PVRIS Single Review

Leaving behind the monochromatic aesthetics of their debut and sophomore albums, Massachusetts rockers PVRIS bring a close to 2017’s All We Know of Heaven, All We Need of Hell era and head into a new one with the release of “Death of Me” in a pop of deep crimson red.

PVRIS fans everywhere went into a frenzy when the band’s social media accounts, all of which remained inactive during the trio’s between album resting period, posted a singular photo: a monochrome image of the band in what seems to be an abandoned site, surrounded by dormant companions whose eyes, like the band’s, are scratched out in a deep, grading-pen-like red. Excitement continued to stir when on the following day, the band posted some lyrics on a red background. The lyrics read: ‘You could chain me up or set me free, you could suffocate or let me breathe… Baby you could be the.’ What followed were blank spaces making up three unknown words, the continuation of the lyrics and presumably the name of a new single. Within a moment’s notice, fans had cracked the code. Certain letters in the lyrics had been underlined, creating a jumbled consortium of gibberish. The unscrambled product? “Death of Me.”

The fans’ suspicions were confirmed when the next day, the band posted a video version of the still image from the first day. A snippet of a new song plays in the background as a car’s headlights illuminate the faces of the band and the group around them. The video fades at the end and introduces the band’s new logo in the same red, scratchy font as before prior to showcasing the title “Death of Me,” and the date 7/12/19. It was official. A new era had begun and a new song and new music video were on their way.

Come July 12th, it is proven that the single is beyond anything any of us expected. Upbeat with a nightmarish twist, “Death of Me” features that classic PVRIS sound with a new electronic-like burst of life.

The song tells the story of a hypnotizing romance, one that consumes your entire being and leaves you crawling back for more. With lyrics such as ‘This love looks like a loaded gun / A noose around my neck or a sweet poison,’ PVRIS continue with their recurring themes of darkness and death. Gruesome metaphors and wordplay are but a few of the many lyrical strengths of the band. So naturally, the trio followed suit with descriptions of suffocation and a sense of encapsulation. These lyrics just so happen to be the ones initially shared by the band, but now in their final form: ‘You could chain me up or set or set me free / You could suffocate or let me breathe / Baby you could be the death of me.’ All the while, the beat only continues to pick up, hiding the lyrics’ darkness with a likewise hypnotic tune that makes one want to get up and dance along.

The music video itself continued with the same grotesque themes and metaphors. In true PVRIS nature, the video features stunning black and white visuals, but now with a new fluorescent pop of red lights. Vocalist Lynn Gunn delivered a stunning performance as she entangles herself with a snake, one perceived to symbolize the hypnotic lover of the story. Our friends from the still image return, keeping a close, suffocating proximity to Gunn and bandmates Brian MacDonald and Alex Babinski, restricting their movement in a sensual manner. There’s candles, white flowers, glasses filled with red wine, white statues smeared with blood. It’s captivating and terrifying all at once, making it difficult to look away. Though the majority of the video seems to take place in a church, the video ends in an abandoned site, where two people appear trapped in a crowded tank filled with a red substance.

Both the single and its video have left me in awe. I’m constantly in wonder of the way PVRIS bring their songs to life, and of the way they’ve managed to evolve their sound while keeping true to their headbanging roots. The new splash of red signifies a turn in a new direction — a new plot twist in the story — and I’m excited to see where PVRIS take their musical journey next.

If you haven’t already, make sure to stream “Death of Me” and take a look at its music video. You’ll have them playing on repeat in no time.

Written by: Natalie Melendez