She of the red lips and black hair returns minus her trademark vocals and guitar. Thing is with PJ Harvey is that you never know if she’s going to rip your heart from your chest or leave you cold for an altogether different reason. The second offering from her eighth studio album ‘White Chalk’ has a sombre gentleness which blossoms into a tale of murder through clever use of percussion and her higher vocal range. It has a purity and a slow burning passion that can easily match the rawness of ‘To Bring You My Love’ in a much more sophisticated and ethereal way. God bless Polly Jean Harvey for taking chances. The results are enough to make Juliet Lewis hang up her PVC trousers and film an ASDA advert.
Released 26/11/07 on Universal Island.
by Jo Williams
Tags: PJ Harvey
PJ Harvey - 'The Piano'
