PVT (Formerly Pivot)

The transformation of common metals into gold was a central feature of alchemy, the ancient study of elements and their metamorphosis into new forms. Alchemists rejected the magic that explained the world, moving instead to new methods of change and transmutation. And herein lies the current state of PVT, the band formerly known as Pivot.

When Warp records founder Steve Beckett signed an unknown band from Sydney in early 2008, based on the strength of their album ‘O Soundtrack My Heart’ - a seething instrumental mass of post-punk guitars, brutal drums and bass-heavy electronics - you could forgive him for being a little taken aback when only 18 months later they returned to his office with the follow up – ‘Church With No Magic’, a new vocal-lead direction for the band, and arguably one of the most ambitious experimental rock records to ever come out their native Australia.

From the start, there was an urgency to secure the sound that would become ‘Church With No Magic’. Just one month after they handed over the master of O Soundtrack My Heart to the label boss, the three members of PVT were in the studio in Sydney with engineer Burke Reid.

’We didn’t know what it would become,’’ says Dave Miller. ‘’We didn’t really discuss anything beforehand. We just wanted to make something that developed organically and let us explore the influence of all of the live shows we’d been playing.”

The process was a new one for PVT. On their previous album, Miller and multi-instrumentalist brothers Richard and Laurence Pike had worked remotely across borders, living in Sydney and London during recording.

‘Church With No Magic’ was different. For a start, they found themselves in the same countries at the same times. It also took them from Sydney to a basement studio in London with one of Europe’s largest collections of vintage synthesizers – including the Yamaha CS80 famously used for the ‘Blade Runner’ soundtrack - to a grandmother’s music room in a 120 year old house in the countryside near Paris, juggling live commitments along the way.

Their efforts would take the form of ‘Church With No Magic’, an album that builds upon the anthemic synth-driven instrumental movements for which PVT is renowned, along with the power of their visceral live shows. The sound has been brilliantly tempered and expanded by the trio into brooding, melancholic experimental pop - an amalgam of rock synthesis, propulsive rhythms and huge melodic strength. It’s a dark and expansive sound that PVT has made substantial movements on this record to make their own.

‘Church With No Magic’ represents a band not afraid to risk its hand for sake of something new. It’s this inventiveness and fearlessness that first attracted Warp Records to make PVT their first Australian signing.

First single, ‘Window’, is typical of the dense collisions of PVT’s sound world. It’s a heady combination of vocal experimentation, swirling keyboard arpeggios and pounding drums, all topped by the band’s adeptness for emotive harmony and clear melodic punch, distilled into three minutes.

The most notable development on ‘Church With No Magic’ would have to be the vocals of multi-instrumentalist Richard Pike. While the band have often used vocals in the past, particularly live, this album sees them taking on a more central role within the songs, as layers of Richard’s voice build amongst the music, adding an intense melodic focus to the contorting rhythms and bewildering space generated by the band.

“Rich has always sung, ever since we were kids, but it’s just not something that ever happened in PVT in such a direct way until now,’’ says brother Laurence. “It wasn’t a conscious choice to add vocals on this record. It just happened in the initial sessions for the album. It felt totally natural so we just rolled with it, which was very much the unifying idea of the whole process, just to do what comes to us naturally and not second guess ourselves.’’

“I think much of our motivation and the subsequent themes we wanted to explore on the album seemed to stem from the process itself. The three of us together in a room trying to pursue something relevant to us as people, almost a reaction to the idea that we are influenced or controlled by complex systems that we can no longer comprehend in any meaningful way.” Laurence adds.

The other obvious point that must be addressed is the change in the band name itself, from Pivot to PVT. The change was a necessary one, the result of an unexpected legal claim from a band in the United States that used the same name.

“It was frustrating and kind of ridiculous,’’ says Richard. “But it became quickly obvious that it was a legal battle in the US we may not even win, and one we just couldn’t afford to lose. So in the end, we weren’t phased by it. Altering the name just seemed to be another step in the process for the record to come out and be heard’’, an attitude that seems to reflect the ongoing evolution and burgeon