SONIC architects The PVP have released their much anticipated debut album and its picking up much love from taste makers Cian Ó Cíobháin, Ray Wingnut and The Thin Air to name a few.
The trio emerged in 2021, a concoction of Limrocks finest: Brendan McInerney (Bleeding Heart Pigeons) on drums and vocals, James Reidy (His Father’s Voice) on keyboards, and Chris Quigley (Cruiser) on vocals and guitar shredding.
Combining a love of Suicide, Stereolab, Sonic Youth and shoegaze, The PVP’s music is a whirlwind of psychedelia-drenched indie rock. The trio are touring the album with a show upcoming at Roisin Dubh, Galway this Friday June 14.
The genesis of The PVP (short for The Personal Vanity Project) was a quirky one. It all started with Chris Quigley’s ambitious attempt to fuse shoegazey fuzz guitar with drum and bass, inspired by a rumoured Kevin Shields project. Though the initial idea didn’t quite stick, it sparked a new direction. Enlisting Brendan and James, the trio sculpted a soundscape where drum machines, live drums, synths, and guitars coalesced into their take on psych/shoegaze.
Their creative process was organic and fragmented. Guitar riffs and bass lines would be pieced together, with Chris often improvising lyrics that evolved into coherent narratives.
The tracks range from the semi-spontaneous “Track 94” to the vivid, first-person tales of “Sodium Lamp” and “Swimming,” exploring themes from environmental disaster to hipster ennui.
The album was produced by Chris Ryan (Robocobra Quartet/Just Mustard/NewDad).
Recording began at the dawn of 2023, with sessions split between Chris Ryan’s home studio and Start Together in Belfast. The band’s approach was fluid, embracing the chaos of live performance.
Chris Quigley recalls, “Organs blowing out amps, guitar strings snapping, walls of space echo, Stereolab-esque filter sweeps and distorted bowed drones decorate tracks like Nananana and Track 94.”
Additional layers were crafted remotely in Quigley’s Limerick studio. Here, the Husker Du-esque 12-string collage on ‘Sodium Lamp,’ Padraig O’Donoghue’s violin contributions, and the fuzz-laden guitars on ‘Off The Tracks’ and ‘Callan’ came to life.
Echoing the greats of the shoegaze / slacker eras (My Bloody Valentine, Dinosaur Jr. Stereolab and Sonic Youth) The PVP is a glorious fuzz of indie psychedelia, an album made to be listened to in full with killer songs such as ‘Callan’ and ‘Since You’ve Been Gone’ among the standouts.
STREAM / SUPPORT the band at https://thepersonalvanityproject.bandcamp.com/
