The Australian trio that played exactly one week ago @ Cargo (London) were not 1) in their mid-30s neither 2) Australian. They were born in the late 50s (maybe early 60s) and just happened to have had a little face, body & soul rejuvenating surgery…
PVT demonstrated last Wednesday why Warp are (interested in) taking good care of the Sydney band, one of their 2010 flagship albums…, they have all the electronic & experimental technique any Warp artist needs and/or seeks. The Pike brothers together with Dave Miller seem to have finally gained enough cache after the release last summer of their 3rd studio album (second international release) to stop depending on other bands tours. Now they have their own (European about to finish) which will take them to the States & Canada later this month and will be heading back to Australia by the end of December.
In front of a few hundred East London youngsters PVT wouldn’t stop throwing their past & present math rock at constant speed.
They have much material to choose from, loads of electronic beams they’ve been compiling for more than 10 years now, and despite their echoes to past electropop or art rock (much of those groups they’ve covered or played with…. YMO, Talkin heads…), or funnily enough to present & future psychedelic revival groups who’ve sucked PVT’s noise, Cargo’s mid-twenties crowd were discovering these sounds for the first time.
What we saw one week ago was a mix of what they like (pure improvisation Can style, guitar riffs, jamming… but all in measured doses) and the consecration of the PVT concept (although more pop-esque if you ask), the earning of a reputation that with a lot of hard work will hopefully conquer the American market in a more mainstream way, not because they want to leave their “small” spectrum of Aussie & Brit followers, but because they deserve it.
(a few more vids & photos on our vimeo & flickr pages, enjoy, share & reuse as much as you please)
