Live Review + Gallery | PVA @ Thekla, Bristol

PVA

Thekla, Bristol

18th February 2026

Photography by Ella Nicholls

George Ward

Freelance journalist and online editor for CLUNK. Can be found out and about in Bristol, finding cheap records or having a pint on King Street.

Touring their new album ‘No More Like This,’ PVA take over Bristol’s Thekla for a mixed setlist of tracks and sounds old and new

Four years ago, in October 2022, London trio PVA dropped their debut album ‘BLUSH’. At the time, the band fit neatly into a blossoming scene, blending dance music with noisier punk and experimental textures. ‘BLUSH’ was an exciting record, as comfortable in the club as it was in the headphones on the walk home, its interesting ideas never bogging down the fun that ran throughout it.

On new album ‘No More Like This,’ out now via It’s All For Fun, the group head in a very different direction, leaning almost entirely into the more low-key moments of their sound and exploring more trip-hop aesthetics. The result is more challenging and admittedly less exciting than the debut album, but we were curious to see whether this change in sound translated to a change in PVA’s live energy, something which caught our eye at their album release show in Bristol’s Rough Trade 4 years ago.

Fortunately, on board the good ship Thekla, this drop in energy between albums did not translate into a drop in energy on stage. PVA made their way through a setlist mostly dominated by new material, which gained somewhat of a life of its own in a live setting, as well as a few fan favourites to revitalise the second half.

The first thing you will notice when seeing PVA in 2026 is just how much more atmospheric their new sound comes across live. While previous comparisons could be made to Mandy, Indiana or SCALER, the bands that come to mind in this new era lean closer to the laid-back sexiness of Smerz or the sleazy nonchalance of Dry Cleaning.

The trip-hop sound of the new record hits much harder in person than it does from the studio. On ‘Flood,’ the track is preceded by haunting, echoey vocals, alone on stage, before deep bassy synths crawl in. Despite having just released their new album, we’re even treated to a new track, satisfyingly crunchy and played for the first time live right there on Thekla’s stage.

‘Boyface’ is the highlight of the new material, with the beat sounding equally heavy as it is effortless, swaggering across the crowd with a confident weight. It is the best example of this trip-hop experimentation and makes a whole lot more sense in a sweaty venue than it does only listened to on headphones.

The best parts of the set are undoubtedly the heaviest and, while I enjoyed drifting away to the more atmospheric moments, the crowd truly came to life during these dancier sections. ‘Untethered,’ the opener of ‘BLUSH’ sounded just as hard now as it did in 2022, and hearing the opening lines “can’t eat, can’t sleep, can’t go to work, I can’t leave” from ‘Hero Man’ felt like bumping into an old friend at 2am in the club.

Though perhaps not quite as electric as it once was, PVA live is still an experience you won’t regret, with plenty of interesting experimentation, dance beats and synthy dreaminess to sink into. Check out the remaining dates here.