LIVE REVIEW: PVRIS @ O2 Institute, Birmingham

Lighting up the long and winding roads of Birmingham’s Digbeth are line upon line of CVLT members, more than ready to embrace the O2 Institute’s cavernous ballroom’s warmth to worship at the altar of PVRIS. Originally scheduled to take place in April 2022, tonight’s show was rescheduled to finish their fourth album; whilst there’s still no new album tonight, there are new songs and that’s a start. 

But before the biblical festivities can take place, there’s two PVRIS disciples sent to deliver songs of the future. TikTok sensation CHARLOTTE SANDS is a ready-made pop-punk poster child. Her energy is electric, as she thrashes around the stage, contorting her body to her songs like she’s powered by the National Grid. SANDS might not even have an album, but tonight she’s got the crowd chomping at the bit, completely eating out of her hands for anything she asks: Rollercoaster is an ocean of waving arms, newly released Alright is lit up with all the lights fans can spark, and closing duo Lost and Dress are locked-and-loaded anthems ready to explode. By the time Sands digs herself out of the crowd’s embrace, it’d be no surprise if she’s selling this venue out herself in years to come.

Rating: 8/10

The same, unfortunately, cannot be said for MAGGIE LINDEMANN. Whilst the atmospheric, gothic, albeit drawn-out theatrics and throbbing synth-pop of opener self-sabotage sits closer to PVRIS’ wheelhouse, it’s a stall-setter that never quite gets going. There’s no doubt she’s loved by the crowd – “I love you” chants are deafening between songs – but there’s a lack of enthusiasm being shared by the singer-songwriter, who’s static band seem too cool for school, or anywhere for that matter.

Whilst spending entire songs on the floor of the stage won’t get crowds stomping, it’s novacaine’s halfway mark where LINDEMANN suddenly comes alive, like a moth to a flame in the middle of the night. As if suddenly comfortable in her role as lead support, fiery renditions of you’re not special and casualty of your dreams from last year’s debut album Suckerpunch hit home with intensity, and finale cages sees the singer take a fans phone to the stage for the Instagram selfie that’ll be the envy of all in attendance. But nonetheless, this was a performance that felt at odds: when the fans were feeling it, LINDEMANN was not; and when she was feeling it, the fans not so much.

Rating: 6/10

Whilst tonight’s officially sold out, it’s fallen victim to its rescheduling, as there’s still plenty of space to stand, stomp, and scream in for all in attendance. But that doesn’t matter, tonight’s all about atmosphere; it takes a momentum-stealing 40 minutes for PVRIS to take the stage, but for some time flies as their technicians spend most of that time arranging plants across the stage rather than setting up the sonics. For anyone just arriving, you’d be forgiven for assuming you’ve walked into the Birmingham Botanical Gardens, rather than a gig down in Digbeth. 

Opening with a double-whammy of synth-driven alt-pop bangers Animal and Monster, both non-album tracks never played in the UK before, would traditionally be a risk for most; for PVRIS, it’s welcomed with open arms. Lynn Gunn is a bonafide rockstar, suited and booted and sending shockwaves with every step she takes on the stage. But it’s when she straps up her guitar for Mirrors’ gothic thrust that it truly clicks together, Gunn channelling a possessed figure cutting laser-focused riffs.

Tonight’s set is fast and furious, as PVRIS save the small talk, choosing to speed-date instead; they’ve fired through five songs by the time Gunn first greets the crowd, her trademark charm a warm reprieve from the darker corners of her songwriting mind – “through the whole of that last song, I had a snot bubble I was trying not to let out”. 11 of tonight’s 16-song set tells all you need to know of the future of PVRIS, as they either pull from 2020’s Use Me or the non-album material that’s followed it. Whilst there’s no denying the goosebump-inducing crowd-takeover of What’s Wrong’s “no I never sold my soul” refrain, or the frenetic lightning strikes of Fire, Gunn and her CVLT of fans clearly feel more at home with the likes of Anywhere But Here, My Way, and Old Wounds. 

You And I is a sharp reminder of PVRIS’ evergreen potential, a black-and-white montage of singing hearts. It’s follow-up, Use Me is a counter-argument, a suggestion that they’ve reached the glass ceiling of their limits. Yes, there’s not a single soul not singing along in unison, but it also feels like the moment’s been missed, like the world has waited and moved on, and someone like CHARLOTTE SANDS is well-placed to take over. It’s not forgotten that six years ago PVRIS headlined this very same venue, when artists of their ilk have gone on to greater heights.

Nonetheless, PVRIS are refreshingly bold, opting to open their three-song encore with the unreleased Goddess. It’s testament to the strength of the new material that there’s a fair few singing along by the end of it, but it’s the subtle shift into synth-driven rock-era Muse with its post-grunge undertones that is most exciting. 

My House and Hallucinations bring the evening to a ceremonious close. It’s been three long years since PVRIS were last on our shores, so there’s more than a few smiling faces flocking out into the cold night’s air, but the thought of “is this it?” for PVRIS lingers long into the night, too.

Rating: 8/10

Check out our photo gallery of the night’s action in Birmingham from Serena Hill Photography here: 

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