PJ Harvey

Let England Shake (+DVD)

CD £19.99

December 12, 2011

PJ Harvey followed her ghostly collection of ballads, White Chalk, with Let England Shake, a set of songs strikingly different from what came before it except in its Englishness. White Chalk's haunted piano ballads seemed to emanate from an isolated manse on a moor, but here Harvey chronicles her relationship with her homeland through songs revolving around war. As conceptually and contextually bold as Let England Shake is, it features some of Harvey's softest-sounding music. She continues to sing in the upper register that made White Chalk so divisive for her fans, but it’s tempered by airy production and eclectic arrangements that sometimes disguise how angry and mournful many of these songs are. Its complexities make it one of Harvey’s most cleverly crafted works. ~ Heather Phares