Music should make you feel things; take you out of your own life and into the world within whatever it is you’re listening to. On their second album, No More Like This, PVA make it impossible not to feel involved in the stories they lay out in the lyrics. Opener “Rain” features nothing but some spoken word from Ella Harris atop some futuristic sounding synth; her repetition of “Good morning” acts as a gentle welcome into the simplicity of the weird and wonderful that awaits.
There’s a very physical element to this record; each track conjures up vivid images of crowds of people in a tiny, sweaty space as the music blares. Intimacy is woven throughout from the feature of a stretched out torso in nothing but underwear on the album’s cover down to the want and desire portrayed in the lyrics. “Enough” and “Send” are about as sultry as an album can get before verging on inappropriate with the latter feeling both intense and hypnotic.
PVA show no desperation to tie themselves down to one specific genre here either, inspiration and influence have been pulled from anywhere and everywhere. “Boyface” is a standout with it’s striking and playful interpretation on gender that acts as the 21st century answer to the triphop shaped hole that Massive Attack filled in the 90s. Meanwhile, “Anger Song” carries with it that same brooding energy that permeates much of Portishead’s work. The swirling synth of “Okay” has a certain shoegaze-y feel that separates it from the rest of the album; it almost doesn’t quite make sense here until you realise that it really doesn’t need to because it is the clear sign of a group that know exactly how to have fun without allowing themselves to be restricted or defined.
In fact, the most striking thing about No More Like This is how much PVA’s confidence in their own musical ability has grown since their debut. You can hear it reflected across the 10 songs here.
