Pvris – Use Me

Pvris is a three piece rock band from Massachusetts, on the east coast of America, formed in 2012. This, their third album, sees lead singer and main creative force behind the project Lynn Gunn step more into the limelight with more personal lyrics and her singular creative vision. Originally recorded in Nashville last year, the release has been pushed back by the coronavirus and Gunn not wanting to interrupt the conversation caused by the Black Lives Matter movement.

Opening track Gimme a Minute starts with some arresting, visceral lyrics that set the tone for the album: confessional, raw, dark but alluring. “Wide awake / Just cut the head off of a snake / Wanted venom, got a taste / … Someone just ripped out my throat / Told me to sing while I was choked”, Gunn sings, referring to the vocal and health problems that have previously dogged her. This is representative of the evocative lyrics that follow, creating vignettes that cosily embrace darkness.

The standout track, the sinuous Hallucinations, addresses the constant barrage of thoughts about someone that a breakup can cause: “So much breakage / I see your face in blank spaces / I’m hearing voices out the TV / Silent songs, but they’re singing to me”. The video features snakes around necks and goats on ropes, which is, you know, the fun side of satanic imagery.

Title track Use Me addresses wanting to help someone from their loneliness by giving oneself physically and or emotionally. Like the rest of the album, Gunn’s production with JT Daly particularly shines. It manages to be both expansive and intimate. The sonic palette is a fun mix of influences, putting the sound more on the pop than rock side of pop-rock. Gunn’s voice is powerful and drenched in reverb, and the polished and dense production creates interest. The tunes might not be the most original, but the raw, left-field lyrics and shiny production more than make up for that.

Jessica Wall
Photo: Sasha Samsonova

Use Me is released on 28^th August 2020. For further information or to order the album visit Pvris’s website here.

Watch the video for Hallucinations here: