I've had a soft spot for PJ Harvey since I ran into her in a tiny health food shop in Bridport Dorset in the mid-90s but I've never been so taken aback by her music as with 'Let England Shake.' Not sure, why it took me so long to listen to this album but it is perhaps some of the greatest commentaries on war, in pop culture in recent years. Without being didactic protest songs, these songs come across as incredibly personal narratives with a deep sense of roots and place. They just make you nostaligic for a time and place, you may or may not have known. To complete the expereince even further, war photographer Seamus Murphy made an incredible collection of short films to accompany each song, that are all well worth viewing.
Beauty in the filth.
