Public Service Broadcasting; more of a concept than a band have released an album entitled Inform – Educate – Entertain and its fairly safe to say the London duo who make up PSB have the only album this year that will feature guest appearances from various BBC Archives and commentary clips from the Berlin Olympics.
The aim for the London based duo, J. Willgoose, Esq and Woodroofe, through their various EP’s has been to teach lessons of old through the music of the future. They trawl through old film archives to find snippets of voices to set to music. As the album plays listeners are reminded of various events throughout British history; this is particularly apparent in Night Mail, “trains from Bristol, Cardiff, Manchester, Stoke, Liverpool and Birmingham bring thousands of letters daily. This is the Night mail crossing the border bringing the cheque and the postal order.” Which is of course how mail used to be delivered.
“Spitfire”, which is my favourite track from the album, and also the one that the fans appear to enjoy the most, uses audio clips from old British movies promoting the airplane The Spitfire, the song will remind historians and indeed people in general of times gone by and educate the younger listeners on past glories. “Its tiring always stretching for something thats just out of reach, but I’ll get it” is followed by yet more inspiration in the form of, “. . . you have to to do 400 miles per hour, turn on a sixpence, carry 8 machine guns”. All the while the entertaining and upbeat music provided by Woodrooffe and J. Willgoose, Esq makes this, and indeed the other tracks on the album, very enjoyable and very easy to listen to.
It doesn’t have the feel of a government propaganda film, but rather a soundtrack you would happily listen to in a nightclub or even on a commute into work. Each song appears to tell a different story of past life in Britain, the duo have almost taken the words/lyrics and made the music mould around them, and I truly believe this is the album you’ll find this year that does that. A must have for any fan of synthy musical beauty.
Watch the video for Spitfire:
For more details, visit: http://publicservicebroadcasting.net/