Pvris at the Hammersmith Apollo

It has been a long three years since American rockers Pvris touched down on British soil. With the last tour consisting of intimate shows across the country and their subsequent 2022 trip postponed due to album delays, fans have been patiently awaiting a full-scale return. Not ones to disappoint, the band bring their intoxicating live performance to Hammersmith’s Apollo. 

Taking to the stage and launching straight into Animal from their upcoming third album, it is immediately clear that Pvris are not here to play; frontwoman and main creative force Lynn Gunn is mesmerising. 

Bold, confident and alluring, she exudes a perfect mix of brash and vulnerable. There is something magnetic about the way the singer is able to manipulate her voice to convey emotion, supported by the production. The stage spends most of the show in darkness, silhouetting its leading lady against smoke and blaring strobe lights. It’s a striking visual choice, building upon the cryptic aura that surrounds much of Pvris’s sound. Breezing through tracks from their almost ten-year history, it is a notably upbeat set. Several pauses to check the crowd is alright temporarily break up the sea of mosh pits and head thumping, before they quickly get back to business. Weight, a usually hard-hitting and synth-heavy offering, is instead given an acoustic makeover that sounds almost like country music.

A deviation from the chaos arrives surprisingly in the form of Dead but it doesn’t last long as the thumping Give Me a Minute is next. As moody synths and woozy guitar riffs dazzle the room, at times the lights are overwhelming. There seems to be an understanding that this is just part of the package – after all, Pvris are known for their aesthetic just as much as for their music.

As the show draws to a close, a three-song encore offers one last chance to lose one’s inhibitions. “Do you have your dancing pants on?” Gunn asks, before declaring, “I shaved my legs for this!”, Newest single Goddess, released just hours prior, goes down a treat before a thrilling finale of My House and Hallucinations leaves the crowd begging for more.

Katherine Parry
Photos: Virginie Viche

For further information and future events visit Pvris’s website here.

Watch the video for the single Give Me a Minute here: