There comes a time in the lifespan of every post-2000’s music writer when they will unnecessarily compare an album to Radiohead’s Kid A. I’m afraid that time for me is now, but I hope by addressing this problem so early on that it will not become a regular occurrence…
On the cover of This is Desire?, the most immediate musical change in PJ Harvey’s career so far, we see Harvey standing by that riverbank that she so engulfed herself on her previous (solo) album. The kind of river that represents the nature that she has so battled in previous albums. The kind that in her biggest single refused to give back her daughter. And the sound of Is This Desire is like one of person that has just been pulled from the river, and is now acclimatising themselves to the world around them. I would never say the word cold though; it’s too PJ Harvey for that to be true.
The album has traditional Harvey trademarks in her lyrics: the aforementioned river, longing, disappointment, loss, dread, religion as mythic iconography. But it interesting to me that Harvey seems to somewhat come to terms with nature on This Is Desire?; after those very creepy whispers on “The Wind” (that still has those amazingly beautiful synth celestas), the two most traditionally beautiful tracks (“The River” and my personal favourite “The Garden”) are so overtly titled in the broad strokes of natural imagery. It seems she is preparing herself for the next album, where she would move on to mostly critiquing the City instead.
The rest of the album is a combination of hard and precise electronica and soft piano balladry. There is precedent to Harvey’s sound on this album, mainly tracks like “Hardly Wait” from 4-Track Demos, but of course the guitars have been replaced with synth. And the vocal experiments that we saw Harvey do in Dance Hall in Louse Point find themselves in an equal amount of force; from the trademark growls, the whispers in “The Wind” close enough that you can feel the wind of her breath on you, and the ironically torturous sounds on Joy.
The production of this album, again the combination of her and producer Flood, falls into the side of futurism. True, there are moments like the drums in “The Wind” that come straight from the 90’s British electronica that helped birth it. But it has the low bass modulations that can be found being thoroughly abused in much modern electronic music, and some of minimalist numbers like “Electric Light” predate an aesthetic that we wouldn’t see get a huge mainstream acceptance until the recent popularity of artists like Lorde. In terms of its forward thinking production, if To Bring You My Love was the OK Computer of PJ Harvey’s career, Is This Desire? definitely acts as the Kid A.
And whereas on To Bring You My Love we have tracks like “Long Snake Moan” where Harvey overtly takes on a male persona, here it is pretty much exclusively an album from female perspective. From the opening track Angelene that actively shows the sorrow towards men who “come and go”; The “Beautiful Leah” closely examined to the point of scientific; the seeming murderers of “Catherine” and “Elise”; “Joy” and her pain filled experience; “The Girl so Sweet”, and of course that strong women previously described: mother nature.
Is This Desire? is an album that is both intimate and can fill a whole room with its sound. It is the kind of album that critics and others might find a little more impenetrable; the characters here are enigmas, not getting what they want, described in lyrics that may go unanswered forever, leaving an overall sense of reaching towards something both Harvey and her audience know we will never get. But of course, that is why this is desire.
What do you think though?
“Angeline”: Aesthetically and melodically similar to many of the tracks that appeared on Dance Hall at Louse Point like “Rope Bridge Crossing”. Those organ chords that fill the back of the song never stop being beautiful, particularly when accompanied with the piano on the back half of the track
“The Sky Lit Up”: The kind of tremolo guitar feedback you would hair from Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood and other alternative bands of that ilk, it is here that the perfomative aspect of Harvey’s vocals on this album truly show themselves. I do particularly want to highlight the bass quality of this track, which doesn’t show off but really is the thing that expresses this song’s dark tone the most.
“The Wind”: The industrial trip-hop drums on this track wouldn’t sound out of place on a Chemical Brothers or Portishead track. But it really the haunting combination of Harvey’s whispers and then beautiful calls of “listen to the wind blow” that make this track a great. Though you definitely feel the echoes of the processed electronic strings throughout.
“My Beautiful Leah”: I’ve heard many an electronica track on Soundcloud that attempts at the combination of the repetitive industrial and pop, though I wouldn’t count many that get close to this (though to be fair the bass tone here is way more effective for me than the MIDI tone on many modern electronica). The drums towards the second half of the track add more energy to the sound, and the abrupt stop somehow manages to be fitting.
“A Beautiful Day Elise”: The track that most combines the aesthetic of this particular project with the melodic quality of previous Harvey albums. Another great use of tremolo guitar and industrial drums, the strings that kick in during the second verse really help to give this story an epic quality. I understand why this was the lead single.
“Catherine”: Next to “The Garden”, this is one of my highlights off the album. Compared to the previous track it has a much more sombre tone from the very outset of those keyboards and Harvey’s voice. The sound does not change much outside the light inclusion of a ceremonial organ, but the emotion more than enough carries the four minutes.
“Electric Light”: I can’t imagine what it would have been like to have heard Harvey’s records at the time they were released, and then get to this track on this album. So sparse with its organ bass and incredibly light drumming, so haunting with the echoes of Harvey’s voice. And yet it all works. It’s fantastic.
“The Garden”: My favourite track from the album, it starts off as sombre as “Catherine”, but then quickly goes on to include organ and piano lines that give it a heightened quality. Despite its continuous patterns of bass it never gets repetitive, mainly due to the constant change of the lead instrument between that organ, piano or both. Those small angelic cries from Harvey are also my favourite use of her voice as instrument.
“Joy”: Closer to Nine Inch Nails than anything from the British Electronica scene (even the Prodigy), with how hard those electric sounds and instruments are, and how hard Harvey’s vocal screeches come across in this. There is this pause at around the 2:20 mark though that is almost as hard hitting as any of the instruments.
“The River”: We return to one of Harvey’s favourite visual motifs for probably the most aesthetically pleasing song on the album. The synth bass in the background really helps to fill out the sound the piano, but the inclusion of horn sounds really gives it a subtle variety to the rest of the songs of the same ilk on this album.
“No Girl So Sweet”: The light pops of percussive arpeggios throughout the track really shine a small light on what is otherwise one of the darkest track on the album sonically. The wailing guitars and Harvey’s lips so close to that Microphone, there ends up being so much going on in this track that by the conclusion is pummelled into submission. In a good way.
“Is The Desire”: Quite a pause to prepare you for the final track of the album (though after the previous song the breather is needed). It starts off so minimally with just percussion and Harvey’s voice, but one by one the guitar licks, organ and eventually synths enter the track, all layering upon each other to devastating effect. A haunting and contemplative not to leave the album on and for you to start listening to this again.
PJ Harvey Album Rankings
- Is This Desire?
- To Bring You My Love
- Rid of Me
- Dry
- 4-Track Demos
- Dance Hall at Louse Point