PVT

From the start, there was an urgency to secure the sound that would become Church With No Magic. Just one month after they handed over the master of O Soundtrack My Heart to the head of Warp Records, the three members of PVT were in the studio in Sydney with engineer Burke Reid.

Church With No Magic was a different process for PVT. For a start, they found themselves in the same countries at the same times. It took them from Sydney to a basement studio in London with one of Europe’s largest collections of vintage synthesizers – including the Yamaha CS80 famously used for the Blade Runner soundtrack - to a grandmother’s music room in a 120 year old house in the countryside near Paris, juggling live commitments along the way.

Their efforts would take the form of an album that builds upon the anthemic synth-driven instrumental movements for which PVT is renowned, along with the power of their visceral live shows. The sound has been brilliantly tempered and expanded by the trio into brooding, melancholic experimental pop - an amalgam of rock synthesis, propulsive rhythms and huge melodic strength. It’s a dark and expansive sound that PVT has made substantial movements on this record to make their own.

The most notable development on Church With No Magic would have to be the vocals of multi-instrumentalist Richard Pike. While the band have often used vocals in the past, particularly live, this album sees them taking on a more central role within the songs, as layers of Richard’s voice build amongst the music, adding an intense melodic focus to the contorting rhythms and bewildering space generated by the band.