Public Service Broadcasting - Every Valley

Every Valley, which documents the rise and fall of the Welsh coal mines and associated communities, marks Public Service Broadcasting’s third full-length release. Immediately apparent is a deeper focus on people rather than events. This is both its biggest asset and hamstringing flaw. Early tracks such as The Pit and Go To The Road are classic PSB with soaring guitars, rumbling percussion and choice vocal snippets. Conversely later tracks such as Turn No More feel quite un-PSB like due to the vocals being sung rather than sampled. The more personal nature of these songs can feel somewhat niche. Yes, you feel empathy for the plight of the coal miners and community, and yes there is a resonance in the world today but it can feel a little removed if you aren’t clued up on industrial decline. Despite this there are moving moments. Closing track Take Me Home, complete with choir, stirs familial sentimentality and They Gave Me A Lamp is the finest in giving women equal representation in these events. For this the album should rightly be lauded. However, as a whole, and perhaps because of its subject matter, it can lack the excitement and wonder so ably stirred up on earlier releases to truly get under your skin.