Kevin Bronson on November 19th, 2014

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London duo Public Service Broadcasting wowed us at SXSW with their unique, sample-heavy dance music, which is synched to archival films and PSAs and spattered with synthesized vocals, guitar, banjo, keys and drums. It was one of those the-nerds-have-won moments – smart beyond gimmickry. In 2013, the duo, who go by the names J. Willgoose, Esq., and Wrigglesworth, released the album “Inform – Educate – Entertain” (check, check and check) and this week they announced their concept-album follow-up, “The Race for Space,” which focuses on the U.S.-Soviet Union space race from 1957 to ’72. The first single “Gagarin” is a tribute to Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin, who was the first man in space and who would die at age 34 in a plane crash one year before Apollo 11 eventually put a man on the moon. Alex Kemp’s video for the single is wildly fun – it kind of brings a whole new meaning to dancing with the stars, right?

||| Live: Public Service Broadcasting will play the Roxy Theatre on April 2.