PVRIS | LIVE REVIEW
Great Hall, Cardiff University Students Union, Fri 8 Apr
On the European leg of their tour, PVRIS rolled into the Students Union as the sun faded away and the old emos lit their cigarettes as they queued outside. Off the back of their debut album White Noise, PVRIS have been overwhelmingly accepted by the contemporary post-hardcore scene. For the last couple of years they have toured relentlessly from city to city, and after watching their set it really shows.
Opening band Alvarez Kings kicked things off with bursting energy, but as they settled into the set their repetitive and washed-out instrumentals killed any momentum they had – although they managed to scrape a great reaction from the crowd with a stripped-back acoustic song. The next support act K.flay started to elevate the crowd’s energy with her raw vocals that sound like a mix of Lindsey from The Dead Weather and Lorde. The different vocal mixes and rap interludes went down a treat and when PVRIS lead singer Lynn Gunn came onto the stage to play the drums on a song, the room exploded.
Even though PVRIS waited 45 minutes to come onto stage after K.Flay finished her set, when the lights went down and the music started the crowd swarmed with electricity. Gunn’s stage presence and vocals filled the room and as every song finished she thanked us, showing sincere appreciation to be playing to a sold out venue.
The balls-to-the-wall instrumental backing that supported Lynn’s vocals infected a moshpit that became one big sweaty, bobbing heap. We exit the gig with the impression that PVRIS re a really tight touring band – one which seems to have tapped into the post-hardcore underground in a massive way.
words JAYDON MARTIN / ABBIE OWEN