PJ Harvey : Classic or Dud

what is the deal with "maniac"? very similar arrangement to "down by the water" but a completely different (and great) song

I was about to post a similar comment. Maybe I'm burned out on "Down...," but I might prefer "Maniac."

New album coming, there are two teaser videos on her socials and an announcement is scheduled for Tuesday evening.

A new playlist is now available on Spotify, featuring tracks co-produced alongside @JohnParish50 and Flood: https://t.co/TUAnzOjwWk

New studio clip filmed, directed and edited by #SteveGullick. pic.twitter.com/EWIHnTpzfA

— PJ Harvey (@PJHarveyUK) April 19, 2023

A second studio clip… filmed, directed and edited by #SteveGullick.

If you would like to be first to hear about new music, join the PJ Harvey mailing list community https://t.co/ZUXlkAPgbv pic.twitter.com/dhRhga6xPi

— PJ Harvey (@PJHarveyUK) April 21, 2023

The tracklisting shown in one of the videos indicates the record is based on poems from Orlam.

I Inside the Old Year Dying
out July 7th on Partisan Records

https://i.ibb.co/r4q6hSQ/IMG-9193.jpg

1. Prayer at the Gate
2. Autumn Term
3. Lwonesome Tonight
4. Seem an I
5. The Nether-edge
6. I Inside the Old Year Dying
7. All Souls
8. A Child's Question, August
9. I Inside the Old I Dying
10. August
11. A Child's Question, July
12. A Noiseless Noise

PJ Harvey says, "After many years of work I am very happy to release this collection of new songs. It was a difficult album to make and took time to find its strongest form, but it has finally become all I hoped for it to be."

I Inside the Old Year Dying marks PJ Harvey's first album in seven years, produced and mixed by her long-time creative collaborators John Parish and Flood.

"On this album PJ Harvey builds a sonic universe somehow located in a space between life's opposites, and between recent history and the ancient past.

Scattered with biblical imagery and references to Shakespeare, all of these distinctions ultimately dissolve into something profoundly uplifting and redemptive." - John Harris, March 2023

First single "A Child's Question, August" out tomorrow:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LvYMlixvzHM

that sounds great!

Yeah. I’ve not understood her need to use her high, reedy register for so many of the more recent records, but this is beginning to sound like the Polly I used to admire so fiercely.

I enjoy her in that higher mode, but I agree the "tender love" lines in that^ are really powerful

I've given up waiting for her to sound like the old days. Polly as rock juggernaut remains all-time for me. Polly as chamber-gloom I can take or leave. Come to think of it, I don't think I ever got around to listening to the last one!

It does look like she's playing guitar again in this video, but no, it's not exactly a return to the 90s.

Interesting that she's not on Island anymore.

huh, I really can't relate at all to wanting her to sound like her 90s albums again (if that is what you're saying?). I don't think I ever listened to Hope 6 in full either, but Let England Shake is a masterpiece. Besides, I'm not convinced "rock juggernaut" was ever a truly accurate descriptor for her--at the very least it ignores aspects of her music that were present early on

I meant her trio; those first two albums are two of my fave rock albums of all time, and they do rock. The chamber stuff starts to creep in with album three, and I do like that one a lot and a couple of the ones after (specifically Songs/Stories and Let England Shake), but tbh most of her albums I don't go back to nearly as often as I do those first two.

Hope 6 is the only album of hers that I would call a failure. It's obvious, the lyrics are didactic, the music isn't compelling. Some of those songs worked a little better live. But it wasn't a failure in the sense that "she's lost it." It was more like failed experiment that I'm hoping she progresses from.

Not sure about "A Child's Question." I'm probably biased because someone pointed out that the lyrics are based on poems. The song sounds like a static background for her recitations. Maybe I need to pay more attention to the lyrics.

I kept up with all of the recent reissues, most of which I had on CD. White Chalk was a great discovery for me; I had passed it up when it was released and that is some good, spooky shit.

100% co-sign on White Chalk being an underrated gem, it gets lost between Let England Shake and her earlier rockier stuff like Stories, but it's an incredible record, a true self-contained little spooky world.

I would say that Hope Six and Uh Huh Her are her only two real missteps. Both kind of feel more like failed experiments than fully-realised pieces of work. Judging from the press release, Hope Six left her creatively spent:

I Inside the Old Year Dying’s story goes back six years, to the end of touring around her last album in 2017 and how Harvey felt immediately afterwards. What she keenly felt was that somewhere in the endless cycle of albums and tours, she had lost her connection with the music itself, a realisation that was troubling beyond words.

This was hardly a time of creative withdrawal: thanks to mentoring by the Scottish poet Don Paterson, she worked on Orlam, the accomplished work of poetry – her second, after 2015’s The Hollow of the Hand – that was published last year and became one of the new album’s key inspirations. There were also the reissues of Harvey’s preceding albums – and, in new editions, their demo versions – that came out between 2020 and 2022. But eventually, two things began to push her in the direction of new songs, music and sounds.

One was the memory of a meeting with the artist and filmmaker Steve McQueen, in Chicago, during the Hope Six period. His advice was to remember what she loves about words, images and music and to put away the concept of writing “an album” to focus on and play with these three passions. The other catalyst for a return to music was simple: the sheer act of playing it. Picking up the guitar or sitting down at the piano to play her favourite songs by such artists as Nina Simone or Bob Dylan - reconfirmed her passion for the art form.

Something soon started to cohere. When Harvey began to write new songs, there was a liberating sense of making music for its own sake rather than the first steps back into the album-tour-album-tour cycle. She drew on the sense of creative freedom she had felt in past musical work on soundtracks and in the theatre. At the same time, her perspective was shifting away from the big themes of Let England Shake and Hope Six (“looking out, at war, politics, the world”) towards something more intimate and human.

Anyway, I think lyrically the new album might be a tough sell for a casual listener? All the poems are written in Dorset dialect and they're part of a narrative that the album doesn't stick to, judging from the tracklisting. And musically apparently the whole thing was recorded/put together via live improvisation between her, John Parish and Flood.

"A Child's Question, August" is lovely (it's the actor Ben Whishaw on the backing vocals, btw) but feels like such an unassuming choice for a lead single; I'm really curious how the whole thing will turn out.

People who have obviously written their own Wikipedia entry

also I’m not convinced an account of a complete lack of inspiration and years of trying to get started is a great way to entice potential listeners

Didn't love *every* era of hers, but at the very least, every iteration of Polly has been interesting. White Chalk was a little boring to me (might have to go back and listen to it to truly appreaciate it) and I thought Hope 6 was more interesting lyrically than sonically but once a fan always a fan. I actually really loved Stories but I think it sounds better live. (Same for Rid of Me).

Imo her sexiest/best record is probably 'Is this Desire'. Idk if Dancehall at Louise Point was any good (Been a couple of years since I've listened' but it certainly had a profound effect on me.

Looking forward to where she goes with 'I Inside the Old Dying Year'.
I'm not reallyyy a creature of nostalgia so even though I don't love everything she puts out- I can appreciate her constant evolution in artistry.

Uh Huh Her wasn't an experiment: it was a return to the brutalist sound of Rid of Me with a decade's worth of knowledge about albums, cool sounds, and textures.

even though I don't love everything she puts out- I can appreciate her constant evolution in artistry.

my take, pretty much. my faves are still To Bring You My Love and Is This Desire, but a new one is always worth a listen

xp Alfred OTM re: Uh Huh Her. I think it holds up really well, plus it opens with one of the all-time great detuned guitar riffs.

been waiting for thirty years for pj harvey to rock out again, wonder if it’s ever gonna happen

This new video has made me optimistic about enjoying her new release for the first time in a long time. Uh Huh Her was mostly dull, and suggested that she'd emptied the well of writing from "personal experience", but each of the subsequent records, despite having a few notable songs, felt like homework, "this-is-for-your-own-good" art.
She has definitely never chosen the easy path, though, and that deserves a lot of respect.

I kinda felt like she was co-opted by the Guardian readership and leaned into the “high culture icon” thing. I’ve loved her work since Dry but I didn’t go see her when she came to town about 10 years ago, the promo image showed her with black feathers in her hair playing an autoharp and I thought you know what, no thanks.

I mean, she already made two power-trio records. We can still listen to those if we want. While I haven’t loved everything she’s done since (though I do love most of it), it’s extremely fascinating and exciting to see how/that she keeps challenging herself and her audience.

It’s not the challenging aspect I object to, it’s just that the records haven’t been very good. I found things to enjoy on Let England Shake (“Hanging in the Wire” is incredible) but the concept took over from the art too regularly. Hope Six just felt like preachy homework, (as well described above). On the other hand I love the experimentation on Desire and it’s my equal favourite with Rid of Me.

It’s similar to my problem with Nick Cave - when an artist becomes aware of their cultural status, some assume the mantle and it’s fatal for their work. PJH is far greater than Cave so I have hope she will dig out.

She became a little like post-New York Lou Reed, without the vulgarity to be able to pull out a "Sex With Your Parents" every once in a while.

xps I think I meant “In the Dark Places”, it’s been a while since I listened to it.

In The Dark Places is amazing, yes

idk if pj harvey who has released only one kinda retready album (hope six) (uh huh her is mad underrated and misunderstood) merits this discourse, new song feels like she’s resumed fearlessly pushing forward, speaking of i’d sooner compare her to bowie than reed or cave

obv anyone can feel however they like but we might not get an artist like her ever again so my receptors are set on appreciating what we have

otm. I'm surprised by some of the sourness here. two different accusations of "homework" 🤔

I don't think either of those takes are wrong at all, but at the same time I wouldn't want to overstate her value/talents. For example, I would not really consider her fearless or a radical Bowie-like reinventor, just a songwriter who sometimes struggles with what to say and how to say it. Like I said, she's released at least two, maybe three, of my favorite albums of all time, which is more than most acts, but she's also released a lot of stuff I find kind of boring. Granted, boring on her own terms, and not really boring in a "bad" way, just boring in a way that doesn't really click with me. That's of course personal taste (or lack thereof!).

If she were a minor/lesser talent, she'd keep releasing albums in one mode for eternity.

Yeah, I dunno. What was that (apocryphal?) Peter Buck quote about being able to write songs like "Driver 8" in his sleep?

Anyway, the reason I value her as a major talent, even though she makes a lot of music that does not move me, is that it would not shock me in the least if she released an album in the future that I would add to my list of all-time faves.

I don’t think any of us are arguing that she’s anything less than a stellar talent. I’ve considered her in the top rank of, well, anyone in music since her debut. It hurts to not enjoy what she’s doing. I hope to again. And like Bowie, when I don’t enjoy the work I kinda assume it’s me, not her.

It's not always you

https://media.tenor.com/SowoYaZKAW8AAAAd/david-bowie-mick-jagger.gif

idk she's only made one real misstep at this point with hope six

i would welcome a return to something more directly in the lineage of her 90s work of course, that's still her best period, but i don't think she'd have to repeat herself or anything to do that

the new track is a weird single choice, not particularly compelling on its own but could work better in the context of the album

Nobody who cares about her should sleep on the '96 and '09 records credited to she and Parrish… indeed Hope Six is the only mediocre record she has made…that tour is the only time I ever seen her, and it was at Terminal 5, the most intolerable large venue in NYC…

I have to say, despite Hope Six the album being mediocre, the tour behind it was great -- saw two shows, a huge 10-piece band with two drummers and a bunch of saxes playing a career-spanning set (heavy on Let England Shake - which I love - but also featuring some 90s favourites); they were incredible.

I loved Dance Hall at Louse Point, probably in my top 3 of her records, and was very pleased she played a number of songs from it when I saw her in 1998. A Woman a Man Walked By is the only one of her albums I haven't heard, it seemed to come and go with little fanfare.

With PJ back in the limelight YouTube randomly reminded me of this UHH-era live Slim Harpo / Stones cover:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzApY1nCcSk

She also used to do The Fall's "Janet + Johnny" back in 2004:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLg0FhUTeRI

If I'm not mistaken both recordings are from a semi-acoustic gig she did at Royal Court Theatre in England at the end of that tour.

Hope Six is underrated (just ignore the lyrics!) and I agree the live show for it was great (....but the most memorable part was the rush when "50 Ft. Queenie" started; I think how outrageously good she was in the 90s overshadows her current stuff which suffers from the comparison).

This thread inspired me to revisit A Woman Walked By. At the time(s) I didn’t care about these John Parish collaboration records - I was RONG. Great stuff.

Ooh a lot of interesting takes here. I have to say I actually liked Hope Six.

'been waiting for thirty years for pj harvey to rock out again, wonder if it’s ever gonna happen'

She's in her avant garde folk phase right now, so probably not, or at least not the way she used to in the 90s/early aughts. One can hope, though.

"I mean, she already made two power-trio records. We can still listen to those if we want. While I haven’t loved everything she’s done since (though I do love most of it), it’s extremely fascinating and exciting to see how/that she keeps challenging herself and her audience."

Agreed! I don't see the Bowie parallel (Maybe because Polly's transition from one sound to next hasn't been that drastic) but I feel similarly insomuch that I didn't love everything he did either; he's a genius but my personal feelings are that everything he did was either a swing or a miss. Still I feel there's merit in the ways she refuses to do the same things over and over.

Just got tickets for the second night in Glasgow.

I love ‘A Child’s Question, August’ of the two songs released so far.

There was a play-through of the full album alongside an interview on French radio and I really enjoyed what I heard. Bits and pieces reminded me of different PJH eras, e.g. hazy soundscapes (analogue synths, field recordings) brought to mind Is This Desire B-sides, some ghostlike vocals nodded to White Chalk, and folk-rock elements seemed to be a natural progression from what she did on Let England Shake (musically, not lyrically — although no saxophone or autoharp this time around), but overall the whole thing is very much its own weird beast. Definitely won’t lure back the crowd that lost interest when she stopped rocking out but it had so many gorgeous, moving and slightly bizzare moments sprinkled throughout that I can already see myself returning to it more often than to Hope Six — thankfully the self-important quality of that record is gone.

Seems to have a very ‘live’/rehearsal/warts-and-all quality, too, aparently a lot of the recordings were first takes, sometimes half-improvised. Can’t wait to listen to it properly in good quality.

I’m sure the lyrics will be puzzling to people who have not read the book, though — the poems chosen for the songs don’t really construct a narrative when taken out of context, more of an obscure vibe. Plenty of dialect vocabulary, lots of recurring motifs, especially references to death and Elvis. And femboys! Lol

from that description, aoty

Thank you! I’m intrigued.