In a nearly twenty year career, Let England Shake is the strangest album PJ Harvey has ever made. Really, the one competition it has is Is This Desire, and that album doesn’t come close. It comes as relief after two albums that I didn’t much care for that Harvey has made her best album to date.
Things start weird, but it takes until track two for the awe to set in. “Goddamn, Europeans,” Harvey sings at the beginning of “The Last Living Rose,” against a backdrop that sounds similar to a number of her older songs. Then, about a minute later, a strange honking instrument sets in. Pure beauty. This is Harvey dumping her sound on its head like only she can.
“The Glorious Land” begins with a bugle, and it’s all Scary Monsters era Bowie, and The Dreaming era Kate Bush. Harvey sings in a chant-like manner. It’s a song about England, most of these are. I get the feeling there’s a story beyond that theme running through the album, but I’m still unraveling it.
Most of these songs leave me grasping for words I can’t find, but I’m mostly dumbfounded. “On Battleship Hill” is sung in a falsetto against an acoustic guitar, drums and piano buried under odd production values. The lead and backing vocals don’t quite match up, and the singing is just behind the beat. It’s very ghostly.
“In The Dark Places“ knocks me on my ass every time. It’s one of the most normal songs here, but there’s something that causes my jaw to drop. A drum beat plays, and as the guitar kicks in she sings, “we got up early/washed our faces.” The lyrics tell a story barely glimpsed. It’s like seeing something unsettling through a dirty window. That’s actually a pretty good metaphor for the album.
The next song, “Bitter Branches” is a stomper. It seems like a continuation of the last song lyrically. It’s all very exciting: “the soldiers standing/and the boots twisting underneath.” This is scary stuff. “Wave goodbye,” Harvey sings, and I feel myself there.
“Written On The Forehead” has a tribal thing going on. The beat and the voices going on behind Harvey are entrancing. “War here/in our beloved city,” Harvey sings; I can taste war on my tongue.
The album ends with “The Last Colour Of The Earth.” Just under forty minutes, and my head has been blown wide open. I’m saying it now, in February: this is the album of the year. Nothing is going to top this anytime soon. It’s an album for the ages, one I will be dissecting far into the future.
Track Listing:
1. Let England Shake
2. The Last Living Rose
3. The Glorious Land
4. The Words That Maketh Murder
5. All And Everyone
6. On Battleship Hill
7. England
8. In The Dark Places
9. Bitter Branches
10. Hanging In The Wire
11. Written On The Forehead
12. The Colour of The Earth
Let England Shake is out now.
