PVT: Church With No Magic (Warp, 8/10/10)
PVT: “Light Up Bright Fires”
[audio:https://alarm-magazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/PVT_Light_Up_Bright_Fires.mp3|titles=PVT: “Light Up Bright Fires”]Formerly known as Pivot, Australia’s PVT was formed as an improvisational quintet in the late 1990s before transitioning to an electro-rock trio. The group maintained a number of experimental, freeform elements, but it focused on synth grooves and a mixture of live and digital beats.
Its new album, Church With No Magic, is its most composed yet, seemingly dropping the improv parts while delivering some major pop melodies and vocal hooks. the single “Light Up Bright Fires” mixes squiggly electronics with a pounding Phil Collins tom beat and a catchy chorus. “Crimson Swans” features epic choir sounds, and “Window” has a very 1980s feel – somewhere between Depeche Mode, Gary Numan, and Tears for Fears (but not corny).