White Chalk

by

PJ Harvey

Edit

P J Harvey's stated objective has always been to get as far away from her last album as possible. Which is why, following her accessible album Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea, she followed up with a difficult and unloveable lo-fi album in Uh Huh Her.

Three years on, and she's travelled even further into experimental territory with a brittle, ghostly folk album that's rich in stark atmosphere but totally devoid of melody.

Based almost entirely around stark, minimal, repetitive piano and organ figures and featuring almost no guitars or percussion at all, the album straddles the boundary between contemporary classical and Victorian American vaudeville.

From the moment it begins, it almost sends shivers down the spine (in a good way) and just keeps getting better the more you listen to it.

The breathtaking title track "White Chalk" (which talks of being buried beneath Dorset's chalk hills) finds Polly even more tender vocally, and set against some fine acoustic strumming. Her soaring vocals midway through prove entirely captivating, while the gentle riffs are a shimmering delight.

The themes of the album aren't exactly bright rays of sunshine: "To Talk to You" is one of the more touching moments of the album as Polly tries to reach her grandmother through song. The first single "When Under Ether" deals with drug incantations and "Dear Darkness" is like an open letter from Sartre.

As ever, the topics are deathly and made all the more brutal and haunting because they're delivered in a fragile whisper to a barren accompaniment.

The album is unsettling, strange and yet hauntingly beautiful.

There are many moments of genuine brilliance here to help you alleviate the day-to-day, and which remind you why people make music in the first place: to share their honesty and imaginative ideas, in a way that's so honest that its authenticity is refreshing.

It's an album cut with plenty of things to transcend you, leaving you in a state of bliss and wonderment.

"White Chalk" may not be the greatest album of all time, it may not be to everyone's tastes, even Harvey's own fans , it may not even be Polly's finest.

But it's a mark of her determination to try new things and continually challenge herself that she's not afraid to be different.

For those new to PJ Harvey this may not be the most accessible album. For those who have followed this far on the journey, "White Chalk" is another wonderful moment - a provocative offering. An album of lonely beauty and piercing sorrow, "White Chalk" is P.J. Harvey back at the peak of her considerable powers.

Give it a chance and you'll come to realise that "White Chalk" is every bit as impressive as PJ's earlier record, but in a more grown-up and mature way.