White Noise (Pvris album)

Pvris formed in Lowell, Massachusetts[5] in late 2012[6] under the name Operation Guillotine.[7] They were originally a metalcore band,[7] consisting of five members,[5] one of which did screaming vocals.[7] Their line-up soon changed to vocalist/guitarist Lyndsey Gunnulfsen, guitarist Alex Babinski, bassist Brian MacDonald[8] and drummer Brad Griffin.[6] Babinski had previously been in I Am the Fallen.[5] When the band went into the studio their sound changed drastically, incorporating pop and electronic elements into their music.[9] Gunnulfsen claimed this incorporation was done subconsciously.[9] In March 2013 the band released a self-titled EP.[6] Later that year, the band played a week on Ernie Ball's Battle of the Bands stage at Warped Tour after winning a contest.[5] Towards the end of summer, Griffin left the band.[6] The band went on The Rise Up Tour supporting A Skylit Drive[10] in September and October.[11]

Prior to entering the studio, Gunnulfsen met Harnage at a Versa show.[12] She asked him for pointers on production.[12] He "first got me into making electronic music", according to Gunnulfsen.[12] Previously, she was "afraid" of the band's more electronic side.[12] She also feared it was "too out-of-the-box", potentially out-casting them from the music scene.[12] Pvris began recording material with Harnage producing the proceedings.[13] He helped teach the band "not give a shit what anybody thought", according to Gunnulfsen.[12] For one week in the studio, Harnage and Gunnulfsen were sifting through demos and deciding which of the material to work on.[14] The group had 30 demos to work with.[15] The demos were either "rock-based" or "weird and electronic".[16] Harnage and Gunnulfsen went with the latter, building upon them.[16] These would be the basis for what would become White Noise.[12]

Harnage worked nocturnally, resulting in the band waking up at 3PM and working until 8AM or 9AM.[6] Gunnulfsen later called the process "fun" as she felt it got the "best creativity out of us".[6] On the album, Chris Kamrada plays drums, which were engineered by Maika Maile. Harnage and Kusterbeck provide backing vocals to several of the songs. Harnage also played synths, additional guitar and helped with programming. Programming was also done by Gunnulfsen. Harnage was assisted by David Cook in engineering the album. Andrew Eliot and Chris Curran provided additional editing. Jeff Juliano mixed the album, while Chris Athens mastered it. Reuven Amiel engineered the drums on "You and I", which were edited by Anthony Reeder.[13]

Pvris planned to call the album Haunt or have it self-titled,[7] however they were quite indecisive. Eventually they agreed on naming it after one of the songs, "White Noise".[6] All of the material that features on White Noise was written by Lyndsey Gunnulfsen[13] and producer Blake Harnage of VERSA,[15] with the exception of "Holy", "Fire" and "Eyelids", which were written by Gunnulfsen, Harnage and Sierra Kusterbeck.[13] Gunnulfsen wrote the songs while she was "in a very dark place in my mind".[15] Compared to the band's previous output, Gunnulfsen said that White Noise "is very different from what a lot of people were expecting but in the best way".[17] She explained that the album's sound was "rock mixed with electronic/pop kind of stuff", resulting in "a lot of different vibes throughout the album."[18] Gunnulfsen was inspired by Saosin, Circa Survive, Ellie Goulding, Rihanna, and The Weeknd.[15] Gavin Lloyd of Classic Rock wrote that the album featured "infectious rock" done by the likes of Paramore and We Are the In Crowd, and "dark electro-pop" performed by artists such as Purity Ring and Banks.[9] Natasha Van Duser of Inked compared the "steady bass lines, groovy backbeats, and melodic vocals" to the likes of Taylor Swift's 1989 (2014).[3]

The lyrics for the album were written in October 2013, when Gunnulfsen was highly inspired by ghosts and spirits.[19] These same two items–ghosts and spirits–would be incorporated into the Gunnulfsen's lyrics.[19] "St. Patrick" was written in the fall of 2013, during a day-off from tour; a demo of it was recorded within two hours.[20] The song is about Gunnulfsen's girlfriend,[12] who helped her during a rough time in her life.[21] Gunnulfsen didn't think the band would record it; she thought it was "too poppy."[21] "My House" is about a poltergeist and is "also a metaphor for a person, being like, 'Go away.'"[19] "Holy", according to Gunnulfsen, is "one of the most personal and honest songs" featured on the album.[22] The song is about a person who had a problem with Gunnulfsen being gay.[3] "White Noise" came about as a spur of the moment idea.[14] Gunnulfsen had previous noticed something on Tumblr about Poltergeist and "I was like, 'Oh! That's perfect'".[14] The demo of the song was under the working title "White Boiz" and featured a different drum beat in the chorus.[14] The group replaced this different drum beat with a "half-time, really dragging beat" and experimented with an EBow.[14] "Fire" was written after "a very intense" encounter with a person, resulting in the song coming across as "very raw and real", according to Gunnulfsen.[23]

White Noise has received positive reviews.[46] On review aggregator Metacritic, the album has a weighted average of 88 out of 100 based on 4 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".[66] Reviewing the album for Alternative Press, Brian Kraus called "St. Patrick" "an obvious single choice".[1] Kraus also praised "My House" and "Holy".[1] Aside from "a few slip-ups", naming "Eyelids" in the process, he said the album was "a shiny debut from a band we are excited to watch improve."[1] Eleanor Grace of idobi elements of the band's previous post-hardcore sound can be found in traces across the album.[2] At the same time, it was mixed with the band's pop sensibilities, resulting in a sound that is both "fresh and familiar."[2] Grace noted that the songs' hooks were "catchy enough for top 40 radio" while at the same time having "an edge and heavy influence", making them "a better fit for Rise Records than Ryan Seacrest."[2] Rock Sound reviewer Andy Biddulph mentioned that while "St. Patrick" was "the best and worst thing" the group have done, the remainder of the album fails to stand up to the song.[4] The "varying quality" of the tracks make for an "enthralling and frustrating listen."[4]

The album was included at number two on idobi's top ten albums of 2014 list,[67] number 12 on Rock Sound's top 50 albums of 2014 list,[68] and number 33 on Kerrang!'s "The Top 50 Rock Albums Of 2014" list.[69] The music video for "St. Patrick" was nominated for Best Music Video at the 2015 Alternative Press Music Awards.[70]

White Noise charted at number 88 on the Billboard 200 in the U.S.[71] It also charted in the top 20 on several Billboard charts.[72][73][74] The album initially charted at number 199 in the UK on the chart dated 14 November 2014.[75] It re-entered at number 96 on the chart dated between 31 July and 6 August 2015.[76] It would later peak at number 87 on the chart dated between 14 August and 20 August 2015.[77] The album entered the UK Independent Albums chart at number 45 on the chart dated between 9 November and 15 November 214.[78] It re-entered the chart three times: at number 48 in January 2015,[79] at number 42 in April[80] and at number 34 in July.[81] It peaked at number 13 in August.[82] "My House" charted at number 17 on the UK Independent Singles Breakers Chart.[83] "St. Patrick" peaked at number 7 on the UK Independent Singles Breakers Chart.[84] "Fire" peaked at number 8 on the UK Independent Singles Breakers Chart,[85] number 18 on the UK Rock & Metal Singles Chart[86] and at number 41 on the UK Independent Singles Chart.[87] On 29 April 2016, the album reached a new peak at number 55 on the UK Albums Chart. As of August 2017, the album has sold 60,000 copies in the UK and has been certified silver.[88]

All songs written by Lyndsey Gunnulfsen and Blake Harnage, except for "Holy", "Fire" and "Eyelids" written by Gunnulfsen, Harnage and Sierra Kusterbeck.[13]

Personnel per reissue sleeve.[13]

Citations

Sources

• White Noise at YouTube (streamed copy where licensed)