A career highpoint
PJ Harvey used to be so strident that you had to take valium before slipping one of her discs on. She was hard work. But as she’s matured her work has become much less strident. That’s not a bad thing and her latest offering, Let England Shake, is no less challenging than in her stridency days. It’s a sort of concept album, certainly it’s all about war and it’s stunning. Beautifully written and produced it shows off Polly at her most innocent almost, questioning and challellenging the point of it all with a beauty and charm that is totally affecting and engaging.
A must buy and early contender for album of the year in a field that has yet to really emerge so far.
Look at this crazy performance of the title song. I mean Jesus wept, when did you last see a “rock star” do a solo performance with a zither!
And this, this video leaves you stunned.
Or this.
gibberish 
Ouch! Very OUCH!
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Yip, it’s a very special record and will be hard to beat this year.
Other top tips so far:
Decemberists – the king is dead
Wire – red barked tree
Mogwai – hardcore will never die, but you will
A great start to 2011, I think.
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It’s not a zither. It’s an Autoharp.
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“It’s not a zither. It’s an Autoharp.”
Oh, is that right Mr fucking Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns?”
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Good LP but Prefer Wire “Red Barked Tree”.
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