Heave Media

Eight Is Great!

Harvey gets piano heavy.

PJ Harvey

White Chalk

Released on Nov 30, -0001

PJ Harvey’s 8th album makes a radical departure from her typical pop/rock styling to a collection of somber piano ballads. The ultimate result is both mellow and hauntingly beautiful, but at the same time suffers from several weak spots that prevent “White Chalk? from being a truly great album.

All of the tracks on the album are piano-driven, but subtly garnished with drums, guitar, banjo, keyboards and more, depending on the song. However, the highlight of the album is Harvey’s voice. The high-pitched, delicate vocals complement the piano strokes well, by themselves, but on a few tracks (“White Chalk? and “The Mountain?) there is a noticeable echo effect on her voice, which adds an almost dreamlike quality to the songs.

The opening track, “The Devil? starts out with a straightforward piano and drums rhythm, overlapped with a surprising, but ethereal vocal melody. The song flows into the next several tracks, which all blend Harvey’s melancholy with soft piano strokes and acoustic guitar arpeggios, creating what almost resembles the dour beauty of fellow UK artists Radiohead or Coldplay.

“Broken Harp? marks the turning point on the album towards repetitive mediocrity, starting with off-key vocals that immediately break the flow of the first several tracks, accompanied by what sounds like horn and a detuned guitar. The rest of the album sounds forced – almost like Harvey is trying to imitate the earlier tracks, without sounding exactly like them, but in the end, losing the overall emotional impact and momentum of the beginning 15 or so minutes. However, “The Piano? and “The Mountain? help the close the album out on a high note, and return to the feel of the earlier tracks.

For better or for worse, Harvey plays most of her songs on the album with the same piano and within the same key range. As a result, most of the songs are awfully similar to each other. Whether this is a good or bad thing depends entirely on one’s perspective. But while there are some absolutely gorgeous tracks on “White Chalk?, it’s still a difficult album to listen straight through without getting bored, unless you're in the right mood.

Posted by Jason Prechtel on Oct 23, 2007 @ 12:00 am