PJ Harvey 2019

Music
#1

Seems to have been a really low key release but I think the All About Eve soundtrack is wonderful. Exactly what I was hoping for from PJ after Hope Six - a leftfield move.

Apparently she’s also done the music for Shane Meadow’s new tv series, so I really hope we are going to get lots more scores from her.

A couple of months ago I was thinking it was going to be pretty weird to think that she’d only released 2 albums in the 2010s and I was beginning to wonder if she had just lost her inspiration a bit. Hope 6 isn’t terrible but imo it just felt lacklustre musically, like she’d spent too much time thinking through the lyrical themes and that the music had been an afterthought where she’d ended up falling back on working with musical collaborators who weren’t really offering or inspiring anything new.

I love PJ but I’m not uncritical - she does seem (imo) to be an artist who occasionally runs into a bit of an artistic dead end that she needs to jolt herself out of.

Anyone else bother with All About Eve? Views? What would you like next from PJ?

Personally my favourite musical bits from Hope 6 were the saxophone so I ended up wishing she’d done a sort of saxophone equivalent to her piano on White Chalk - just going full in even though her playing may be limited. But honestly I think I’d be really happy if she moved full time into making scores now, I can really see her producing compelling work where you have to work within external constraints.

#2

Not heard the All About Eve soundtrack yet but she does increasingly take her time between studio albums since White Chalk so I imagine it’ll be a while yet before the next one. Despite one or two lyrical clunkers I liked Hope Six though it’s more second tier PJ Harvey for sure.

1 Like
#3

The problem with The Hope Six Demolition Project is that lyrically it was just so over-written.

It just felt bloated in comparison to Let England Shake, which for my money is one of the best albums of this decade. Lyrically and musically it is near perfect.

Look forward to hearing these new projects of hers.

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#4

Big, big fan. Until she took the MBE and lost the plot with Hope Six.

Guess I’ll give All About Eve a go if it brings things back on track. And anything to do with Medders is worth attention.

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#5

Bought Let England Shake a few months ago as my introduction to her and have been gradually revelling in its genius, it’s brilliant. Where should I go from here??

#6

Could start at the beginning with Dry and work chronologically, though I think Is This Desire and White Chalk are closest in sound to Let England Shake

#7

It’s amazing isn’t it.

It’s also totally different to anything else she’s done but personally I’d recommend To Bring You My Love. Different but equally incredible.

2 Likes
#8

Oh for god’s sake who cares? A gazillion people have taken those stupid honours, not like everyone’s mad at, say, Nick Cave for taking the Australian equivalent

3 Likes
#9

I got into her in the late 90s with Is This Desire?

Let England Shake is a stunning album but Is This Desire? is the one I return to whenever I want to listen to her. It’s a fantastic album. In my opinion her best but definitely her most underrated.

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#10

Must admit it took a while for Is This Desire to click for me. I think that was more to do with where my head was at the time though. Great album.

#11

Didn’t know he had, and he’s just gone down a notch in my estimation. Pretty sure he’ll be gutted when he hears. :grinning:

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#12

So would I. Quintessential Polly.

Wouldn’t do for me to be in a PJ thread without repping for 4 Track Demos - an incredible set of recordings.

The former being a fully realised, well produced, coherent piece of art. The latter is a raw force of nature. Opposite ends of the spectrum. Both brilliant, and beyond the spectrum most artists would consider possible.

2 Likes
#13

New song. Theme to The virtues

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#14

Hope Six haters eg @Zygotic and @thewza should listen to the 2nd half, start at track 6. I felt it was much stronger that half and only really got into it after I realised that. The Wheel is a great track.

2 Likes
#15

On reading this I was fully ready to dive in, until I read the last sentence.

Sorry. Just gonna pretend that Hope Six and Rid of Me don’t exist and give the new stuff a benefit of the doubt shot when it comes along.

#16

Rid Of Me?!

6 Likes
#17

I :heartbeat: 4 Track Demos biiig style. Hearing the versions of the songs from that, subsequently, on RoM was discombobulating and a little upsetting.

1 Like
#18

I can see that. 4-track came out after RoM of course so for oldsters like me 4-track was the jolt.

I love them both but it does create a little fuzziness.

Oh and also RoM is quite a development musically from Dry as well so there’s that too if you were hearing them at the time of release.

#19

Loved all the music in that Virtues episode, wouldn’t have thought her and Shane Meadows stuff would work but the imagery/story and music complimented each other really well.

1 Like
#20

Not sure I want to hear someone else singing PJ Harvey’s music. I listened to the single, and it was strange to accept.