Public Service Broadcasting The Last Flight

Critic's Take

Public Service Broadcasting return with The Last Flight, a sunlit, inquisitive concept album that makes its best case on buoyant moments like “The Fun of It” and the elegiac sweep of “Howland”. Jeremy Allen’s piece emphasises Willgoose’s blend of archival rigour and popcraft, noting how tracks such as “Electra” and “The South Atlantic” balance buoyancy with ironic weight. The review reads as affectionate and impressed, arguing the best songs on The Last Flight are those that turn historical detail into immediate, melodic release. Overall the critic frames the album as a thoughtful, occasionally surprising record that privileges adventure over mawkishness.

Key Points

• The best song is the orchestral closer "Howland" because it provides a remarkable, elegiac summit and literal sounds from Howland Island.
• The album’s core strengths are archival research, a balance of buoyant pop moments and poignant historical irony, and meticulous production.

Themes

Critic's Take

Public Service Broadcasting return with The Last Flight, an elegiac, cinematic record where the best songs - “Monsoons”, “Howland” and “A Different Kind of Love” - trade the band’s usual expansiveness for claustrophobic drama and mournful closure. Jim Scott’s review leans on the album’s filmic sweep, praising the haunting eight-and-a-half-minute finale “Howland” while noting the pop clarity of “A Different Kind of Love” and the storm-driven intensity of “Monsoons”. The result answers queries about the best tracks on The Last Flight directly: those three encapsulate its emotional arc, from threat to elegy, making them the standout moments here.

Key Points

• “Howland” is best for its haunting, eight-and-a-half-minute mournful closure with field recordings.
• The album’s core strengths are its cinematic scope and the tension between grandeur and claustrophobic drama.

Themes

Critic's Take

Public Service Broadcasting return with The Last Flight, an album that flutters between tribute and reflection, where the best tracks show their emotional bearings. The review singles out “Towards the Dawn” as the first to truly feel the wind beneath its wings, while “Electra” and “The Fun Of It” reveal contrasting strengths - Electra for its robotic pulse and The Fun Of It for an unexpectedly affecting guest vocal. The guitar-heavy “Monsoons” and the album-closing “Howland” deliver exhilaration and a poignant, majestic finale, making them among the best tracks on The Last Flight.

Key Points

• The album-closing “Howland” is the best song for its majestic, poignant finale that completes the Amelia Earhart narrative.
• The album's core strengths are evocative themes of aviation and human ambition, strong guest vocals, and moments of thrilling instrumentation.

Themes

Critic's Take

In a typically cinematic sweep Daryl Easlea finds the best tracks on The Last Flight conjure Amelia Earhart with both intimacy and scale. Public Service Broadcasting get the playfulness of Earhart across via “The Fun Of It” with Andreya Casablanca’s joyous vocal, and the mournful, elegiac finale “Howland” provides the album’s most moving moments. He praises the delicate pairing of Kate Stables on “The South Atlantic” as a standout and singles out “Electra” as classic, propulsive PSB fare. The review reads as affectionate and admiring, recommending these as the best songs on The Last Flight for listeners seeking both heart and head.

Key Points

• The best song is the closer “Howland” because its funereal strings and coda deliver the album’s emotional payoff.
• The album’s core strengths are evocative use of archival speech, strong guest vocalists, and textured instrumentation that balance head and heart.

Themes

Critic's Take

Ben Forrest writes in measured, appreciative tones that Public Service Broadcasting make The Last Flight an atmospheric, emotional rendering of Amelia Earhart. He praises the band’s ability to conjure romanticism and excitement — especially on “Electra”, which he calls the album’s standout — while noting the record sometimes feels less authentic because of its fabricated samples. The result is a compelling concept album that rewards listeners seeking evocative, history-driven music despite small flaws in flow between tracks.

Key Points

• Electra stands out as the album’s pinnacle for its evocative atmosphere and link to the band’s best work.
• The album’s core strengths are its atmospheric soundscapes, narrative focus on Amelia Earhart, and emotional romanticism of early flight.

Themes

Critic's Take

Public Service Broadcasting’s The Last Flight finds its best tracks in “I Was Always Dreaming”, “Electra” and “Howland”, songs that fuse archival voice with soaring, pacy music. The reviewer’s voice lingers on how “I Was Always Dreaming” opens with music that “soars and glides”, and how “Electra” matches the plane’s vibrancy with pulsing electronics. There is continual praise for the record’s vitality and experimental textures, especially on “Arabian Flight” and “Monsoons”, which portray danger and beauty in equal measure. Overall the album is celebrated as an evocative, optimistic tribute that keeps Amelia Earhart’s flame burning, making these the best songs on The Last Flight for listeners seeking narrative-driven, cinematic tracks.

Key Points

• The best song, "I Was Always Dreaming", sets the album’s tone with soaring, gliding music and archival voice.
• The album’s core strengths are its evocative instrumentation, narrative use of archival material, and upbeat, experimental energy.

Themes

Critic's Take

From the first hazy notes of The Last Flight it is clear Public Service Broadcasting have crafted another evocative soundtrack - the review revels in the best tracks, notably “I Was Always Dreaming” and “Howland”, which frame Amelia Earhart's emotional arc. Ian Corbridge writes with affectionate precision, praising how “Towards The Dawn” propels anticipation while “Monsoons” and “A Different Kind Of Love” supply sombre reflection. The reviewer’s fond, slightly anecdotal voice emphasises that these standouts render the album both exhilarating and heartbreakingly resonant, making clear the best songs on The Last Flight carry the listener through triumph and desolation.

Key Points

• The best song is the mournful closer “Howland” because its sombre orchestrations and reproduced transmissions deliver the album’s emotional apex.
• The album’s strength is crafting cinematic, narrative-driven soundscapes that balance exhilaration and heartbreak around Amelia Earhart’s life.

Themes