"Catharsis is a big part of both electronic music and the darker side of post-punk, and we play on both those textures in our music – I know Working Men's Club do that as well," Ella continues. "That's a really big part of our styles of music; it's not only moments of building up the songs, but moments of release, moments of cluttering build-up, and moments where it all crashes down again. These moments affect how people interact with their emotions when they experience them live, whether it be through a moshpit or just with their hands up on a dance floor. Both of those styles are incredibly emotive."

As such, the London-based group have established a reputable name for themselves across the local live circuit. Having recently gone from the sweaty pits of the big city to the bright sunshine of festival slots, it is on the road alongside peers like Shame and Dry Cleaning that the three musicians learnt what it takes to cater to your audience.

"We all found the Shame and Dry Cleaning tours really interesting. They taught us a lot about how our music comes off in different environments and how we can refine the live show further, so it is more accessible," Ella reflects. "Dry Cleaning are a really cool band. They're great at harnessing simplicity and putting on powerful performances just through drums, guitar, bass and Florence's vocals." Josh admires the energy of Shame's Charlie Steen, a frontman who takes things in a more physical direction. "Watching Shame every night, they just give it every time," he enthuses. "They're so energetic. It's interesting to see people perform in that way."

With a crowd that's as diverse as PVA's influences, it's not always easy to tell where or when people jump on board. That's something that Ella enjoys. "We did a show at Corsica in London this summer. We sold out a headline and played the album for the first time," she recalls. "It was so fun and sweaty in such a small club space, and just looking around the crowd, it felt very diverse. There were lots of different ages and just very different people – I wonder how we managed to pick them up along the way. We're on a crazy joyride into chaos. Where did we find you?"

The band lean into electronic, punk, pop and everything in between, but the deep and rich weight of the harder tracks seems to be fuelling the most unsated appetites as of late. Still somewhat emerging from their lockdown-induced paralysis, this is something they are not too surprised by. That period prevented some ambitions for delivering a big and bold experience around their 2020 EP 'Toner', specifically in the form of a shelved VR project, but the desire to shape up an integrated and expansive body of work has merely continued into the campaign surrounding 'BLUSH', much to its benefit.

"We really wanted to create a cohesive visual and sonic identity for the album, and it took us a good year of thinking about it and six months of building it to get there," Ella describes. "We wanted it to sound like a true statement of intent for PVA; a holistic introduction that includes all our personalities. With the visuals, we wanted something futuristic, unique, bold and colourful to reflect how we wanted the music to come off. The cover image shows a person caught between two places – pulled in one direction, but drawn towards another. That's where the record sits for us thematically as well, in the movement between two states."

That mentally torn sensibility was an obvious position to reach for following a period of anxiety for the band, and that feeling permeates through the entire tracklist. As Ella elaborates, "a lot of these songs are projections of feeling that are quite universal. We tried to create characters experiencing that and allow them to live within a song. The process of making a debut album is anxiety-inducing in itself; it's an introduction for a lot of people. The first time they hear your music and get to know you, so we wanted it to feel honest. We wanted the stories and characters to be as close to our experiences as possible, and that turmoil carries across the album."

Twisting an excess of time into hard-laboured songwriting getaways, the trio discovered their own complementary niche skills and watched each other grow at a rapid pace with a concentrated block of weeks away from their relentless touring. "Louis is amazing at arrangements, and his musicality is really strong. Josh is this incredible producer with a real ear for textures and where particular sounds sit, and I really enjoy writing lyrics and stories," she continues. "We all take turns to offer up our own skillsets. Sometimes you've just got to give people space to work on what they're good at; let someone do their thing and watch in awe."

Even for Ella, Josh and Louis, 'BLUSH' is not the product they expected to form when they first discovered the intersection between live bands and late-night DJs, but the balance is mesmerising. This stable equilibrium between the light and dark, intimate and industrial, muscular and fragile, is what defines PVA's immersive statement of intent.

Unifying opposing forces within their sound, the album promises to be just "a small taster of what to come" – the challenge of shaping up a cohesive project is one that has become addictive. "This is the first time we've felt as a band," Ella concludes, "and it's a really special thing for us." ■

Taken from the November 2022 edition of Dork. PVA's album 'BLUSH' is out now.