EVERGREEN is a victory lap for PVRIS’ evolved sound

“No one gives a damn shit 'less you're dead / or you're seventeen”, Gunnulfsen laments on EVERGREEN’s closing, titular track. The shimmering number – railing against the industry's habit of sensationalising youth and flash-in-the-pan success – circles back to the frustration of opening song “I DON’T WANNA DO THIS ANYMORE”. The title and chorus don’t exactly suggest a new album cycle is at the top of Gunnulfsen’s wish list, but it quickly becomes apparent that this is a record made on her terms.

PVRIS have been in the game a fair while. 2014’s White Noise and 2017’s All We Know Of Heaven, All We Need Of Hell found plenty of favour among emo kids of the 2010s but, frustratingly, never elevated PVRIS to the heights their potential deserved. When 2020’s Use Me finally pushed Gunnulfsen into the spotlight, the result was a refreshed sound that stepped further into the world of pulsing dance floor bangers (“Dead Weight”, “Death of Me”), while still keeping room for tender vulnerability (“Loveless”). EVERGREEN follows a similar path, settling Gunnulfsen in the gap between her alt-rock influences and glitterball tendencies.

EVERGREEN is a record that first appears at risk of being top-heavy: opening track “I DON’T WANNA DO THIS ANYMORE” is followed by a run of earworm singles, including the cathartic feminine rage of “GODDESS” and gritty defiance of “ANIMAL”. Happily, though, the momentum manages to hold. Snarling guitars on “HYPE ZOMBIES” promise a live show high point, while “HEADLIGHTS” offers a slower burning, lighter side to Gunnulfsen’s sound. Her vocals on “TAKE MY NIRVANA” recall something of ‘the old PVRIS’, but everywhere EVERGREEN is a testament to Gunnulfsen’s growth. The record is quietly confident; Gunnulfsen can belt, but she doesn’t need to shout to be heard. “I don't care what they say about me,” she sings on the final lines of the album, “'cause / I'm gonna be evergreen”.