The years may go by and the albums might change, but there are always a few constants with Public Service Broadcasting. There is the recorded message that precedes their arrival for one, a disembodied voice booming out to inform the crowd to put their phones away and not talk loudly.
It’s greeted with wild cheers and mostly adhered to, which is welcome, because this was a gig rich with visual imagery that should be absorbed rather than simply observed. The stage set-up was inspired by Ameila Earhart's cockpit, footage of the aviator flickering on screens.
Earhart provides the latest historical focus for the band, following on from topics like the space race and the mining industry in Wales that fuelled previous releases. The record centred around her, The Last Flight, may have had the misfortunate to come out the same day as Coldplay’s latest, but a top three chart placing and near sold-out crowd in Glasgow suggest the group’s innovative combination of historical dialogue, samples and words melded to throbbing instrumentation is not losing any lustre.
Perhaps that is because the band have been able to keep things fresh. Throughout the gig they appeared in various iterations, from their traditional four piece line-up, fronted by the bespectacted, suited J Wilgoose Esq, to being augmented by singer EERA, who provided an ethereal voice from the back of the stage, and a three piece brass trio.
No matter the number onstage, their best songs succeed through the sheer atmosphere they create, from a jitteriness on the rhythms of new track "The Fun of It" to the contrasting vibe of the double header that closed the main set. First came nervy tension on "The Other Side"’s slice of space exploration, an otherwise raucous crowd reduced to near silence, which is no mean feat in the Barrowland. Then came the exhilarating relief of "Go!", which whipped the crowd into chanting along.
Whatever the topic, there is a sense of humanity at the heart of it. Representing historical events in this way could so easily be a dry, worthy affair and yet the dancefloor was packed with bodies shuffling and bobbing, particularly on the vibrant electronica of “Sputnik” and the feisty pop of “Blue Heaven”, on which was EERA was given the ultimate compliment – a cry of “on yerself, hen” from an audience member.
Not everything quite deserved that reception. Maybe it was due to it being the first night of the tour, but the overall sound felt a little off, with the brass section particularly ill-served. They didn't always deliver the oomph required, submerged under some particularly heavy drumming from the band’s sticksman Wrigglesworth. That said, when it worked their sudden arrival could be a treat, lifting the crowd during a funked-up version of Gagarin during the encore.
It was for those reasons you could forgive the odd moment of indulgence that didn’t click, with newbies “Arabian Flight” and “Monsoons” lost underneath a sturdy sound that pinned them down a little bit. The group’s expanding catalogue also meant that some sections of the set didn’t flow totally smoothly, given the jumping between albums that was going on. But on the rattling "Night Mail", all John Grierson at a rave, and the encore’s glorious, stripped back “A Different Kind of Love”, then the band’s unique history pop infused the past with modern life.
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