Today's Song of the Day, as chosen by Larry Mizell, Jr., host of The Afternoon Show on KEXP, is "Untethered" by PVA, from the 2022 album BLUSH on Ninja Tune.
South London trio PVA have gained a reputation for their live sets, with their dark, industrial-tinged dance music and frontwoman Ella Harris' deadpan vocals. (Early in their career, the band came up with the term “country-friend techno” to describe their sound.)
With their debut LP BLUSH, the group channels the raw energy of their shows, while displaying an increased confidence in the studio. “We wanted to surprise people and do something more than just get across how we sound at a gig,” percussionist Louis Satchell conveyed in a press release. “It’s quite an anxious record sometimes that is relating to mental health issues but also an everyday anxiety of making the album. It’s been a rocky ride but we always pick ourselves up.”
Harris says today's Song of the Day is about "being in a straight relationship that is restrictive and closed off. It’s basically an expression of this really frustrated anger at masculinity and a resentment at being unable to free yourself from that heteronormative situation and explore the world.” The group elaborates, "'Untethered' is a song about release. It’s our current set opener and an introduction to our industrial arm. We wrote it in one session in a burst of chaotic catharsis. The lyrics follow a character being freed from imaginary tethers and experiencing the earth under their feet again."
