I’ve always thought PVA were a band operating just slightly ahead of where people expected them to be. They’ve never sounded unfinished or tentative, but there has often been a sense of potential still being worked through in real time. No More Like This feels like the clearest articulation yet of who they are trying to be, even if it does not land perfectly at every turn.
‘Rain’ is a fantastic way to open the album. I was immediately drawn in by the drumming, which feels busy and layered without becoming overwhelming. The synths creep in with excellent timing, adding atmosphere rather than forcing attention, and the whole thing settles into a groove that feels patient and confident.
‘Enough’ keeps things simmering rather than boiling. It is sultry, tactile, and once again instrumentally very assured. I’d struggle to neatly describe all the sounds at work here, but I honestly don’t think that matters. The track works on vibes more than definition, and the lyrics lean into that same push and pull, desire held just slightly out of reach.
‘Mate’ passes pleasantly enough without leaving much of an impression, but ‘Send’ quickly pulls focus back. Here, the sultriness is turned up another notch, and the techno element of PVA’s sound comes back into full view. There’s something distinctly android-like about it, cool, controlled, and faintly hypnotic, that I find far more compelling than the tracks surrounding it.
‘Anger Song’ begins in a way that briefly reminds me of ‘All The Things She Said’ by t.A.T.u., before moving into something heavier and more lyrically loaded. The words matter more here, and I find myself paying closer attention as a result. ‘Peel’, by contrast, does little to hold me, and the album briefly loses momentum.
‘Boyface’ brings things back through its lyrics, which are more striking and physical, while ‘Flood’ marks a noticeable uptick in energy. Those eerie, throttled chords running through the track give it tension and propulsion, and it feels like the record shaking itself awake again.
‘Okay’ is one of my favourite moments on the album. The spoken-word delivery inevitably recalls Dry Cleaning, but it works beautifully here, especially as the track builds toward a mesmeric crescendo punctuated by beeping synths. ‘Moon’ closes things out in a slightly disjointed but still enjoyable way, reflective rather than emphatic.
Overall, No More Like This is an album I admire more than I love. It’s rich with ideas, increasingly confident, and often very good, even if it does not always cohere as strongly as it wants to. Still, it sounds like a band becoming more themselves in real time, and that alone makes it worth spending time with.
Photo credit: Jak Payne
