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PJ
Harvey
Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea
(Island) |
Words
by Jen Kriesel
Bonanzaradio.com
February/March, 2001
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PJ Harvey
Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea
The
newest album from PJ Harvey presents a more wordly, street-smart,
sophisticated Ms. Polly Jean. Where in the past she'd shriek,
moan, and wail through rough-edged songs that conjured gloomy,
dank, isolated English cliffside vibes, now it seems she's come
out into the world, found her center and harnessed her power.
There is an enormous amount of energy and passion in this record,
delivered with refreshing, startling simplicity and sheer confidence.
The storyteller Harvey is a balance between the extremes of her
earlier personas: the ghoulish waif of "Dry" and "Rid
Of Me" and the ultra vamp of "To Bring You My Love."
She's now a contemplative, visionary woman of the city, weaving
tales of urban observation and tapping into the emotional underbelly
of the concrete jungle.
As with all of her previous albums, PJ Harvey has written all
of the songs on "Stories." Acting as one of three Producers
(along with Rob Ellis and Mick Harvey), she's given her pieces
space in the arrangements and remarkably strong-but-understated
legs. All substance, no flash, the instrumentation on some of
these tracks is minimalism at its best. The majority of "Stories"
songs feature just three players (the three Producers) and a handful
of instruments. "Beautiful Feeling" features only dual
vocal lines a accompanied by guitar, and lacks nothing for the
sparseness. Harvey's vocals are by far the clearest, strongest,
most developed of her career. Special vocal guest Thom Yorke of
Radiohead blends gorgeously with her singing on three songs, most
prominently on "This Mess We're In," an intimate dialog
between lovers who are seemingly miles away yet intertwined. His
lilting falsetto is plaintive and dreamy, her lower voice and
spoken murmurs are the perfect compliment. Their vocal styles
are a more simpatico blend than Yorke's and Bjork's were in his
recent guesting on "I've Seen It All" on her Selmasongs:
Music From The Motion Picture-Dancer In The Dark.
Examples of PJ's songwriting range are clearly evident. Heralding
back to her earlier work, "Kamikaze" seems to stem most
directly from her Rid Of Me era, and "You Said Something"
just may be the best song Lucinda Williams never wrote.
Having performed only select, intimate club dates to initially
promote Stories, this spring PJ Harvey will tour as the opening
act for U2. Technically, it sounds as though she's more than up
to the challenge of such dramatically larger venues. Her performing
strength projects feral energy from any stage. Despite being able
to so easily fill a room with her presence and prowess, the personal
nature of her songs doesn't get lost. No matter the delivery (recording
or stage), these songs, these stories, should be savored.
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