Public Service Broadcasting at The Drake Hotel

Photographs by Sarah Rix.

The first surprise of Saturday evening was the blizzard-like conditions that accompanied my voyage to the Drake Hotel to catch English duo Public Service Broadcasting.

The London duo consisting of J Willgoose Esq & Wrigglesworth have been touring behind their recently released second album, The Race for Space.  I had not heard the band before and the only reason I knew their name was a buddy of mine who had got a ticket for the show in advance.  Their weaving of samples from old public information films with guitar, electronics and drums made me curious enough. A little research uncovered a performance for a Seattle radio station where they sounded twee to me, quirky and intriguing in some way.  

The band’s early start and the painstaking commute across town meant I missed the start of the show, but a pretty packed Underground greeted my entry.  Performing in front of a huge screen showing some old stock footage, the footage was one mesmerizing element to their presentation.

The duo combines old samples from archival public service broadcasting and mix them with a trippy mix of hip-shaking beats, cinematic guitar textures and simple synths. On paper it might sound like much, but the band’s performance was anything but twee.  I was almost expecting an enjoyable novelty act, but instead the band’s performance converted me to intrigued.

For a duo, even though with the aid of samples, they sounded amazingly full.  For about an hour, bass reverberated through the basement of the Drake. For a lot of the set I was reminded of Before The Dawn Heals Us-era M83 without the misery and pretension.  But their twee music was given some extra bite in the live setting, defying expectations from a two-piece.

While there are no vocals, they still managed to thank the punters that turned out via various pre-recorded “conversations”. My only gripe was that I wished the show was louder which would have reduced the chatty Cathys recapping their banal week with little notice of the people around them or the beautiful noise and visual coming from the stage.