White Chalk (studio album) by PJ Harvey

From Brad1770 05/25/2021 11:43

Released at roughly the halfway point of Polly Jeans career ‘White Chalk’ is in many ways her forgotten album quietly dropped between the mega hits ‘Stories . . . ‘ (2000) and ‘Let England Shake’ (2011)

When it first came out I for one was not prepared for the intricate delicate nature of this album, like a fine china cup or broken heart and I moved on pretty quickly. However time has been kind to this one and is now one of my favourite Harvey albums even if John Parish’s fingerprints are all over it

I'm a great fan of PJ Harvey but on this album she took a huge directional change. I understand artists mix it up a bit but this done nothing for me. An entire album of plink plonk piano and haunting vocals. I tried to like it, I really did. Multiple listens but it didn't take. To far removed from her previous work for my liking. If you've just started checking her music out, I recommend starting with her other albums.

Very solid album. Not my favourite of pj’s but it has its moments

Another brilliant PJ Harvey album. White chalk, is a haunting record full of piano based songs that sound like they were recorded in a church. It's a superb album, full of great songs, no weak tracks here. This is one of my favourite of her records. Brilliant.

A departure, but not necessarily a bad one. This is brooding, haunting, heartbreaking.

From eclab 02/20/2014 04:02

Definitely underrated; great stuff.

From meccalecca 02/07/2014 21:00

Following a career filled with gritty rock, White Chalk was seen as a departure for PJ Harvey. Sparse arrangements focused around piano and harp, it's her most haunting record. The desperation, fragility and loneliness speaks more to me than anything else she's done.

Always liked PJ, but this album completely won we over for her. It is radical departure from the explosive debut albums, but the aggression or passion is still very much there, although much more hidden. She uses her voice in a different way, very much at the limit of her reach. Daring and haunting album; an absolute favorite.

From Bach 10/25/2013 23:20

Another good album from PJ.
Best tracks: The Devil, Silence, The Mountain, White Chalk.

Stellar, unsettling album. There are times when PJ seems to be melodramitic to the point of absurdity, but the songs (and the subjects) seem to be talking about such strange, though rather sad, subjects that the occasional over-reach seems more than forgive-able. "The Piano" in particular is utterly haunting (and haunted), seeming personal despite it's literary allusions