Members have a shared appreciation for the work of bands such as Pink Floyd, Porcupine Tree, Nirvana, Justice, Kraftwerk and Fleetwood Mac.

[3][4] Pure Reason Revolution began as a band named The Sunset Sound in Reading, Berkshire, which featured the Courtney brothers, Chloë Alper and, for a short while, Jim Dobson.

[5] The Courtney brothers had previously played with pop punk guitar band Gel, which was scouted and signed by Seymour Stein, the founder of Sire.

[7] Courtney J, Dobson and Greg Jong met at the University of Westminster 2000–2003[8] and went through a number of name changes before settling on Pure Reason Revolution (PRR), including The Wow[9] and Pendulum Dawn.

[11] Signing to SonyBMG in autumn 2004, the following year saw the band releasing two singles – the 12-minute-long Bright Ambassadors of Morning (the title is from a line in Pink Floyd's Echoes on the Meddle album), and The Intention Craft – plus one mini-album, Cautionary Tales for the Brave.

During this time, PRR supported Mew,[13] Hope of the States,[14] Secret Machines, and Oceansize,[15] as well as headlining their own gigs[16] and recorded sessions for Mark Radcliffe's Radio Two show and XFM.

The band sometimes allowed fans to listen to streaming material via its MySpace website, including works in progress and exclusive Christmas tracks.

The first album, The Dark Third was released in the UK on 10 April 2006, and was produced by Paul Northfield (Rush, Porcupine Tree, Gentle Giant, Dream Theater).

Their live set had few changes, one of which was a reworked reprise of the album bonus track "Golden Clothes", in which all band members played synthesizers and end singing a cappella.

The band also played a hastily arranged gig at Leicester (the Square) 9 April 2007, and just one more full UK date on 15 October at Southampton University.

[21] In April 2008 the band signed to German label Superball Music for the release of their next album, about which manager Jonathan Cooke made the following statement: "It was refreshing to find a situation that combines the artist commitment and enthusiasm of an indie with the ambition of a major.

"[2] The change of style has been reflected in Amor Vincit Omnia's artwork, designed entirely by bassist/vocalist Chloe Alper, which is darker and less spacey, whilst remaining surreal and symbolic.

[27] A one-off concert at London Scala marked the band's biggest headline gig to date, and included contributions from Tom Bellamy and the string section of Clean Bandit, as well as one of the first performances of "Bullitts Dominae" (a fan favourite which had previously not been played live).

[28][29] On 12 October 2018, Pure Reason Revolution were announced as co-headliners of the Midsummer Prog Festival to be held in June 2019 at the Openluchtheater, Valkenburg, Netherlands.