Some things ring ever-true, and the emotive sounds and sights of Public Service Broadcasting definitely fall into this timeless category.
One half live instrumentation, the other half audio and visual sampling from archive footage; I (finally) managed to see them live at The Lexington in Islington last Wednesday night. A scorcher of an evening, the duo of J. Willgoose, Esq. and Wrigglesworth left nothing but a glowing impression on surely everyone in attendance.
Addressing the audience via faux-found samples in keeping with their quaint style, the performance struck me as one part Kraftwerk Roboter and two parts Dr Who Time Lord – For you see, PSB are very, very British. So much so, that they have partnered up with the British Film Institute (BFI) to re-purpose even more forgotten footage into something simply magical.
The promise of industry, the use of public fear as a political fulcrum, global expansion and the idea that technology is as much a tool as it is a threat; these are themes which run through media and our own social psyche as much today as they did in 1940s.
‘New Dimensions in Sound’
In terms of sound, it reminds me of very much of My Life in the Bush of Ghosts, the 1981 collaborative tour de force of David Byrne and Brian Eno. And while there is much to distinguish them aside from everyone else, there is little in the way of formula. Every track, from the M83-like, euphoric ‘Everest’ to the rocking’, bass-heavy ‘Signal 30’, is able to stand alone on its own merit.
Switching between digital and acoustic drums, banjo and full electric guitar – all with the cadence of the most engaging propaganda documentary you’ve ever seen – Public Service Broadcasting lace up the past and present in a package that is anything but an outdated anachronism.
In my antipodean opinion, Public Service Broadcasting could not fail in the UK and it wouldn’t surprise me if they landed on far-flung shores.
Public Service BroadcastingLive Review (17 July 2013): Public Service Broadcasting lace up the past and present in a package that is anything but an outdated anachronism.Live at The Lexington, LondonWritten by: Damian BurkeDate Published: 07/23/2013Live Review (17 July 2013): Public Service Broadcasting lace up the past and present in a package that is anything but an outdated anachronism.8.5 / 10 stars
