Following their unexpected yet fiery collaboration released on February 16, PVRIS has now unveiled the visually striking black-and-white motif accompanying their latest single, “BURN THE WITCH.” Featuring rapper Tommy Genesis and the innovative DJ/producer/singer/songwriter Alice Longyu Gao, the track loosely delves into the historical narrative of women accused of witchcraft and the fear they instilled, particularly in men. However, the track transcends storytelling to become a strong anthem of empowerment for women and minorities. Notably, the single boasts an all-female team behind its creation, from writing to production and engineering. This underlines PVRIS leader Lynn Gunn‘s commitment to inclusivity across all female, female-identifying, trans, and non-binary musicians and creators.
“BURN THE WITCH” serves as the herald of the next chapter of PVRIS. standing as the debut single from Gunn’s follow-up to her 2023 full-length album, EVERGREEN. The forthcoming project is set to arrive this spring, courtesy of Hopeless Records.
If you’re anything like this writer, the “BURN THE WITCH” video will instantly send chills racing up and down your spine. Highlighted by an array of unusual and striking imagery, the visual acts as an exorcist for women and minorities to break free of the limiting shackles that society has continued to bind us with. At the track’s heart, the song is a potent call to action, encouraging minorities to reclaim their voices, exemplified by its resounding chorus: “Burn, burn, burn, burn the witch/Run, run, run, run heretics.”
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Gunn shares, “I’ve been a huge fan of both Tommy and Alice for quite a while, so it was an absolute dream to not only have them on a track together but to also get to be crafting the production around their parts.”
She adds, “At its core, I just wanted to make a fun project full of some bad bitches in music that I love and create a space where we can express whatever we want and get to experiment sonically. I didn’t want to be overly precious about it, I just want to have fun and free flow! It should be noted that while there are already so many iconic and incredible female producers, writers, engineers etc. out there (I’m no trailblazer here), but there is nowhere near the amount that there should be. This isn’t even something to debate, go look at the statistics.”
“I think I’ve truly been in hundreds of writing/producing sessions at this point in my career and I can recall less than 20 of those that were with female writers and around 10 that were with female producers. From labels and publishers to management, there is so little advocacy to get artists into rooms with women in general. It’s even rarer to see the same advocacy towards connecting and putting only women in a room together, especially without it being made into a commodity, “special event” or task to check off. These collaborations should be happening organically regardless of who is watching.”
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“I don’t really understand what everyone is so scared of? That we’ll all have too much fun together? It’s all I’ve experienced in this chapter (of working almost exclusively with women); just pure fun. I feel like a kid again and this is the least stressed I’ve felt making music and I really hope I can be a small part in helping to facilitate those same feelings outward for the other artists I’m bringing onto this project and working with in general. I don’t want this to be the only “volume” of this project, there’s too many bad bitches in all music making roles out there to cover in just one release like this. This is something I’d love to continue and grow in.”
PVRIS will kick off her BURN THE WITCH tour overseas on April 24 with Hopeless Records labelmate Scene Queen joining as support. As the UK/Europe leg of the tour wraps on May 15, PVRIS will then embark on the North American run, which kicks off on June 1 with Pale Waves and Bruses as support. Check out PVRIS’ full touring schedule below and get tickets here.
Tour Dates:
- April 24—Hanover, DE @ Musikzentrum
- April 25—Hamburg, DE @ Docks
- April 26—Berlin, DE @ Huxleys Neue Welt
- April 27—Warsaw, PL @ Proxima
- April 29—Prague, CZ @ Lucerna Music Bar
- April 30—Vienna, AT @ Arena
- May 2—Milan, IT @ Alcatraz
- May 5—Frankfurt, DE @ Zoom Frankfurt
- May 6—Cologne, DE @ Carlswerk Victoria
- May 7—Brussels, BE @ Ancienne Belgique
- May 9—Utrecht, NL @ TivolviVredenburg
- May 10—Paris, FR @ Le Trabendo
- May 12—Manchester, UK @ O2 Victoria Warehouse
- May 13—Glasgow, UK @ O2 Academy Glasgow
- May 15—Birmingham, UK @ O2 Academy Birmingham
- May 16—London, UK @ Troxy
- June 1—Santa Ana, CA @ The Observatory
- June 2—Sacramento, CA @ Ace Of Spades
- June 4—Seattle, WA @ Showbox SoDo
- June 5—Portland, OR @ Crystal Ballroom
- June 7—Salt Lake City, UT @ The Depot
- June 8—Denver, CO @ Summit Music Hall
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- June 11—Madison, WI @ The Sylvee
- June 12—Indianapolis, IN @ Egyptian Room at Old National Centre
- June 14—Minneapolis, MN @ Uptown Theater
- June 15—Chicago, IL @ House of Blues
- June 16—Detroit, MI @ St Andrew’s Hall
- June 19—Toronto, ON @ The Danforth Music Hall
- June 21—Boston, MA @ House of Blues
- June 22—Philadelphia, PA @ Theatre of Living Arts
- June 24—New York, NY @ Irving Plaza
- June 26—Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
- June 28—Nashville, TN @ Brooklyn Bowl Nashville
- June 29—Atlanta, GA @ The Masquerade – Heaven
- July 1—St. Petersburg, FL @ Jannus Live
- July 2—Orlando, FL @ House of Blues Orlando
- July 5—Houston, TX @ House of Blues Houston
- July 6—Austin, TX @ Emo’s Austin
- July 7—Dallas, TX @ House of Blues Dallas
- July 9—Phoenix, AZ @ The Van Buren
- July 10—San Diego, CA @ The Observatory North Park
- July 12—Los Angeles, CA @ The Wiltern