THE GALLERY: PVRIS @ O2 Academy Birmingham 23.11.17

PVRIS @ O2 Academy Birmingham 23.11.17 / Eleanor Sutcliffe – Birmingham Review

 

 

 

Words & pics by Eleanor Sutcliffe

I doubt I’ve ever seen O2 Academy this busy. As we are filed into the venue, I’m truly surprised and slightly overwhelmed at the number of people who’ve come to see PVRIS tonight. In hindsight, this shouldn’t have been surprising – with frequent airplay on Radio 1, they’ve become a staple in the alternative rock scene and are gaining more and more fans by the minute.

First up was Tyne, a 19-year-old chill pop artist hailing from Cambridge. She set the bar exceedingly high for the evening – if you’re a fan of the likes of Lorde, Halsey and Gabrielle Aplin, then you’ll love her stuff. Tracks like ‘Crawl’ and ‘Girly’ crept under my skin and had me yearning to hear more, while her cover of Bring Me Horizon’s ‘Avalanche’ was executed to soul splitting perfection.

Tyne has the ability to combine meaningful lyrics with electronic rhythms without beating the life out of it like so many other artists do. She’s clearly destined for great things; I’d highly recommend catching her at a show and giving her a listen.

The next act couldn’t have been further from the last. COIN owned the stage for the next thirty minutes or so, belting out track after track of indie pop perfection. Their energy was intoxicating as singer, Chase Lawrence, cavorted across the stage, jumping on and off the drum kit to thrash out melodies on the synthesizers. The crowd adored it, dancing along to the summery beats of tracks like ‘Talk Too Much’. If the Arctic Monkeys and Circa Waves were to have a lovechild, then Nashville based COIN would be the result.

Then, finally… PVRIS. I’d heard mixed views of their live performances from friends and through work, and was really hoping for a show I could rave about for hours on end.

And to an extent, I could. Visually, the setup was stunning – strobe lights lit the stage while large screens projected flickering flames and embers as Lynn went to town on hits such as ‘St Patrick’ and ‘My House’. PVRIS’s setlist was varied enough to have a taste of their newer material from their latest release, All We Know Of Heaven, All We Need Of Hell, while still recalling back to tracks from White Noise.

However, Lynn’s gospel-like voice seemed to struggle at times against the heavy crescendo of guitar and drums from bandmates Alex and Brian. And although many members of the crowd were happy dancing at the front, I’d have enjoyed the show much more if I was sat up in the balcony of O2 Academy.

PVRIS more than made up for these few flaws, as I truly am nitpicking here. Their interaction with the crowd was heartfelt and genuine too, with Lynn exclaiming how, apart from at festivals, this was the largest crowd they had ever played to.

 

 

 

PVRIS @ O2 Academy Birmingham 23.11.17 / Eleanor Sutcliffe – Birmingham Review

PVRIS @ O2 Academy Birmingham 23.11.17 / Eleanor Sutcliffe – Birmingham Review

PVRIS @ O2 Academy Birmingham 23.11.17 / Eleanor Sutcliffe – Birmingham Review

PVRIS @ O2 Academy Birmingham 23.11.17 / Eleanor Sutcliffe – Birmingham Review

PVRIS @ O2 Academy Birmingham 23.11.17 / Eleanor Sutcliffe – Birmingham Review

PVRIS @ O2 Academy Birmingham 23.11.17 / Eleanor Sutcliffe – Birmingham Review

For more on PVRIS, visit www.pvris.com

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COIN – supporting PVRIS @ O2 Academy Birmingham 23.11.17 / Eleanor Sutcliffe – Birmingham Review

COIN – supporting PVRIS @ O2 Academy Birmingham 23.11.17 / Eleanor Sutcliffe – Birmingham Review

COIN – supporting PVRIS @ O2 Academy Birmingham 23.11.17 / Eleanor Sutcliffe – Birmingham Review

COIN – supporting PVRIS @ O2 Academy Birmingham 23.11.17 / Eleanor Sutcliffe – Birmingham Review

For more on COIN, visit www.thisiscoin.com

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Tyne – supporting PVRIS @ O2 Academy Birmingham 23.11.17 / Eleanor Sutcliffe – Birmingham Review

Tyne – supporting PVRIS @ O2 Academy Birmingham 23.11.17 / Eleanor Sutcliffe – Birmingham Review

Tyne – supporting PVRIS @ O2 Academy Birmingham 23.11.17 / Eleanor Sutcliffe – Birmingham Review

Tyne – supporting PVRIS @ O2 Academy Birmingham 23.11.17 / Eleanor Sutcliffe – Birmingham Review

For more on Tyne, visit www.officialtyne.com

For more from the O2 Academy Birmingham, including full event listings and online ticket sales, visit www.academymusicgroup.com/o2academybirmingham

BPREVIEW: PVRIS @ O2 Academy Birmingham 23.11.17

PVRIS @ O2 Academy Birmingham 23.11.17

Words by Ed King

On Thursday 23rd November, PVRIS come to the O2 Academy Birmingham – with support from Coin and Tyne. 

Doors open at 7pm, with standard tickets priced at £19.50 (+bf) as presented by Live Nation. For direct gig info, including full venue details and online ticket sales, click here.

Formed in 2012, PVRIS began life as a metalcore five piece – hailing from the New England state of Massachusetts, in North East America. Leaving two band members and two names behind them, the now three piece PVRIS have carved a clear path for themselves in the land where rock meets electronica. Fronted by Lynn Gunn, with Alex Babinski and Brian Macdonald on lead and bass guitar respectively, their sound incorporates a tough pop tinged rock punch – with Gunn’s ferocious vocals leading a dark charge across the band’s brooding yet atmospheric and uplifting melodies. Imagine Ellie Goulding and The xx got in a bar fight with 30 Seconds to Mars…

PVRIS released their debut album, White Noise, through Rise Records in 2014 – with the bulk of material coming from Lynn Gunn, alongside Blake Harnage as the album’s producer. White Noise was a significant shift in sound, with a backbone of electronica behind the debut from a band that cut their teeth on the hardcore and metalcore circuits.

But it worked. White Noise received widespread thumbs up from the rock and wider music press and saw PVRIS booked on to several high profile tours as support, with their own UK headline gigs confidently selling out – one of which was at the O2 Academy Birmingham.

Now on the road with their sophomore album, All We Know of Heaven, All We Need of Hell, PVRIS return to Birmingham venue on Thursday 23rd November.

Released in August 2017, All We Know of Heaven, All We Need of Hell has already garnered a deluge of positive reviews – with the album making the top 20’s on album charts in Australia, New Zealand, North America and the UK where it peaked at No4. The album’s lead single, ‘Heaven’, was premiered on Radio One on 30th August 2017.

‘Heaven’ – PVRIS

PVRIS play the O2 Academy Birmingham on Thursday 23rd November, with support from Coin and Tyne. For direct gig info, including full venue details and online ticket sales, click here. 

For more on PVRIS, visit www.pvris.com 

For more from the O2 Academy Birmingham, including full event listings and online ticket sales, visit www.academymusicgroup.com/o2academybirmingham