PJ Harvey
„Let England Shake“
Alternative Rock. Black Vinyl 2011

In February 2011 the album “Let England Shake” was released. “Stories from the Sea” was PJ Harvey’s second album after Stories from the City, which was released in 2000 and won the Mercury Music Prize. “Let England Shake” was named album of the year by many music magazines. To my shame, I have to admit that I only came across PJ Harvey in 2021. “Do you know Let England Shake?” I said no and was recommended a playlist. Since then, PJ Harvey has been a permanent fixture in my collection. By the way: in 2016 she received the Order of the British Empire from Elizabeth II for her musical work.

Let England Shake was recorded in 2010 in the Eype Church, England. I don't want to introduce every song, but rather concentrate on PJ Harvey's strongest songs. PJ sings, plays instruments and writes lyrics. We don't find the "raw", reduced sound of Rid of Me or To Bring You My Love here. There's weird folk, elegiac Patti Smith, new wave, paired with singing that seems to be being sung by more than one person. The singing of John Parish and Mick Harvey contrasts, which fits. Musically there's also saxophone, autoharp, xylophone and melotron, and in the song "England" there's a sample of Iraqi music. This album is really great!

The album is great, I like “Let England Shake”, “The last living Rose”, the outstanding “On Battleship Hill” and “Written on the Forehead” the best.
England is only a placeholder here; PJ wants the criticism of distant wars, dull identity nationalism and misunderstood patriotism to be understood universally.

PJ Harvey
John Parish
Mick Harvey
Jean-Marc Butty

The black vinyl runs smoothly, no scratches, no strange noises.

The photos are all from my CD. The rights to all motifs, logos, texts and fonts that can be seen in the photos are of course owned by the copyright holder.