Pvris has released their much awaited 2020 studio album. The band has depicted what their new music will sound like with their pre-released singles like “Gimme a Minute” and “Death of Me.” However, within their new album Use Me the songs take on a different meaning. This album takes on the mantle of Lynn Gunn’s personal struggles and merges it with Pvris’ ever-evolving music style.
Use Me is a great shift from Pvris’ previous album All We Know Of Heaven, All We Need Of Hell where the band’s hardcore aspect began to merge with more synth-pop choruses. For this new album, the hardcore aspect seems to be right behind new bass driven songs that begin to place Lynn Gunn’s lyrics at the forefront. With hardly any heavy guitars or smashing drums in the background, this album is musically different from what the band has worked with before.
With Lynn Gunn’s recent interview with AP Magazine, it’s no surprise that this new studio album would have palpable change. Lynn Gunn has officially taken on a different style to represent the band. It’s upbeat without the heavy, and slow without the heavy instrumentals from the drums and even the guitars. This new album is more synth, more bass, more clean vocals. Although fans were expecting an album that would represent the released singles, I don’t think they were expecting a completely different album production altogether.
Production aside, Pvris’ lyrics still remain as they have been for so long. Gunn’s ability to immerse herself in her work has been more than evident throughout her time with the band. Lyrics wise, the album conveys a feeling of entrapment from the first song. Much like their earlier lyrics of being stuck in the past and dealing with heartache, this new album begins to take those topics with newfound rawness. Their new song “Good to Be Alive” works with the darkness that comes with depression and living a life that doesn’t feel right. “Feels good to be alive, but I hate my life” leads the chorus into a broody melody that encompasses these feelings. Matched with cleaner drums and a smooth guitar riff, the lyrics are meant to be heard. The lyrics go through the separation of mind and body, the deepening sadness of a life one doesn’t want to live, and the inability to shake off the bad feelings regardless of trial.
Although it isn’t officially a solo album, Use Me is an example of where Lynn Gunn wants to take her music. Pvris has been evolving throughout the years, making this new album the final instalment of this self-discovery. The album is not unlike their previous ones, but it definitely is unlike the rest. Pvris has done a lot of work with their sound, their style, and this is the product of change that the band has always been capable of.
