Tags Of 2011 #5 – PJ Harvey
In a year that is being referred to as the year of the female singer, British ones have fared particularly well. Whereas the record sales were dominated by Adele; there was also an almost unanimous critical consensus at choosing PJ Harvey’s eight studio album ‘Let England Shake’ as the best album of 2011. The Dorset songwriter has created an astonishing concept work about the devastating effects of war, immersed in history and poetry while also managed to expand her musical palette.
After twenty years of solid musical career, ‘Let England Shake’ meant another reinvention for an artist who’s never been happy resting on her laurels. Among the many accolades she gathered, PJ won the Mercury Music Prize, becoming the only act who has won the coveted award twice. Standout tracks were aplenty, but our favourite was second single ‘The Glorious Land’, where the singer samples both The Police’s ‘This Bed’s Too Big Without You’ and HM Irish Guards’ ‘Regimental March’ in a song that resonates as a powerful anti-war anthem.
Perhaps anticipating her end of the year’s critical momentum, PJ Harvey has just released a DVD compiling the short films that acclaimed photographer Seamus Murphy shot for each of the record’s twelve tracks.
Listen to ‘The Glorious Land’ here.
