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White Chalk
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Binding: Audio CD
EAN: 0602517403260
Format: Enhanced
Label: Island
Manufacturer: Island
MPN: 000997202
Number Of Discs: 1
Publisher: Island
Release Date: October 02, 2007
Studio: Island
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Editorial Review:
This carnival ride to the netherworld of the soul is PJ Harvey's most dizzyingly radical work since the raw pulse and grind of her 1993 debut. It's also entirely different. Harvey's created an emotionally fractured Gothic fairytale that rides on her spare, tattered piano playing and her voice, which she turns into a fragile siren's call: high, airy, and imperiled, and made otherworldly by a labyrinth of echo. Instead of pop tunes, Harvey offers an 11-song cycle that's the metaphorical story of a breakup in which the Devil, a drug-induced nightmare, and a seemingly bottomless pit of despair all play a part. At the end, in "The Mountain," her banshee wails conclude a journey so oblique it's worthy of David Lynch or Neil Gaiman. Flood, who co-produced Harvey's 1998 epic rock breakthrough Is This Desire? with her, reprises that role, but White Chalk is more chamber music--and a dark chamber at that. --Ted Drozdowski
White Chalk is PJ HARVEY's eighth studio album and first new material since 2004's critically acclaimed Uh Huh Her. PJ Harvey went into the studio late last year to record and produce with Flood and John Parish. The three had worked together previously on the GRAMMY nominated To Bring You My Love and on Is This Desire?. White Chalk also includes musical contributions from Harvey's long time associate Eric Drew Feldman, and Jim White from The Dirty Three.
The album highlights PJ Harvey's incredible ability to consistently create a unique, yet always impactful experience with each new album. Her talents as a songwriter, musician, and producer have never been as powerful, or profound, as on White Chalk. The songs are wonderfully mesmerizing, leaving a hypnotic effect on the listener.
White Chalk is Pj Harvey's eighth studio album and first new material since 2004's critically acclaimed Uh Huh Her. Pj Harvey went into the studio late last year to record and produce with Flood and John Parish. The three had worked together previously on the Grammy nominated To Bring You My Love and on Is This Desire? White Chalk also includes musical contributors from Harvey's long time associate Eric Drew Feldman, and Jim White from The Dirty Three.
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating: - these hills will rot your bones
With or without some spectral lyrics, I was going to get a ghosty feel from White Chalk anyway. This is the first time I've visited this page. 10 seconds worth of seeing the number of stars in previous reviews already told me what I've quietly suspected for the past year or so. This is probably PJ's most controversial album thus far. Right off the bat, there's barely any guitar. If you're expecting/needing some of PJ's gritty post-punk-blues types of songs, just keep on moving along because this ... Read More
Rating: - Cloistered Originality
After the shaky-at-best Uh Huh Her (in my opinion, her weakest album), I was immediately struck by how cohesive the vision for this record (one of her best) is. This is unlike anything she's ever done, which both hinders it and sets it free. The vocals are barely-there high, the piano is tattered and the artwork is striking. I think it's interesting that years after her forays into glam-goth, she makes what is truly the most gothic album she's ever attempted. I've never heard anything quite like ... Read More
Rating:  - White Chalk Nightmare
Having been a PJ fan for 15 years - starting with Rid of Me, I'm dismayed at this white disaster of artistry. To say that PJ doesn't cater to the mainstream is understood. To even say that she may care or not care whether she has any fans may also be accurate. Who knows what she was thinking when she made this. Maybe artistically she "hit the wall" and was going for a new direction. Whatever SHE may have been thinking, I bet the producers and company honchos must have thought this was going to be ... Read More
Rating:  - When I hear the delicate melodies
and her soft little girly voice, I say HUH? Ive never heard her before, but her previous cover art conveys a hardened, street wise woman
Her songs and mannerisms here rip those preconceptions to sheds.
"I freed myself from my family, ive freed myself from work-ive freed myself - ive freed myself-and am now Im alone..."
One of the best lines in the song. being from the piece
SILENCE, also one of the best songs on the album:
What gets me is the anguished, haunting ... Read More
Rating: - Moody, haunting, great...
If you like moody, haunting music with a bit of a gothic flair, then this should appeal. Her voice, piano work and arrangements all create a unified mood and deliver unique sounds and thoughts. I very much like all but two of the tracks, and those two are OK, just not as much to my liking. Enjoy...
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