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On the Shelf 168: PJ Harvey
Jul. 29th, 2016 04:45 pmOne of the most anticipated releases of this year had to be the idea of a new PJ Harvey album.
Hearing the opening single "The Wheel" fueled those fires to hear new material.
But reading reviews at the time of the release, it was clear the new album The Hope Six Demolition Project was something different.
Many took stabs at the album which was an album influenced by PJ Harvey's trip to a Washington DC housing project that is notoriously one of the worst in the US, and Harvey who had recently traveled to Kosovo and Afghanistan is out to make the point that it's as bad as a war zone.
Harvey was attacked by all sides, with the discussion being around everything but the music. DC officials claimed it was so much as nonsense hyperbole while others said that she may have the right idea but she doesn't suggest how to fix anything. Of course, the "Keep yer politics out of my music" crowd hated it.
It also colored the reviews. It does not feel like a traditional album, while many reviewers would like to see another classic album like "Stories from the City..." Even if the new album is filled with the same bombast as Harvey's "Let England Shake", it does not seem like a collection of traditional songs.
Indeed, PJ Harvey is a blast (in the sonic definition)- not far removed from Shake's "Word that Maketh Murder" or even the classic "This is Love" from Stories.
Most people criticized her lyrics as they sound ripped from her journals, and critics thought they were a bit pedestrian.
But let's talk about the music.
I think Project Six is a great listen. To me it does sound like more of a series of aural blasts less than a collection of artistic signs. But it's a great end-to-end listen.
Harvey is as raw as she was on "Maketh Murder". The band follows with a shambolic rolling thunder.My first thought is of The Stooges with that out of control saxophone running through most of the album. I haven't seen anyone else make that comparison, so I could be off, but Pitchfork compares PJ to Howlin Wolf and Beefheart, while Allmusic compares to the Birthday Party, so maybe I am not that far off.
In any case, it's hard to think of anybody who would come as wild as this. There's Iggy, there's Nick Cave and there's (come to think of it) PJ Harvey Band-era Polly.
Patti Smith certainly ways heavy all over this. Likely, because Patti is the master of political feminist punk, and it's hard to imagine an album like this without her influence. There's certainly enough of a reasonable likeness to Horses or Radio Ethopia.
But I don't intend to slander Harvey's new work. I think it is an amazing start to finish listen as I have heard in a long time, with songs lasting just enough to get stuck in your head before moving to the next one that does the same. The listener giving in to Harvey's wild abandon. It is indeed next to impossible to compare to "Stories from the City" in that is such a different style of album.
I also poo-poo the lyrical criticisms. Many have complained that the lyrics are hollow or heavy handed(The Guardian's words) though echoed in review after review. I think the stream of consciousness works well. Indeed, music is meant for listening, and we all know the Beatles, Doors, and other classic pieces of rock art are better heard than read.
I think it is a fantastic burst of energy, in tune with "Let England Shake" though with a different agenda and purpose entirely. No complaints from me.
(some nsfw language, I think. Here's two of my favorite songs)
Hearing the opening single "The Wheel" fueled those fires to hear new material.
But reading reviews at the time of the release, it was clear the new album The Hope Six Demolition Project was something different.
Many took stabs at the album which was an album influenced by PJ Harvey's trip to a Washington DC housing project that is notoriously one of the worst in the US, and Harvey who had recently traveled to Kosovo and Afghanistan is out to make the point that it's as bad as a war zone.
Harvey was attacked by all sides, with the discussion being around everything but the music. DC officials claimed it was so much as nonsense hyperbole while others said that she may have the right idea but she doesn't suggest how to fix anything. Of course, the "Keep yer politics out of my music" crowd hated it.
It also colored the reviews. It does not feel like a traditional album, while many reviewers would like to see another classic album like "Stories from the City..." Even if the new album is filled with the same bombast as Harvey's "Let England Shake", it does not seem like a collection of traditional songs.
Indeed, PJ Harvey is a blast (in the sonic definition)- not far removed from Shake's "Word that Maketh Murder" or even the classic "This is Love" from Stories.
Most people criticized her lyrics as they sound ripped from her journals, and critics thought they were a bit pedestrian.
But let's talk about the music.
I think Project Six is a great listen. To me it does sound like more of a series of aural blasts less than a collection of artistic signs. But it's a great end-to-end listen.
Harvey is as raw as she was on "Maketh Murder". The band follows with a shambolic rolling thunder.My first thought is of The Stooges with that out of control saxophone running through most of the album. I haven't seen anyone else make that comparison, so I could be off, but Pitchfork compares PJ to Howlin Wolf and Beefheart, while Allmusic compares to the Birthday Party, so maybe I am not that far off.
In any case, it's hard to think of anybody who would come as wild as this. There's Iggy, there's Nick Cave and there's (come to think of it) PJ Harvey Band-era Polly.
Patti Smith certainly ways heavy all over this. Likely, because Patti is the master of political feminist punk, and it's hard to imagine an album like this without her influence. There's certainly enough of a reasonable likeness to Horses or Radio Ethopia.
But I don't intend to slander Harvey's new work. I think it is an amazing start to finish listen as I have heard in a long time, with songs lasting just enough to get stuck in your head before moving to the next one that does the same. The listener giving in to Harvey's wild abandon. It is indeed next to impossible to compare to "Stories from the City" in that is such a different style of album.
I also poo-poo the lyrical criticisms. Many have complained that the lyrics are hollow or heavy handed(The Guardian's words) though echoed in review after review. I think the stream of consciousness works well. Indeed, music is meant for listening, and we all know the Beatles, Doors, and other classic pieces of rock art are better heard than read.
I think it is a fantastic burst of energy, in tune with "Let England Shake" though with a different agenda and purpose entirely. No complaints from me.
(some nsfw language, I think. Here's two of my favorite songs)
