PJ Harvey - Let England Shake, a review

'Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea' is the only other album of PJ's I've heard - it struck me as pretty ballsy for an alternative female artist, and whilst it never really entranced me fully, it was a solid, good album. Much of the same can be said for Harvey's 2011 venture - she seems to continually wow critics: 5 star reviews for Let England Shake are rolling in.

The opener of the same title blends cute vocals and The Cure-like tunes but lyrics of England's "indifference won", signalling a worrying mix of inertia and death. Add to this the "Goddamn Europeans!" that kicks off 'The Last Living Rose' and you might just have the Daily Mail's favourite album. But rather than going into meticulous detail about inconsistent refuse collection, the album rather poetically and frighteningly tells tales of war.

'The Glorious Land' hauntingly ends with the line "What is the glorious fruit of our land? Its fruit is orphaned children." and a curiously irritating inclusion of a war bugle aside is powerful as ever. Meanwhile in 'The Words That Maketh Murder' there are "soldiers fall like lumps of meat" and rather bitterly ends with the repeated line "What if I take my problem to the United Nations?"

In accompanying this darker theme, the overall feel to the album is a lot more hectic; drums pound menacingly, vocals are desperate, guitars are echoed. But there are moments of beauty - 'All and Everyone' tells of the omnipresence of death to a haunting brass backdrop, 'On Battleship Hill' has a tune and rhythm ripe for commercial picking, and sirenlike vocals to boot - by far my favourite track.



'England' rather evokes Bjork's vocal delivery which is remarkable given her usual grungy sound (at least certainly on Stories...), whilst 'In The Dark Places' basks in a moody, more 90s feel. There's even some indie goodness on 'Bitter Branches' with a bassline to (sorry) die for.

'Hanging in the Wire' laments the destructive nature of warfare on her beloved England, rather hauntingly describing the act of going into No Man's Land. 'Written on the Forehead' meanwhile describes the human cost, "a lifetime's earnings / Amongst the scattered rubbish and suitcases on the sidewalk" and terrifying cries of "Let it burn!" tell of resignation to defeat and helplessness.

The album comes to a close with 'The Colour of the Earth' and this time opts for the personal approach, telling of "Louis' voice/ Calling for his mother, then me" and "Nothing more than a pile of bones". The last line "If I was asked I'd tell / the colour of the Earth that day / it was dull and browny red / the colour of blood I'd say" subtley but brilliantly hammers home the visual message.

It's a stroke of genius. The poetic tales of damage, destruction, loss and desperation all blend into something that's deceptively beautiful. The Guardian points out that PJ's choice to announce the album first on Andrew Marr's Sunday political show in a feathered headdress and it's an interesting observation to make - whilst there may be no real specific politics on Let England Shake it's a masterpiece on war, and it's probably her best.

Rating: 8.5/10
Highlights: On Battleship Hill, Let England Shake, Hanging In The Wire, Written on the Forehead
Avoid: n/a