5 December 2021

Polly Jean Harvey aka PJ HARVEY celebrated the 10th anniversary of her eighth,
gilt-edged album LET ENGLAND SHAKE last February. An uncommon one as
the massive devastation of World War I – the Great War – was the central theme
of this monumental longplayer. Not an obvious event to write songs about, let
alone a full album. Yet PJ did it and she did it pre-eminently confirming once
more again that she’s an artist par excellence. The critics went wild.

The Guardian (British newspaper) said: “It’s a curious idea, but it’s a masterstroke. Rock songwriters don’t write much about the first world war, but, perhaps understandably, when they do, they have a tendency to lay it on a bit thick… Harvey clearly understands that the horror doesn’t really need embellishing: her way sounds infinitely more shocking and affecting than all the machine-gun sound effects in the world… You’re left with a richly inventive album that’s unlike anything else in Harvey’s back catalogue. ‘Let England Shake’ sounds suspiciously like the work of a woman at her creative peak. ”

Demo of the title track

28 January 2022 sees the reissue of the vinyl of the LP, alongside
a collection of unreleased demos which will be available on CD, vinyl
and digital through UMC/ Island. Order info here

PJ: “I never felt that I had reached the place with my writing that I could talk about these things well, in a language that would work. I think if you’re going to talk about giant subject matter, you’ve got to do it well and I didn’t think I had the skill as a writer to do that, up until this point.”

Original full album here…

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PJ HARVEY: Facebook