PVT – Old Blue Last, London 06/09/2010

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Words by Matt Parker // Photos by Sebastian Dehesdin

Having first seen PVT (or Pivot as they were known at the time) at Truck Festival two years ago, just before they released their debut album on Warp records O Soundtrack My Heart, I was very excited at the prospect of seeing them make a return to the UK and was delighted to get a ticket to the exclusive album launch party at the dark sweaty and overtly trendy Old Blue Last.

Opening for PVT on the night was London based Hind Ear. The four-piece shared both the drum kit and their vocal responsibilities across the band which made for an interesting spectacle, the crowd never knowing from where to expect the next delay-drenched scream or cymbal clatter. Their sound was often simple, rhythmic, with pounding toms, whilst overhead a wash of delay filled the space. I find it very hard to imagine this band going unnoticed and genuinely expect to hear a lot more from them, if for no other reason than because they sit firmly in camp Animal Collective territory.

PVT looked genuinely excited to be on stage with the prospect of showcasing tracks from their new album Church with No Magic. Opening with ‘Timeless’ I have to admit felt like a slow start as a pumping arpeggio only gradually built into full flow, but more crucially the song established guitarist Richard Pike’s intentions as a vocalist within their new work. Without any stoppage they briskly moved into title track ‘Church with No Magic’; it was quickly apparent that drummer, Lawrence Pike, is one of the hardest hitters in music. His tom driven beat pounded through the crowd whilst brother, Richard, sang through a delay, summoning the ghost of Ian Curtis before the filthiest of bass lines tore the stage apart.

PVT clearly didn’t want their audience to forget what had made them such an intriguing prospect for Warp in 2008, playing from their older arsenal, ‘Didn’t I Furious’, ‘In The Blood’, ‘O Soundtrack My Heart’, and a mid-set “get some energy levels back” jam of the Jean Michelle Jarre-esque ‘Fool In Rain’, where drummer Lawrence Pike stepped out from behind the kit and dwarfed a full sized keyboard with his man mountain frame. You could see the clear difference in confidence with these songs, as their old tested material was full of tricks and tweaks not heard on the album material; compared to their newer tracks which resembled something much more faithful to the record – this difference a result, no doubt, of many months of endless touring.

It is in the new songs that you can begin to see PVT as a potential major venue band: the choir rings of ‘Crimson Swan’ lift the audience to a shoegazey plane of brilliance, and their new single ‘Light up Bright Fires’, with its constantly morphing filthy bass and massive 808 crunk beat, stun the crowd. A venue the size of the Old Blue Last doesn’t quite do PVT full justice but when they play ‘Quick Mile’ in this intimate space you can appreciate, up close, the skill of Lawrence Pike’s rapid, dubstep infused drumming as well as the unique approach to live sampling Dave Miller takes with his ever expanding electronic array, as he records and loops live audio from his band mates throughout their performance.

I look forward to seeing PVT perform on the kind of stages they deserve over the coming months and was thoroughly impressed by the effort the band has put into making the transition from Battles-inspired instrumental mavericks into fully fledged epic songsters.