Looking at the trajectory of Pvris, it would be difficult to ignore the musical progression. Always led by Lynn Gunn, their music went from a Metalcore act, under the name Operation Guillotine early on, to a more Electronic Rock one upon becoming Pvris in 2013, to most recently, Electropop.
An interesting evolution to follow, they first gained attention as part of Warped Tour in 2013, followed by their acclaimed 2014 album White Noise. Following up with the exceptional All We Know of Heaven, All We Need of Hell in 2017, it was around 2020’s Use Me where the biggest changes emerged in their sound. Here, gone were distorted guitars, in their place were more dance electronic tones. Surprising to some longtime listeners, many pondered… where would Pvris go from here?
Well, it is now three years removed from Use Me, and Pvris built off that direction with their fourth album Evergreen. Released July 14th through Hopeless Records, the new album could best be described as Gunn’s full emergence into Electronic Pop and leaving any prior Alternative Rock influences behind. Is this the end of the more Rock side of Gunn and Pvris? Perhaps, or maybe not… after all, isn’t that curiosity what makes everything interesting?
Speaking of which, the eleven tracks of Evergreen have plenty to offer once you dig into them. At times feeling like very modern Pop music, some of the boldest moments include “I Don’t Wanna Do This Anymore,” the Nelly Furtado-vibed single “Good Enemy,” catchy Alt-Rock single “Goddess,” very polished single “Animal,” and almost Hip Hop sounding “Hype Zombies.”
Each a good listen, the biggest winners of this set would have been “Take My Nirvana” and “Senti-Mental” for their sheer quirkiness, but also the Dido-influenced smooth feelings of “Headlights.” Different, these songs are very Pop, yet unique enough to stand out. Furthermore, Gunn’s voice is most pronounced in these moments and the production/instrumentation is top notch.
Overall, Evergreen is a rather drastic step forward for Pvris. Yes, Use Me laid the groundwork for this new direction, but it would be dishonest to say Evergreen’s sound did not take you back a little. The album shows Gunn is confident in where she wants to take her music and you have to respect that. And with all of that, other aspects that stick out are the lyrics, where Gunn seemingly takes a stand for her independence and her strong will to do what she wishes. In all, Evergreen is an album that will grow on you if you are open minded, because there certainly was a lot of thought put into it. That is why Cryptic Rock gives this bold move for Pvris 4 out of 5 stars.
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