Here comes PJ Harvey with her sixth release, Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea. I’m sure those unfamiliar will be surprised to know that PJ has five previous releases, all of which have been critically acclaimed by journalists and musicians alike. I’m here to tell you that if this is your first exposure to the world of PJ Harvey, get ready to be initiated in the way only she can.
Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea reflects on how the city of New York and the sea outside Dorset influenced her life and her music. The differences in song can be heard and it’s nice to see two different faces on one body.
For openers, PJ crashes in with a “Big Exit”. Tight verses mask a crispy chorus. “Do you remember your first kiss?” asks Harvey on the track “One Line”. She is crafty as hell and mixes life’s little treasures and insecurities into one giant melting pot. “This Is Love” was surely influenced by the grimy streets and dank taverns of New York.
“A Place Called Home” is a haunting track. The levels of satisfaction found in the mind of PJ seem to drop. She is looking for love and it may just be in all the wrong places. Written expressly for Radiohead’s Thom Yorke, “This Mess We’re In” works caustically well. “We Float” goes out with a frightful hook of “until my middle name was excess.”
PJ Harvey can’t get no satisfaction. And I’m glad, because it sure gives her something great to write about. It’s just good to know substance still often means more than the shiny package it comes in.
+ rae gun
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