I INSIDE THE OLD YEAR DYING – new album out July 7th

[BobSimms]

Wow, thank you for pasting that here, mahakala49. Now I’m more intrigued than ever.

I think the last time she felt she’d lost her connection with music—or something to that effect—was during the making of Is This Desire? when she was very depressed and wanted to leave music behind and become a nurse.

I haven’t heard “Golden Brown” in quite a while. It’d be something if she decided to cover it live— it or one of the other songs she became fond of playing before writing this album.

[an tha]

Yeah good read that - really interesting.

[Orange Monkey]

I was standing in the vocal room with the headphones on, and Flood said ‘No, no – you sound like PJ Harvey.’”

Am I a bad fan for dreaming that one day Polly will turn round to Flood and say "F**k it, I am bl**dy PJ Harvey and today I want to sound like PJ Harvey for a change"?
I mean, I want all the new stuff too, but I wouldn't mind a bit of the old PJ now and again. I'm just greedy

For what it's worth (i.e. nothing much) I get the feeling that the new album probably needs to be heard as a whole to get the full atmospheric effect. We will just have to be patient.................

[AineteEkaterini]

Yes, thank you mahakala49 for putting that extract here. It's interesting that PJ puts the emphasis on how spontaneous and improvised this recording is, and yet the process she describes is absolutely the opposite of spontaneous and improvised - it sounds like constantly second-guessing herself, or getting John and Flood to do it for her. Building on my thoughts about Uh Huh Her earlier, that statement about 'not singing like PJ Harvey' reminds me of the notes she wrote to herself about not being 'too PJH' on that record. Ironically of course UHH did end up teetering towards self-pastiche in places. But we will see.

[Sebastiano Boina]

“I can't express how heartbroken I felt. It had always been my everything; my way of understanding.”

Polly, you poor thing!

“I think the album is about searching, looking - the intensity of first love, and seeking meaning,” says Harvey. “Not that there has to be a message, but the feeling I get from the record is one of love – it’s tinged with sadness and loss, but it’s loving

If you think about it, in PJ's music ( even if in most cases we don't know the exact meaning of the songs), or at least in a good portion of it, love as a macro concept is a recurring theme:

Dry and Rid of me ( and To bring you my love too) show sometimes an harsh denial of losing your loved one, sometimes a violent, bloody even, erotic desire ( rub it better 'till it bleeds it's all about that-what a fricking masterpiece of a song!-);

Is this desire gives me the impression of someone being seduced, or someone trying to resist to the one he/she loves(the garden almost seems like, to me obviously, a hidden Devil trying to corrupt a man);


Stories from the city stories from the sea is sweet, deeply felt love, Polly said in an interview that those songs could talk about the love you feel towards a friend of yours, not a strictly sexual lover;


In Uh huh her there's this sense of a toxic, poisoning love (life and death of mr. badmouth : "...your lips taste of poison..."- that line is phenomenal, i love it- or even a rarity, bows and arrows: " ...I taste poison...");

in A woman a man walked by: in the track "passionless, pointless" the love between a couple faded out( another masterpiece of a song);

and, last one, in Let England shake, as explained by PJ herself in an interview, the track "England" talks about the love you feel towards your country, your motherland( the song you can hear backing the track is a traditional kurdish love song) .


All in all i would define PJ Harvey, among lots of other things, a Bard of Love.

i stated this ( more or less) before, and i'll state it again: PJ Harvey for me is everything musically, she's the last of my "most favourite" musicians ( the others either were long dead before i was born, or died over the years ) and i'll follow her into Heaven or Hell... well, maybe i won't go that far , but musically she is my chosen one; i have the utmost trust in her musical changes, that's what makes her musical career so brilliant in the first place, in my opinion. One thing will not change: Polly herself: she's a shiny Gem in this dirty sinkhole we call Terra( Earth).

[ct4spinner]

The single sounds better listening with headphones than it does through the speakers. Soundscape with twenty first century psychedelia (like Tame Impala, Beach House). Not necessarily my desire.

[TheNightingale]

I would definitely be happy with a fuzzy dream pop soundworld with a hint of shoegaze-y guitars à la Beach House's Bloom, Yo La Tengo's And Then Nothing..., Mazzy Star's So Tonight..., etc., topped with field recordings. "A Child's Question, August" is quite an unassuming first single so I'm curious what else they cooked up in that studio.

[brownbrown]

Little extra information about melody of A Child's Question, August

How to Write a Standout Melody

https://youtu.be/JmC6Gvny3Dw

[TheNightingale]

Not much promo for the album so far (which is to be expected from Polly at this stage I guess) but Partisan did shell out for some building projections and digital billboards to accompany the announcement - I don't think they were posted here:






Less than six weeks until the release. I assume we will get a second song and live dates announcement in June (hesitate to call it a "tour" but she's at least rumoured to play London in autumn) but I wonder if she's going to do any interviews/promo appearances this time around?

[Sebastiano Boina]

Less than six weeks until the release. I assume we will get a second song and live dates announcement in June (hesitate to call it a "tour" but she's at least rumoured to play London in autumn) but I wonder if she's going to do any interviews/promo appearances this time around?

I hope with my whole heart she is going to tour around... in last august interview John Parish said there would be a tour for the new album, maybe PJ has changed her mind in the meantime, but that would be a shame. the rumored London date checks out if we compare it with The Hope Six Demolition Project album release date- starting tour date: THSDP was released on 15/04/2016 and its tournee started on 01/06/2016, meaning two months after the release date of the album. Keep in mind that we are talking about a totally different album, though.
On the reveal of the other songs, i would say it could be like the demos and rarities CDs songs, a couple of songs a week, starting from June.
Obviously this is utter speculation on my part.

[Elliot]

but I wonder if she's going to do any interviews/promo appearances this time around?

I saw a tweet from a journalist a few days ago, saying he was on a zoom call with her. Since this album seems a bit lighter and not as politicized as the previous one, I believe she'll make a few appearances. At least I hope so.

[TheNightingale]

The Other Voices, part 1

"Ben Whishaw, my close friend of many years, has a magical and extraordinary voice which embodies the vastness of his soul. I have wanted to sing with him since we first met and at last this seemed the right project. He joins me on the chorus refrain of 'A Child's Question, August' and adds all the qualities of love I longed for in this song. He also appears on another album song titled, 'August'."

Listen to 'A Child's Question, August' and watch the accompanying video by Steve Gullick - link in profile @pjharveyofficial. Photos by @stevegullick.

#achildsquestionaugust #iinsidetheoldyeardying

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cs3yEpAs8kp/

[Romario11]

for any French speakers looks like a new interview https://shop.combat.fr/common/product-a ... romo_mag21

from steve gullick insta https://www.instagram.com/p/CrtItUBNAXo/

[Sebastiano Boina]

PJ:

More news coming June 7th

[TheNightingale]

New song / animated music video snippet up on Insta and Twitter:
https://www.instagram.com/p/Cs6l6z0oc_c/
https://twitter.com/PJHarveyUK/status/1 ... 5709981708

Since the announcement is coming to the mailing list subscribers first, it's probably tour dates / tickets pre-sale info?