PVTPVT has consistently released wonderful records full of ornate, cinematic instrumental music like 2008's O Soundtrack My Heart and 2005's classic Make Me Love You. Ditching their jazzy, expansive inclinations and installing guitarist Richard Pike as a bonafide frontman, makes Homasapien an intriguing record.
But Pike gets the job done in style. His darkly romantic voice is placed front and centre of the album. It floats above the mysterious synths, stuttering arps and 80s dancefloor beats that permeate the album.
Pop-oriented records like this live and die according to the strength of their songs, yet Homosapien is a bit of a mixed bag. For every excellent New Romantic reimagining like Evolution, Vertigo or the lead single Nightfall, there's a misstep. An awkward guitar riff in the title track, or the meandering and unfocused opener Shiver. On 'New Morning' the hooks simply aren't there. Curiously, the album feels like it starts on the back foot and only picks up the pace halfway through.
There's still plenty worth hearing here, though. When PVT hit, they hit home hard. Take Casual Success: Some monstrously distorted bass comes roaring out the gate and does battle with melancholy synth washes, one of Richard Pike's most confident vocal takes and a healthy dose of cowbell to ensure that things don't stray too far from the dancefloor.
With Homosapien, PVT should get full marks for completing this gutsy transformation from elegant post-rock to quirky 80s-pop revivalism in style. Pike sounds comfortable fronting a band that is clearly doing what they love, despite what anyone else may expect from them.
