Too often live shows highlight a band’s shortcomings. Especially if that band’s carefully crafted albums favour a big, slick production style over capturing the raw energy of real people playing together. Without the studio trickery to hide behind, on stage their limitations as performers, musicians, or songwriters become glaringly obvious.
That’s not the case with PVRIS. Instead, their big, bold performance at Hammersmith’s Eventim Apollo highlights several things not immediately obvious from their records. Their songs, which mash up rock, electro, and hip-hop elements, are actually more substance than style. Singer/songwriter Lynn Gunn is no slouch as a guitarist. And her voice is far more powerful and — with rich soulful, bluesy hints — far more nuanced than some of the autotuned studio recordings suggest.
Nils van der Linden 