' previous work, and this renewed sense of identity is why. Lynn is stepping out into the limelight and the result is truly polished, thanks to the production of Lynn and JT Daly.
2020 feels like the year disco made another resurgence, but it's hard to find a finer example of what makes disco so addictive than on Death Of Me. It's begging to be listened to with a dusty, cracked disco ball reflecting light around the room, and once live shows return, it's sure to be one of the songs that inspires the loudest singalongs among PVRIS fans.
Use Me consciously leans towards a more poppier sound, something that Lynn told Spin she's seen PVRIS trending towards for a while. "This is where I’ve heard PVRIS going for a while. I think the first two albums were really big and atmospheric and just drenched in reverb and delay, whereas JT [Daly]’s producing style is really dry and upfront and just in your face.
"He also let me have quite a bit of control in the production, which was really fun." Every aspect of the album has been crafted by Lynn - and the proof is the band's most complete work yet. Good To Be Alive details the intense physical health struggles Lynn has faced since 2017, with mysterious pain haunting her. It took until 2019 to receive a diagnosis - Crohn's disease and ankylosing spondylitis, but Good To Be Alive is a declaration that she's ready to deal with whatever else is thrown her way.
Loveless is the album's most intimate moment, and sees Lynn dealing with the end of a relationship turned sour. However, rather than look externally for the solution, she's content to work through the pain in her own time - another example of the renewed self-acceptance that comes with revealing to the world a secret she's been harbouring for years.
It's interesting listening to the album's shift in sound, given that Lynn has finally stepped into the limelight. Where past PVRIS records may have leaned on incorporating gloomier sounds, there's a much sharper, focused energy. Even when the album touches on heavier topics such as in Dead Weight, the track's presentation is festival-ready. The album demands multiple listens because in multiple instances the instrumentation of the songs on the album mask the weight of the lyrics.
The album even incorporates the first collaboration with PVRIS and another artist - with Lynn working with 070 Shake on a reworked version of the album's title track. The track is elevated by 070 Shake's presence, and we can't wait to see more collaborations between PVRIS and other artists in the future. Lynn told Spin 070 Shake's presence was a reflection of their shared energy, saying, "I don’t feel like there’s any limits on where her sound could go. I see a little bit of PVRIS in that."
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Use Me feels like the album that results from someone being able to truly express themselves in a way that they haven't before. While PVRIS have always stood in the corner of the dancefloor, Use Me sees Lynn leaping onto the sticky tiles with both feet. It's an album of growth and acceptance, both internally and externally, and it signals a new chapter for PVRIS. Use Me is a test of Lynn's songwriting like never before, and she passes with flying colours.
