Finally, after waiting patiently for a few years now, North American fans of Public Service Broadcasting are finally getting their wish. Starting on 18 February at the Casbah in San Diego and concluding with 16 March, 2014, the south London duo are bringing their dynamic and cinematic multimedia experience to thirteen shows with potentially another six to eight sets at SXSW.
For those of you who are hearing this band for the first time, Public Service Broadcasting create brilliant high-concept songs that mix multimedia vignettes from old historic broadcast radio and film reel and weave them tightly into new dimensions in rock sound. The end result is a cinematic experience unlike anything listeners from the past few generations will have a compass on — which is to say that PSB are absolutely mesmerising and brilliant. In performance, they’re even more so. The duo broadcast their high-energy transmissions near stage centre in front of a large projection screen and with stacks of vintage tube television sets displaying the video from the sides.
My first exposure to PSB was from their 2012 video Spitfire that draws from elements of the Leslie Howard’s film “The First of the Few” to tell the story of the development and introduction of the Spitfire into RAF service during WWII. Between the music, which pulsates and drives you ever forward, to the integration of the film into song’s retelling, Spitfire set the stage for things to come on their “The War Room” EP.
Now on their incredible full debut album, Inform – Educate – Entertain, they’ve deftly mined British (BBC and British Film Institute) and American (Prelinger) audio archives to support a variety of musical explorations covering everything from the very American dangers of drink driving on Signal 30, to the kind treatment of the Woodrooffe incident on Lit Up, to the London to Scotland mail train Night Mail, which is without a doubt one of the most emotionally stirring songs from all of last year.
On first listen, one may not immediately recognise that all of this music and subsequent transmission is created by the mind of one J. Willgoose, Esq., and reproduced in the duo format of Messrs Willgoose and Wrigglesworth. What is even more noteworthy is that this duo is able to faithfully recreate much of the their recorded works live, which is to say this is a must-see act. Willgoose serves in a unique role on stage as composer, orchestrator, producer, historian, and alchemist, and all-around mild mannered super performer. It’s rather mind bending to consider all of the time and effort that went into orchestrating these live performances.
PSB draw from multiple genres of music to create their own unique sound. Whilst the atmospheric synth pop may register immediately, listen for some buzzing krautrock stylings amongst other sounds. I really loathe making any genre comparisons, but it’s easy to associate them with 80s synth pioneers. That said, PSB’s unique flavour derives from the variety of instrumentation, from wistfully plucked banjo passages to crunchy electric guitar chords and cracking riffs that swirl around an overlay of sound samples. And I did say it was a duo, right? Without Wrigglesworth, the drums might likely be canned instead of the pumping heart of this sonic adventure. On the recordings, Wrigglesworth also has a hand with piano and electronic instruments.
PSB have played with a furious pace to UK and European fans for the past three to four years, organically growing their fan base, selling out many club dates and attracting critical reviews. I suppose it’s worthy of mention that this wonderful duo is largely self-funded. There is no large record label behind them and they have been very careful in selecting their tour dates. So let’s get the word out now.
For those lucky enough to recall this tour in coming years, PSB’s first true foray into the States will be one to be remembered. Snap up those tickets now. This is something that should not be missed for any reason.
Public Service Broadcasting US Tour 2014
02/18: The Casbah, San Diego, CA
02/19: The Bootleg Theatre, Los Angeles, CA
02/20: Slim’s, San Francisco, CA
02/22: Doug Fir Lounge, Portland, OR
02/23: Nectar Lounge, Seattle, WA
02/25: Schubas Tavern, Chicago, IL
02/26: Drake Hotel, Toronto, ON
02/28: Café 939, Boston, MA
03/01: Mercury Lounge, New York, NY
03/04: Black Cat, Washington, DC
03/05: Pinhook, Durham, NC
03/06: Masquerade, Atlanta, GA
03/07: Savannah Stopover Festival, Savannah, GA
03/09-03/16: SXSW, Austin, TX
– P. Raffington
Previously in East Portland Blog: In 2013 and the List of Nine (Ten) by Peter Dysart, Public Service Broadcasting is said to have released one of the best albums of 2013.
