Lyndsey Gunnulfsen
Quick Facts
Biography
Lyndsey Gerd Gunnulfsen (born March 15, 1994), usually known by her stage name Lynn Gunn, is an American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. Gunn is best known for fronting the American rock band PVRIS, although she has also made several solo collaborations with artists such as Tonight Alive and A Loss For Words.
PVRIS
Gunn was one of the founders of the band PVRIS (pronounced "Paris") in 2012, which was then named Operation Guillotine. By 2013, Gunn had replaced Kyle Anthony as lead vocalist and guitarist. For legal reasons, the name of the band was officially changed to PVRIS on July 26, 2013.
Other work and collaborations
In 2013, Gunn collaborated with American pop-punk band A Loss For Words on the single "Distance".
In 2016, it was rumoured that Gunn was going to collaborate on new music with her friend Jenna McDougall, frontwoman of the Australian rock band Tonight Alive. Gunn was featured on the single "Disappear" which appeared on Tonight Alive’s 2018 album Underworld
Personal life
Lyndsey Gunnulfsen grew up in Lowell, Massachusetts. She has spoken about her lifelong fascination with graveyards, death, and the occult, stating that this was the inspiration behind many of the paranormal and macabre themes in her song-writing. Spiritually, she has said she is "into astrology and life paths and weird energetics stuff".Gunn has stated that she has struggled with depression, and that this was a major inspiration for much of her song-writing. Gunn has also cited bands such as Paramore, Radiohead, Florence and the Machine, and The Weeknd as musical influences.
In 2018, Gunn opened up about vocal issues which she had been struggling with during her recent tours, and stated that she was undergoing vocal coaching to relearn how to sing.Gunn had previously acknowledged difficulties with "vocal kinks" and apologized if she had not "seemed herself" during live shows.In a 2019 interview with Kerrang!, Gunn stated that she had visited several ENT doctors who found that there was nothing physically wrong with her, and she felt that she was dealing with psychological blocks which prevented her from singing.
Public image and LGBT activism
Gunn is one of the most visible women in rock and a prominent LGBT voice in the alternative music scene. She stated in an interview for Rolling Stone that she first came out as gay to her parents when she was 18, by leaving a letter under her mother's pillow before she went on tour. "First and foremost I want to be known as is an artist and creative before anything else," she explained in an interview with Playboy. "I think my sexuality is the last thing to check off on that list." Gunn explained her decision to be vocal about her sexuality in an interview with Newsbeat in 2015: "I never had someone to look up to and be like 'oh that person is OK and they're gay.' If I can be that for someone then it's why I'm open about it."
Gunn was one of several artists invited by GLAAD and Billboard to talk about her coming-out story for National Coming Out Day in 2017. Gunn cited her family's supportiveness while she was coming out and encouraged others to reach out for the support around them.
Gunn presented the Icon Award to Laura Jane Grace of the American punk rock band Against Me! at the 2017 APMA Awards.
Discography
- Studio albums with PVRIS
- White Noise (2014)
- All We Know of Heaven, All We Need of Hell (2017)
Extended plays with PVRIS
Title | Extended play details |
---|---|
Paris |
|
Acoustic |
|
Hallucinations |
|
Other songs with PVRIS
Title | Year | Album |
---|---|---|
"Mind Over Matter" | 2012 | Non-album song |
"Gemini" | ||
"Rain" | 2013 | |
"Follow" | ||
"Chandelier" | 2014 | Punk Goes Pop Vol. 6 |
"Fire That Burns" | 2017 | Different Creatures |
"Are You Ten Years Ago" | The Con X: Covers |
Featured singles
Title | Year | Album |
---|---|---|
"Distance" | 2013 | Before It Caves |
"Obsessed" | 2014 | Obsessed |
"Lose Myself" | 2015 | Throes Of Winter |
"Begin" | 2016 | |
"Disappear" | 2018 | Underworld |
"Did We Change" | 2019 | Dimly Lit |
Awards and nominations
Year | Association | Category | Work | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
2016 | Boston Music Awards | Female Vocalist of the Year | Herself | Won |
2017 | APMA | Best Vocalist | Herself | Won |
2018 | Rock Sound Awards | Rock Sound Icon | Won |