Chroniques

CBC Music | 29 juin 2017

Première écoute : Public Service Broadcasting – Every Valley

Andrea Gin

Le groupe post-rock britannique Public Service Broadcasting plonge profondément dans la montée et la chute de l’industrie minière au Pays de Galles sur son nouvel album, Every Valley.

En écoutant cette nouvelle musique, on a un peu l’impression d’écouter un documentaire musical. Le groupe instrumental comprend des samples d’images historiques, comme des films de propagande et de vieux films d’actualités, et réussit à donner une petite leçon d’histoire avec chacun de ses albums. Les thèmes précédents ont inclus la seconde guerre mondiale et la course à l’espace, et Every Valley ne fait pas exception : dessus, le groupe raconte les histoires de la classe ouvrière galloise et sa lutte pour survivre durant le déclin de l’industrie minière et finalement son effondrement.

Le leader J. Willgoose, Esq trouve le sujet toujours très pertinent aujourd’hui. “[L’histoire] s’applique aux industries de part et autre le monde occidental et possiblement au-delà”, déclare-t-il via communiqué de presse, “d’une manière que la révolution industrielle a généré ces communautés qui étaient tellement dépendantes d’une industrie en particulier, et ce qui arrive à cette communauté quand tu lui retires cette industrie, et où cela nous laisse aujourd’hui”.

Un aspect de Every Valley est sensiblement différent des trois efforts précédents de Public Service Broadcasting : c’est le premier album à comprendre du chant. Les invités qui apparaissent incluent Tracyanne Campbell (Camera Obscura), James Dean Bradfield (Manic Street Preachers) et Lisa Jên Brown (9Bach).

Le morceau They Gave Me A Lamp est une collaboration avec le trio instrumental britannique Haiku Salut, et raconte l’histoire du rôle des groupes de soutien des femmes durant la grève des mineurs britanniques au milieu des années 1980, posé sur un paysage sonore de rock-indé exaltant et joyeux.

Au bout du compte, les chansons sur Every Valley abordent l’intérêt récemment renouvelé du groupe pour la politique au Royaume-Uni.

Comme Willgoose a dit au Guardian, “Cette expression horrible, restez dans votre voie… ce disque peste conte ça et se souvient du désir de s’améliorer qui est venu de communautés qui se sont unies autour d’une seule industrie, quand il y avait plus d’engagement politique et l’idée de venir de la classe ouvrière ne voulait pas dire que tu ne pouvais pas apprécier l’art ou la poésie”.

Every Valley sort le 7 juillet. Le groupe jouera deux dates au Canada cet automne : le 16 septembre au Belmont de Montréal et le 17 septembre au Mod Club de Toronto.

Traduction : 1er septembre 2024

NPR | 29 juin 2017

Chronique : Public Service Broadcasting – Every Valley

Stephen Thompson

Au début, la musique de Public Service Broadcasting semble être un gimmick léger : un groupe minimaliste – mené par un gars présenté sous le nom de “J. Willgoose, Esq.” – interprète des instrumentales dramatiques sur des voix off extraites de vieux films d’actualités, documentaires, images de propagande et du service public. Mais tandis que le groupe britannique se prépare à sortir son troisième album, il est frappant de voir combien ce son est devenu robuste et versatile.

Every Valley n’est pas le premier album concept de Public Service Broadcasting ; ce serait The Race For Space de 2015, qui revisite de manière émouvante la saga historique de la course à l’espace référencée dans son titre. Mais la palette thématique du groupe s’est dramatiquement agrandie sur Every Valley, qui utilise l’effondrement de l’industrie minière au Sud du Pays de Galles comme toile de fond d’une déclaration poignante et de grande envergure sur l’automatisation, ainsi que la vulnérabilité des ouvriers et des communautés qu’ils soutiennent. L’histoire semble universelle – et bien plus actuelle que certaines vieilles voix off pourraient suggérer.

Encore mieux, le son du groupe s’est agrandi pour aller avec ses ambitions artistiques. Sur Progress, des rythmes à la Kraftwerk, des chants transformés et des samples d’archives – “Vous devez beaucoup à ces machines” – sont installés contre des refrains dans lesquels Tracyanne Campbell de Camera Obscura roucoule, “Je crois au progrès !”. Sur Turn No More, Public Service Broadcasting engage le chant invité de James Dean Bradfield des Manic Street Preachers, qui donné à Every Valley un électrochoc de musique de protestation agitée. All Out, au contraire, contourne le chant en faveur de quelques samples dramatiques, posés sur un lit de drame post-rock tempétueux ; la chanson évoque violemment l’agitation de la main d’œuvre en son cœur, tout en tabassant aussi fortement que le groupe n’a jamais encore fait.

Public Service Broadcasting est marrant depuis le début – surtout sur scène, quand le groupe joue dans les ombres de vieux films évocateurs. Sur Every Valley, il atteint quelque chose d’encore plus riche et difficile à accomplir : la pertinence.

Traduction : 1er septembre 2024

eGigs.co.uk | 30 November 2015

Public Service Broadcasting (PSB) began transmitting in 2010 as a collaboration between J.Willgoose, Esq (Samples, guitar) and Wrigglesworth (Drums). What they concocted was a seamless blend of funk and electronica interspersed with voice samples from public information films and other historic broadcasts. They formally introduced themselves in 2013 with the arrival of debut album ‘Inform-Educate-Entertain’. The questions was, could they sustain this unique approach to music and writing?Or would it prove to be of passing interest to the fickle? The release of their second long-player 2015’s ‘The Race for Space’ proved the London duo were nimble enough to consolidate and build upon what they had already achieved. After a busy festival season, tonight they find themselves returning to Cardiff at the start of their first major headline tour.

A stroke of genius is the short animation played on screen just before the gig starts. It’s basically about the horrors that befall a fictitious cartoon character who is shunned by one and all as a result of his anti-social behaviour filming an entire show on his smartphone. His eventual demise is greeted with mass applause.

As PSB take to the stage (unless my mathematics has failed me) the duo have doubled. No doubt to meet the challenges of reproducing the complexities of their recordings in a live environment. Needless to say, they all look the part in a geeky chickinda way. A rip-roaring ‘Signal 30’ is dispatched early in the set thus taking the audience into the palms of their hands. As anyone who has seen PSB live will already know, the band quite entertainingly use voice samples as banter between songs. We get everything from a « hello Cardiff » to lots of « simmer down » which is delivered in jest. As is to be expected, and as the set moves along we hear offerings from their latest album. All are warmly received from the brooding ‘Sputnik’ to the charging ‘Go’ prompting a « sing-along ». The pace quickens further with a rampant ‘Spitfire’, it’s at moments like this they seem untouchable. I don’t know if it’s intentional, but it’s multi-instrumentalist JJ Adams who steals the show with his gregarious performance looking like he is loving (and savouring) every moment.

As is customary with most live acts, after a brief interlude we welcome PSB back to the stage for an encore. As commonplace as encores are, this one feels a very appropriate gesture by the band for all the support the fans have given tonight. PSB ranks swell once more as they are joined by a 3-man brass section to fire up ‘Gagarin’ where I suddenly find myself in the midst of what can best be described as a funkadellic party. It’s a simply joyous moment, and adding to the exuberance on-stage is a dancing astronaut with some very fierce moves! It’s clear that I, the audience and PSB are all on the same frequency. What is also apparent is that Public Service Broadcasting exist in a universe of infinite possibilities, and I look forward to exploring each and every one of them.

Kevin Pick

Source : https://www.egigs.co.uk/reviews/?a=15127

HMV.com | 30 November 2015

Public Service Broadcasting @ Cardiff Y Plas

by Dan

Acclaimed oddballs Public Service Broadcasting rolled through Cardiff earlier this week and we were there to review them…

Who?
The most out-there prog indie-rock samplers Public Service Broadcasting, touring their new album The Race For Space…

Where?
In Cardiff University’s Y Plas.

Was it full? And how were the crowd?
The room itself gets very busy beforehand with everybody trying to get the best view of the stage. PSB aren’t the sort of band for sing-alongs or dancing, however the closest this comes is during Go…

So what was the set like? What did they play?
The set is frequently surprising and always entertaining right from the off. We are treated to a short infomercial regarding the correct concert etiquette in terms of photo taking and talking loudly. This tongue in cheeky tone is common throughout the duration.

Opening with Sputnik from The Race For Space, it’s a slow build but perfectly establishes each member of the band and highlights the progression of their music. In comparison Signal 30 follows which were it not for the samples is the closest thing to straight up rock they go and comes to life even more in its live setting.

Throughout the set we see a multitude of instruments on show from the standard keyboards, bass and guitar to brass sections, flugelhorns and even a banjo on Theme from PSB. The accompanying light show during these songs including Night Mail is very impressive telling a story whilst playing at the same time.

Debuting new song Korolev for the first time tonight feels like a genuine treat along with the best song about “Dutch Ice Skating” you will likely hear! As the audience hear the opening notes of Spitfire from their debut album it gets the biggest cheer of the night so far.

The next comes half way through The Other Side which really tells a story through the sampling and use of stage lighting. As the ship in the story travels around to the dark side of the moon, the stage goes into darkness until some dangling stars from the ceiling light up. As the band come back in again the crowd cheer along with the footage.

Go is the closest the crowd gets to singing along whilst an encore return for Gagarin is the closest everyone gets to a dance. Accompanied by jazzy suits, a grooving brass section as well as a dancing astronaut at the back, it’s great to see the band not taking themselves too seriously and having as much fun as the audience are.

Did they put on much of a show?
The light show is very impressive accompanied by some screens at the back showing the footage which accommodates the music. Each of the band members are characters in themselves bringing a sense of humour to proceedings by throwing themselves into it.

Any good between song banter?
The band themselves go under their own pseudonyms so there is no actual verbal communication with the crowd. Yet frontman J. Willgoose Esq communicates to the crowd through his computer which really maintains their sense of humour and fun that they have with everybody.

What was the highlight of the set?
New single Korolev stands out from the rest particularly when a brass section get involved and takes it up another gear.

Where can I catch them next?
The tour seens them visiting London with next year arriving at Leeds, Edinburgh and Liverpool. They are also playing a massive show with the Manic Street Preachers in Swansea’s Liberty Stadium over the summer.

Wales Online – 27 November 2015

Public Service Broadcasting performed their unique :duties with foot-tapping wizardry

Electronic wizards Public Service Broadcasting had Cardiff Union’s Y Plas bouncing!

★★★★☆

By Tony Woolway

To the uninitiated, Public Service Broadcasting can appear a bit of an enigma.

They are certainly not your regular band, in that they don’t have a singer per se, preferring to use an odd combination of old newsreel footage, public information films, as their name would suggest, plus a whole load of geeky weirdness all thrown together to enhance a quite diverse electronic mishmash of technology .

Comprising the intriguingly named J. Willgoose, Esq, guitar and keyboards and Wrigglesworth, drums, this London-based duo have created a fairly unique sound and look that is both innovating and inspirational with their merging of the old and the very new.

It was a treat to see a banjo and a flugelhorn alongside an array of keyboard wizardry and it was this contrast and eclectic mix that both dazzled and amazed.

Aaided and abetted by the occasional brass section and the talented J F Abraham on bass, keyboards, percussion and the previously mentioned flugelhorn plus Mr B in charge of the equally impressive visuals of a mostly bygone age, giving the evening a creaky fifties feel.

With the only interaction verbally between the band and audience being a sampled Stephen Hawking-like computer generated voice triggered by a pad, the band certainly played up to their image but with their tongues firmly in their cheeks.

Their swotty appearance proving deceptive one as they as they set about creating a tasty brew of foot-tapping funk, pop electronica.

From their chilled intro into a pulsating Sputnik it was pretty rousing stuff played in a good-humour that delighted the packed crowd, with Go! From their latest offering The Race For Space keeping the momentum going and the crowd bouncing.

Though it was Everest, near the end, with stark black and white images of Hillary and Tenzing complementing the sweeping music perfectly that provided the evening’s highlight and in true pioneering fashion, a flag firmly placed on a musical peak.

Source : https://www.walesonline.co.uk/whats-on/music-nightlife-news/public-service-broadcasting-performed-unique-10512446

South Wales Argus | 27 November 2015

Public Service Broadcasting – Cardiff University Student Union

By Steven Prince

IT was fitting that Public Service Broadcasting chose to make their Welsh return to Cardiff University’s student union on Thursday.

Music which aims to teach lessons of the past through modern dexterity was warmly received by the crowd – raucous in their reverence – of the conceptual band.

The London duo launched their UK tour, which has been truncated due to personal reasons, in style – bringing their signature audio-visual transmissions to the Welsh capital.

Consisting of multi-instrumentalist J. Willgoose Esq., and drummer-cum-percussionist Wrigglesworth, a musical cavalcade of differing genres ensued – as well as themes.

The most recent album, The Race for Space, understandably covers humankind’s assent to the stars but the pair are not afraid to push the boundaries of time as well as space.

Historical moments featured prominently throughout the performances, from the delivery of mail on steam trains to the stiff upper lip shown by Britain during the Blitz to Dutch long-distance speed skating.

What is most enjoyable about the cacophony of lights and sounds is the variety in the performance – a fusion of synths, banjos and archive footage with the staple drums and guitar of modern music.

The pair, akin to two history teachers found marooned in the music department of any secondary school, are a force to be reckoned with due to the avenues open to their music

Source : https://www.southwalesargus.co.uk/leisure/reviews/14109167.display/

The Arts Desk | 29 juin 2017

CD : Public Service Broadcasting – Every Valley

Le troisième album de PSB vire trop vers l’infotainment

Guy Oddy

Every Valley est le deuxième album studio de Public Service Broadcasting depuis Inform-Educate-Entertain de 2013, et comme ses prédécesseurs, c’est un voyage nostalgique vers le passé pas si récent que cela avec une toile de fond lourdement éléctronique et un sac plein de samples choisis de la bibliothèque du British Film Institute.

Tandis que J Willgoose Esq et Wrigglesworth ont pu être inspirés par les chemins de fer à vapeur et la course à l’espace sur les disques précédents, Every Valley voit le duo londonien prendre la mort de l’inductrie du charbon dans le Sud du Pays de Galles et son impact social comme source. Si cette terminologie sonne un peu sèche et académique, elle reflète l’ambiance de l’album, qui semble au bout du compte comme de “l’infotainment” valide avec de la musique que les saveurs electronica-trance-krautrock habituelles de Public Service Broadcasting.

Pour les premiers morceaux, Every Valley n’est pas surprenant pour les auditeurs de longue date de l’attaque particulière de Public Service Broadcasting sur l’idée de l’album concept. Mais au fur et à mesure, J Willgoose Esq et Wrigglesworth commençent à introduire des changements à leur son en incorporant des chanteurs invités comme Tracyanne Campbell, Lisa Jen Brown et James Dean Bradfield des Manic Street Preachers. Tandis que cela fonctionne sur la pop à la Goldfrapp de Progress et le duo anglo-gallois de You + Me, Turn No More semble être une opportunité perdue. Au lieu de sortir de sa zone de confort et d’essayer quelque chose de différent, Bradfield semble interpréter de manière terne un morceau de rock assez standard qui fait sonner ses hôtes comme son propre groupe.

Alors que Every Valley peut être un hymne attachant à l’idée de la “communauté”, il y a aussi un sentiment qu’il romantise un emploi qui était sale, dangereux et, dans plus de cas que possible, mortel pour tous ceux sur le front (littéral) de taille. De même, il ne fait pas attention aux retombées environnementales de l’industrie du charbon et semble par conséquent légèrement peu satisfaisant dans son échec à raconter plus que cette partie de cette histoire particulière.

★★☆☆☆

Traduction : 24 février 2024

The Arts Desk | 29 June 2017

CD: Public Service Broadcasting – Every Valley

PSB’s third veers too close towards infotainment for comfort

Guy Oddy

Every Valley is Public Service Broadcasting’s second studio album since 2013’s Inform – Educate – Entertain, and like its predecessors, it’s a nostalgic trip to the not-too-recent past with an electronica-heavy backing and a bag full of samples culled from the spoken word library of the British Film Institute.

While J Willgoose Esq and Wrigglesworth may have been inspired by steam-powered railways and the space race on previous discs, Every Valley sees the London duo take on the death of the coal industry in South Wales and its social impact as their source material. If this terminology sounds all a bit dry and academic, it reflects the ambience of the album, which ultimately comes across as worthy “infotainment” with tunes rather than Public Service Broadcasting’s usual electronica-trance-krautrock flavours.

For the first few tracks, however, Every Valley holds no surprises for long-time listeners of Public Service Broadcasting’s own particular take on the concept album idea. But as things unfold, J Willgoose Esq and Wrigglesworth begin to introduce some changes to their sound by bringing in guest vocalists like Tracyanne Campbell, Lisa Jen Brown and Manic Street Preacher’s James Dean Bradfield. While this works on the poppy Goldfrapp-like “Progress” and the folkie bilingual Welsh-English duet “You + Me”, “Turn No More” does seem something of a lost opportunity. Instead of stepping outside his comfort zone and trying something different, Bradfield rather uninspiringly performs a pretty straight-forward rock number that just makes his hosts sound like his own band.

While Every Valley can be quite an endearing hymn to the idea of “community” there is a sense that it also romanticises a job that was dirty, dangerous and, in more cases than seem possible, life-shortening or life-ending for those at the (literal) coalface. It similarly pays no attention to the environmental fall-out from the coal industry and consequently feels slightly unsatisfying in its failure to tell more than part of this particular story.

★★☆☆☆

The Arts Desk

Soundlab | 6 July 2017

PUBLIC SERVICE BROADCASTING – EVERY VALLEY

D R Pautsch

Rating: 9
Release Date: 2017-07-07
Label: Play It Again Sam

When Public Service Broadcasting released their first album Inform-Educate-Entertain in 2013 it left many questions, despite its obvious brilliance.  Primarily it was difficult to see how this approach of instrumentals spiced with PSB dialogue would not grow very old very quickly.  On their first effort the approach was varied and covered such subjects as the Spitfire, Night Mail and Everest.  However that question was largely answered with their excellent, rousing and more focused Race for Space follow up that came two years later.  This approach was to focus on a single subject and it told the story of the race for space from both US and USSR angles, being poignant, moving and at times as sparse as its subject matter.  It also showed that when marrying a piece of original music to an old John F Kennedy speech it could turn into almost propaganda.  There was also a move towards having original vocals with Smoke Faeries guesting on one track.  Their third album sees them further explore this approach on what at first might seem like a smaller scale but actually may have hidden depths and meanings and might just be one of the most timely albums released this year.  PSB have decamped to Wales and in particular Ebbw Vale to tell the story of the Welsh mining towns.  Hiring some Celtic vocals, including James Dean of the Manic Street Preachers they follow the rise, fall and aftermath of Welsh coal.

Of course it is nigh on impossible to remove any politics from this subject matter as it is so deeply entrenched in the whole fall of the Welsh mines.  And on first listen it would appear that this is a tale of Welsh mines alone.  However, the arc could depict Detroit with its demise of the motor industry or any other abandoned industrial powerhouse where progress has apparently left the workforce long behind, bereft of jobs, hope and a future.  In particular on this effort, the counterpoint of the elocutionary perfect delivery of Public Service Broadcasts telling the listener that there will always be a need for Welsh coal, as it does on People Will Always Need Coal, sounds both condescending and like the very kind of propaganda we are hearing on a daily basis from our current ruling classes.  The whole album has a very definite arc from the promise of jobs for centuries to the ruination of an entire industry and the broken promises and lives.  The centre of this is the attacking guitars and Welsh voiceovers of All Out.  This is an almost metallic riff that gives way to allow the workers to tell their story before the assault continues anew. It’s a snarling beast of a number which accurately depicts the confrontation and feelings at the time and perhaps ever since.

The guest vocals are interspersed between the instrumental numbers.  The most headline grabbing will be James Dean Bradfield’s turn on Turn No More which concerns the end of a pit and the final turn of the pit wheel.  Its ringing guitar almost sounds like MSP at times but with an undertone of foreboding that can only belong on an album such as this. That is until the denouement where the pride begins to return and with it the true grit and defiance that has been there since.  Camera Obscura’s Traceyanne Campbell gives a lighter to touch to the adrenaline filled Progress which is both welcome and needed.  You Me also sees PSB break from their rules where their leader J Willgoose Esq provides the English counterpoint to Jen Brown’s welsh vocals.  This is a light number full of strings and could be one of the most beautiful moments PSB have produced thus far.

Of the instrumental numbers They Gave Me A Lamp stands out alongside All Out as one of the most moving moments.  This tells the story of the women in the mines and how they stood shoulder to shoulder with the men. 

Of course there are still the odd nagging doubts about PSB.  Is the underlying music different enough each time?  Sometimes you almost feel it isn’t but this is often transcended by the subject matter and honestly how many bands plough the same furrow on each album anyway?  The inclusion of a voiceover by Richard Burton, telling of the pride of Welsh miners on the opening title track is a reminder of the lyrical honey that voice once lent to War of The Worlds and perhaps it’s too close for comfort.

This is an album which provides far more poignancy with its subject matter and approach than would on the face of it be expected.  That it is not laid on with a trowel is to be commended and actually makes it far more effective.  Of course the tail end of the album can only be a more mournful affair than the false promises contained at the start.  And inevitably this album ends the only way it can, with a Welsh voice choir.  The unique approach of PSB might have found a ream seam here and perhaps one that reflects as much on our past as our present and sadly our potential future.

Soundlab

Soundlab | 6 juillet 2017

Public Service Broadcasting – Every Valley

D R Pautsch

Note : 9
Date de sortie : 07/07/2017
Label : Play It Again Sam

Quand Public Service Broadcasting a sorti son premier album, Inform-Educate-Entertain, en 2013, il posait de nombreuses questions, malgré sa manifeste excellence. Premièrement, il était difficile de voir comment cette approche d’instrumentales relevées de dialogue de films d’information publique n’allait pas beaucoup vieillir très rapidement. Sur leur première sortie, l’approche était variée et couvrait des sujets comme le Spitfire, le Night Mail et l’Everest. Cependant, cette question a grandement été répondue avec leur excellent successeur passionné et plus focalisé, The Race For Space, qui est sorti deux ans plus tard. Cette approche était de se concentrer sur un seul sujet et il racontait l’histoire de la course à l’espace des deux angles américains et soviétiques, étant poignant, émouvant et parfois aussi épars que son sujet. Il démontrait également qu’ne mariant un morceau de musique original à un vieux discours de John F Kennedy, cela pouvait se transformer presque en propagande. Il y avait aussi un pas en avant en ayant du chant original avec les Smoke Fairies en invitées sur un morceau. Leur troisième album les voit explorer cette approche plus loin sur ce qui pourrait sembler au départ une échelle plus petite mais qui pourrait en fait avoir des profondeurs et des significations cachées et qui peut être l’un des albums les plus opportuns sortis cette années. PSB ont décampé au Pays de Galles et en particulier à Ebbw Vale pour raconter l’histoire des villes minières galloises. Employant des voix celtiques, dont James Dean Bradfield des Manic Street Preachers, ils suivent la montée, la chute et les conséquences du charbon gallois.

Bien sûr, il est presque impossible de retirer la politique de ce sujet étant donné qu’elle est enracinée tellement profondément dans toute la chute des mines galloises. Et à la première écoute, il semblerait que c’est un conte sur les mines galloises uniquement. Cependant, l’arc pourrait représenter Detroit avec la mort de l’industrie automobile ou n’importe quelle centrale électrique abandonnée où le progrès a apparemment laissé leur main-d’œuvre derrière depuis longtemps, dépourvue d’emplois, d’espoir et d’avenir. En particulier sur ce disque, le contrepoint du discours élocutoire parfait de Public Service Broadcasts disant à l’auditeur qu’il y aura toujours un besoin en charbon gallois, comme c’est le cas sur People Will Always Need Coal, sonne à la fois condescendant et comme la propagante même que nous entendons au quotidien de nos classes dirigeantes actuelles. Tout l’album a un arc très défini de la promesse d’emplois pour des siècles à la perte de toute une industrie et les promesses non tenues et les vies brisées. Le centre de tout cela sont les guitares qui attaquent et les voix galloises de All Out. C’est un riff quasi métallique qui ouvre la voie pour permettre aux ouvriers de raconter leur histoire avant que l’assaut continue à nouveau. C’est un morceau bestial rugissant qui dépeint avec précision la confrontation et les sentiments de l’époque et peut-être depuis lors.

Les voix invitées sont entrecoupées entre les morceaux instrumentaux. Celle qui attirera le plus l’attention sera James Dean Bradfield sur Turn No More qui parle de la fin d’une mine et le dernier tour de la molette. Sa guitare retentissante sonne pratiquement comme MSP par moments mais avec un sous-entendu de pressentiment qui ne peut appartenair à un album comme celui-ci. C’est à dire jusqu’au dénouement où la fierté commence à revenir et avec le véritable courage et l’attitude de défi qui est là depuis. Traceyanne Campbell de Camera Obscura donne une touche plus légère à Progress remplie d’adrénaline qui est à la fois bienvenue et nécessaire. You + Me voit aussi PSB s’éloigner de leurs règles où leur leader J Willgoose, Esq. fournit le contrepoint anglais au chant gallois de Jen Brown. C’est un morceau léger plein de cordes et ce pourrait être l’un des moments les plus beaux que PSB ont produit jusqu’ici.

Des morceaux instrumentaux, They Gave Me A Lamp ressort avec All Out comme l’un des moments les plus émouvants. Il raconte l’histoire des femmes dans les mines et combien elles étaient coude à coude avec les hommes.

Bien sûr, il y a toujours les doutes tenaces à propos de PSB. Est-ce que la musique sous-jacente est assez différente à chaque fois ? Parfois on ne le ressent pratiquement pas mais c’est souvent transcendé par le sujet et honnêtement, combien de groupes laboure le même sillon sur chaque album de toute manière ? L’inclusion d’un sample de Richard Burton, racontant la fierté des mineurs gallois sur le titre phare d’ouverture rappelle le miel lyrique que cette voix a donné autrefois à War of the Worlds et est peut-être dangereusement trop proche.

C’est un album qui fournit bien plus d’intensité avec son sujet et son approche que sur ce dont on en attend. Le fait qu’il n’en mette pas le paquet est à louer et le rend en fait bien plus efficace. Bien sûr, la toute fain de l’album ne peut être qu’une affaire plus funèbre que les fausses promesses contenues au début. Et inévitablement, cet album se finit de la seule manière possible, avec une chorale de voix masculines. L’approche unique de PSB pourrait avoir découvert un sillon et peut-être un qui réfléchit autant sur notre passé que sur notre présent et tristement notre futur potentiel.

Traduction : 23 février 2024