A few years ago I wrote a rave review of Public Service Broadcasting's first album, Inform-Educate-Entertain, a review I pretty much still stand by. I also wrote some roughly positive things about their The War Room EP, a fine enough record that somehow struggles to get five songs out of a fairly substantial topic.
Since then, they have committed themselves to being a band who write albums themed around something, which in itself isn't a bad thing; I'm usually a sucker for a concept album. They make for interesting albums, but I wouldn't say either are as good as the first. And that's not a "it's not as good as their earlier stuff" criticism (I mean it is, but that's not how I mean it) - the great thing about the first one is the fact that each song works as a theme by itself. Every song stood out as interesting on it's own merits. In concept albums, it's easy for songs to just become filler and that certainly happens here.
PSB give us nine songs, although the first is really an intro, so we're left with eight. Sputnik is seven-minutes long, but does surprisingly little with that time. There's a good post-rock song hidden in the background, but the build-up:explosion ratio is all wrong - the ending needs far more time and I want someone to turn the drums the fuck up (there is a note about the so-called "loudness wars", but my criticism here is in the mixing, not mastering). As I said about the first record, a lot of the musicianship and power their live shows have is lost on the album, which is a shame. Gagarin, however, is probably the finest song they've ever written. It helped rocket them (no pun intended) to further fame, and rightly so. Their live shows hang around this song, and I often wish they'd play it sooner to get everyone moving. I suppose the problem is that they have too many slow, thoughtful songs and not enough dance numbers to keep that momentum going. Fire in the Cockpit is quite the comedown and, basically, filler.
The Other Side feels like exactly the sort of song you'd expect to come from this source material, and they just about do it justice. Maybe I'm just the wrong sort of fan, but I want to hear how Mogwai or Explosion in the Sky would handle such material - you could go super bleak in the lull or super celebratory in the end and either would work; PSB reign in both emotions for some reason (although live they hit the celebration with much more force). Go! is the other highlight and another song guaranteed to get people moving. Tomorrow closes the album with another seven minute song that does very little and leaves little impression.
I do like this album, in a way. There are some great live songs here, and it just about works. However, I fear they've now fully committed to only doing themed albums, and that feels like a shame. This album and the success it had feel like the catalyst for this direction, so I hold a bit of a grudge against it for that. Maybe that's unfair? If they change tack and release an album of disparate songs again maybe that grudge will fade. I like that to be the case, but I can't see them doing that right now.
Format: 12", gatefold sleeve, picture sleeve, 12" booklet
Tracks: 9
Cost: £19 new
Bought: Truck Store, Oxford
When: 25/02/15
Colour: Clear
Etching: none
mp3s: Download code
