Reviews (page 11 of 13)
Good album with a lot of melodic guitar riffs (I can feel Good Fortune in my soul). There’s just a nice sound here, which makes for a pleasant listen. The only thing that I didn’t really care for on a first listen was how it kinda felt repetitive/dull at moments. Thom Yorker’s collabs with PJ Harvey were a high point for me, they gave the album a level of depth that I think doesn’t really exist without it. Faves: This Mess We’re In, You Said Something, A Place Called Home, The Whores Hustle And The Hustlers Whore, Beautiful Feeling, Good Fortune
Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea is a decent listen, fine energy, some edge, catchy but never truly memorable. Think it gets a low 3 because I really liked The Whores Hustle And The Hustlers Whore and This Is Love.
Much better than our previous PJ album. Doesn't feel like it overstays its welcome even at 53 minutes, got some punk energy too it but some tuneful melodies and thoughtful lyrics too. This Mess We're In with Thom Yorke is a really lovely song, I like A Place Called Home too. 3/5.
I really liked some songs on here, but overall I found the album only ok.
Not letting this one stop me. Feels like a late nineties soundtrack. I find a lot of the sound to be a little repetitive but I like the composition/business of A Place Called Home also Duo with Thom Yorke 2.7 Good fortune / A Place Called Home / this mess we’re in (Thom Yorke)
PJ Harvey's first two albums have left a legacy larger than herself at this point, but this is one I am less familiar with. Thom York makes an appearance, I thought that was nice. I don't think I can consider myself much of a PJ Harvy Fan. She is a talented songwriter and has maintained her forward-thinking style of music, though it doesn't click with me.
I had never heard or PJ Harvey before but this was decent! The only song I really didn't like was "Horses in my dream", however the album compensates for that song by ending on "We float" which is a banger with great vocals on it. Without that song I would probably rate the album a 2/5. Instead this deserves a weak 3 rating.
She’s in love and I’m delighted for her. My heart could explode hearing ‘Good Fortune’, but cliche drama like ‘The Whores Hustle and the Hustlers Whore’ and ‘Kamikaze’ lack the sincere rage that made her earlier records so potent. Good for her.
Girl rock!! 3.5
A good reference for where alt rock was at the start of the 21st century. Less raw, more polished and Thom Yorke cameos.
If Patti Smith and Nick Cave had a love child, it would be PJ Harvey. Also, TIL that PJ stands for Polly Jean. I find this album to be a exercise in contrasts, the more introspective songs such as We Float, Horses in my Dreams and and particularly the ones featuring Thom Yorke such as This Mess are excellent. But when she rocks out its a completely different vibe for me and I have a hard time liking those songs.
Cool album. Could see her influencing Sleter Kinney. Loved the surprise Thom Yorke. I imagine she thought music was low on new ideas when writing this. Not sure where the thought came from but idk that made sense to me
Cool, but I didn’t find a lot of it memorable
Definitely the intermediary point of Harvey's discography between the ferocity of 'Rid of Me' and the somewhat more radio-friendly and less memorable 'Let England Shake.' Some of my favorite individual tracks of PJ's live on this album, but as an album, I'm not sure they cohere well enough over the 40-minute span to make the collection more than a sum of its parts. That being said, there's a wealth of excellent musicianship and songwriting here that plays with fast and slow, loud and soft, and Harvey's other favorite extremes to create standout tracks that I've listened to time and time again.
Cet album m'a rappelé certains autres que j'aime beaucoup, et je suis contente de les retrouver avec une voix de femme. Je réécouterai certainement pour l'apprivoiser et l'apprécier davantage.
3/12, 25%
An unexpected slay
When great is great. When not, meh.
T3B 1. This Mess We’re In 2. This Is Love 3. Big Exit
this is a good album, just not for me
About 10% of the way through this list and there’s a clear bucket of albums that are influential but not for me. This is another one of these.
This was the PJ Harvey I was into. It's good, but I don't think it has the venomous bite of her earlier work. Also, Thom Yorke's cameos in this era just consisted of him repeating the lyrics (see also: El Presidente by Drugstore).
Decent rock/punk
I always thought PJ Harvey was cool, just based on the music videos I had see in the past. Never dove into her catalog and wasn’t too into this release until track 6 The Whores. From that track on I really enjoyed the album so I’ll give this release a 3 and will check out her earlier releases
One of my favorites of hers.
Pretty good. Not blown away, but dig it well enough.
mid
A Place Called Home The Whores Hustle And The Hustlers Whore Kamikaze We Float Priyatniy vocal s krasivimi instrumentalami
PJ Harvey has always been an artist I knew existed, but by whom I couldn't name any song. This album, then, was my first real exposure to her music, and it's a nice rock album. The best track is probably This Mess We're In, a duet with Radiohead's Thom Yorke. The worst song is the opener Big Exit, as I don't like the singing style on that track. The rest of the songs fall somewhere in between. I can clearly see myself listening to an album like that, but I doubt that I will ever be a big fan of this artist. 3/5
Good, but not my style. I’ve heard some of these songs before
Decent
Vaatisi useamman kuuntelun, kelvollista. We float on upea.
3 stars for the Thom Yorke feature.
not bad actually
I wasn't overly impressed by this - nothing really stood out for me. Maybe with more plays it would grow on me, but...
Nothing special but overall good album
good. Didn’t stick.
Not bad
Good album. I like PJ Harvey but not a lot of PJ Harvey
Not enough body for me a little too airy
I continue to understand her artistry and influence on other alternative and unconventional singers, but I just can’t get into any of the songs, they lack character to be memorable. It’s just the general vibe and sound that stays with you. This albums is not bad, far more accessible to a casual music listener than her others, but just because she changes her sound on each album, doesn’t make each album of hers a must hear.
Good music by PJ with a few cool songs. By the second half, the album got considerable more quiet and slow though and thus kinda lost the most enjoyable quality
Another one where I probably need another listen. But I liked it
I should have given her a proper listen before but standalone songs never got to me. Now I understand you need to listen to whole albums and then it clicks. I suppose my rating could be here after a couple time of listening to this album but for now just a meager 3/5.
Nice and sometimes really strong but the production was bland and wasn't too memorable
Felt very locked into an era. Good for it's time, but didn't have the qualities of a timeless album to me
I think I like this album more than her previous one
Alright. She’s quite hypnotic. 3*
It was nice. I enjoyed it without being blown away.
likte bedre dry
Heilt ok
It’s okay. Nothing stood out for me.
Pretty good!
I liked the sound of the album, and was great background music for my walk. I just don't think I fully paid attention to most of it.
Diasppointing
Not bad at all.
Listened to on 8/25/22 3.5/5 Favorite song: This Mess We’re In I have hated every other PJ Harvey album but this one was so much calmer and very enjoyable
Hit and miss 90s rock
My second PJH album. This is is far more accessible and less visceral than the early Rid of Me. A good set of songs with a little bit of help from Thom York. Her voice seems more prominent yet more restrained. A solid 3 i think.
Plain and I don’t think her vocals are good tbh
first listen there's some really nice bits and some really boring bits
Some of the songs I like - "You Said Something" and "This Is Love" in particular - but most of them are kind of blah for me.
A bit smoother than her earlier works (such as Rid of Me which I rated higher). Overall very competent but a bit too polished, definitely preferred her rougher/punk-ish deliveries more.
Interesting album, I feel like I had heard a song or two from here but couldn't place it. Sort of a new sound so I liked that. Hoping for a good music week.
I've heard the name before, but didn't even realize this was a woman named PJ. That fact alone is probably the most interesting thing about this album. The music decent, she's got a cool voice. It's hard to really pinpoint what genre this is, but I'd go with alternative. A few standout tracks that I really enjoyed, but overall it didn't grab me too much. Solid enough that I think I'd be okay hearing another album from her, hopefully with more variety. Favorite tracks: Beautiful Feeling, You Said Something, Horses in My Dreams. Album art: I like the look of this one, a woman on the street, perhaps it's PJ herself. I presume she's in the city from which she's telling stories, maybe the back side of the album shows her by the sea? If not, missed opportunity. 3/5
la meuf a l'air stylée en revanche j'ai pas complètement accroché..peut-être la prochaine fois
Not bad to start but went downhill fast. Was better when the lady was singing
I like a lot of PJ Harvey. For me, her best work contains a fury that is missing here. Perhaps the production is a bit too slick. Maybe she mellowed a bit. In any event, when I reach for PJ Harvey it is rarely this one.
I have to admit that liked this more than I expected to. I usually think of her as a bad Patti Smith but this was better than that. I might listen again
I can't believe we heard two albums by her before hearing one by the Rolling Stones, the Who, Aretha Franklin, Led Zeppelin, Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty, Marvin Gaye, the Clash, or Bob Dylan. This is fine, but I have no clue what the makers of this list are getting out of PJ Harvey's music to put this on here to the exclusion of so much great hip-hop and R&b.
R.E.M. cover band provides the backing for yet another indie singer vibe about NYC
Pretty solid
Quite nice
I'd love to be more into this, and I can completely appreciate why people would be, but it doesn't press enough buttons for me. Still good though.
I finally found a PJ Harvey album that is not absolutely boring. It's still a little boring, but with 2 or 3 nice songs.
Not for me I don't think. Had its moments but mediocre at best.
PJ était jusque-là mon élève préférée, redoublant d'effort après chaque mauvaise note, jusqu'à atteindre un quatre sur cinq à la dernière interrogation. Je suis cette fois-ci un peu déçu et ne peux lui donner plus de trois pour ce projet. Ne pas relâcher les efforts entrevus jusqu'ici !
Je commence à en avoir sérieusement assez de PJ Harvey, heureusement que notre ami de Radiohead est venu relever le niveau de cet album insipide.
A name I've known forever but couldn't have named one of her songs. Sounds a lot like Patti Smith (which I later discovered to be her first Fans Also Like artist in spotify. Not my every day listening but I enjoyed it.
I'm a big PJ Harvey fan, but I've never managed to get into this one.
PJ Harvey is a good singer and her songs are melody and fine.
Ahhh yeah I've never cared about PJ Harvey beyond one point in the early 00s where I pretended to because I was trying to root a girl who liked her. I can't remember anything about it though, was a pretty half-arsed effort. This is bog alt rock, could be better, could also be a whole lot worse. 3/5.
Alright, but the band has better albums.
Alright.
Ciao PJ! Prefs: Big Exit, Good Fortune, The Mess We're In, You Said Something, Kamikaze, This Is Love, We Float Moins pref: Beautiful Feeling
This was a well made album, musically really tight. Harvey's vocals are fantastic and Thom Yorke was a welcome surprise. Fave Songs: This Mess We're In, A Place Called Home, The Whores Hustle and the Hustlers Whore, Horses in My Dreams
There's some great songs here. Particularly in the latter half. But I find this reasonably boring compared to her later stuff. Just instrumentally less fun and less space.
Fine while listening but no lasting impact.
A pretty solid album, really just reminds me of a 21rst century Patti Smith. Started out strong, but really started to fade during the end. Almost a 4
Eh. Was happy to hear Thom Yorke. Not great not awful.
I feel like I'm in the Bronze in Sunnydale CA dancing with Buffy.
Talking about love and New York City, PJ Harvey's "Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea" not only sounds but also feels like a alternative rock album. A much more melodic effort compared to her previows records, it has great songs like "Good Fortune" and "This Is Love" but is not as powerful as previos releases, like "Rid of Me" and "To Bring You My Love".
Un piacevole sottofondo musicale per lavorare, non si spinge oltre.
If I heard this when I was 13, I would have really liked it, and would still like it for the nostalgia of that time. As it is, I'm 31 and it really doesn't resonate with me. It feels well-crafted, and the Thom Yorke feature was nice.
Not bad but didn't really pull me in
Not bad. Didn't think any songs were great.
Chill good times
I'm a feminist so I believe that women should also be allowed to create boring generic rock and roll.
It’s kinda ok
Good album overall, early 90s melancholy tock
Not as sexy or raw or poetic as most of her other albums
Solid
nja
I bought this album when it came out because of all the hype. I wasn't blown away by it then and I'm still not.
Good music, nothing amazing 3/5
3rd Polly album in the list, can't be too many more? Supposed to be her best, I think I prefer the edgier stuff - couple of good tunes on here. Not likely to go into my listening rotation though
Definitely an interesting album, very listenable but hard pressed to call it "great," I think "pretty good" would be about as far as I'd personally go. Vocals are brilliant and love the instrumentation, but as a whole it's very dated and not in a nostalgia-inducing way. Maybe I just missed the moment for this one or else I don't love NYC as much as PJ does.
-"Big Exit," "The Whores Hustle And The Hustlers Whore," and "Kamikaze" are the strongest tracks. All are cool alt-rock jams. -A strong 3, but nothing really stood out. No crazy guitar jams, or radical drum beats, just generally nice music with quality singing, so nothing grating. Much preferred to the other PJ Harvey album I had, which was very boring.
Decent
PJ has dated quite badly since the 90s but this is her most mainstream effort. It's quite a few bangers mixed in with her terrible poetry about horses and a genuinely moving final song
The first few songs on this album gave me very late 90s/early 2000s teen movie vibes (which I LOVE) but then it got redundant. I would listen to a few songs here and there again for sure, but the whole album is a bit of a chore.
Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea is the third album I've listened to from PJ Harvey, and it's the one I've enjoyed the most. PJ Harvey is on my list of artists who I wonder why I don't like more. People who share similar interests to mine recommend Harvey. I've tried exploring some of her work on my own, but I've never been drawn in. Sometimes Harvey's vocals detracted from the overall experience, but the album was still okay.
The best of this album IMO: - Good Fortune - Beautiful Feeling - This Is Love I like the singer's vibe. I didn't know her before this list. She sounds iconic. 3.3/5
This was solid alternative rock with a strong female voice. I liked it. I was happy to discover that I was familiar with the enjoyable "One Line," which had been on the "Gilmore Girls" soundtrack album. I really liked the duet "The Mess We're In," and the lead single "Good Fortune." I didn't find the something, however, that made this album stand out from the crowd for me. But I will be interested to see where else she may take us down the road.
I’ve heard of PJ Harvey, but this is my first listen to an album. It was good. The music and vocals were more impressive to me than the lyrics…maybe I need to listen more carefully.
A lot better than the other album on here, actually sort of enjoyable. Still, probably wouldn't listen again.
A LOT more enjoyable than the previous PJ Harvey album I got on this list (Rid Of Me). Has some genuinely good songs (according to me), like Big Exit, Kamikaze, This Is Love.
PJ Harvey is one those artists that has been on my radar, as I know a lot of people that think she's great and a very talented artist, but I've actually never have listened to her. My first impression is that I like the songs and enjoy their sound, but it didn't give me that feeling that it was anything beyond a solid album. I was expecting maybe something more edgy or unique that would stand out above other similar artists from the 90's. This record is critically acclaimed and according to many critics it's her best album, so I'll give it more listens and while I'm at it explore her earlier catalogue which to me looks more interesting.
I remember this won the Mercury music prize and I liked it at the time but it's actually fairly boring compared to her louder stuff. kamikaze is still really good
thom yorke go brrrrrrrrrrr
This is ok.
Liked this more than her other one
not my genre
I thought it was great and artistic, i can respect her vocals a lot too. I like the different themes of the songs. I'm not the biggest fan of this brand of alternative rock, but this was cool and worth a listen
enjoyable background music 3.4
An equal mix of cool inventive style and just kind of bland slog. A very inconsistent listen for me, which made it hard to really engage. Overall I think I lean toward positive; it wasn’t bad, I just didn’t really care for it.
this feels like it should be transition music in a 00s rom com
Pretty standard, has good alternative rock vibes tho. Additional plus for nice female voice and featuring Thom Yorke.
Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea by PJ Harvey (2000) These songs are edgy enough, and sometimes as dark as their New York-themed atmosphere, with about half the tracks consisting of love songs that produce emotional harmonic overtones in the hearts of male listeners. There’s nothing formulaic about these frequently striking compositions, although there’s sometimes a disjointed relationship between the meter of the music and the meter of the lyrics. She’s fond of 6/8 time. In “Kamikaze”, for instance, she can make 6/8 rock—not a conventional approach. Lead vocal melodies are inelaborate, and styled like Edie Brickell-esque lazy loops. Harvey does not have a naturally strong voice. There’s a tremendous difference in quality between the sultry lower stretches and the weak and sometimes off-pitch upper regions of her contralto range. The syncopated 7/8 (over 3/4 on a single tone) on the verses of “One Line” is hypnotic—difficult to pull off, but she succeeds. Harvey excels on this album when she steps away from convention. Her more ‘pop’ compositions are okay, but the songs “One Line”, “Beautiful Feeling”, and the fittingly hopeful closing track “We Float” are all very good. They have an analgesic vibe. Her guitar playing is not flashy, but it sustains interest, with variety in chord structures and deft use of effects. It calls to mind The Edge of U2. The chief artistic merits of this album are PJ Harvey’s guitar and piano colorings, and their expansive tone. It is interesting. It’s nice. And good. I think I’ll listen again. 3/5
Pop-rock que se me ha hecho un tanto pesado... Una canción conocida.
Rock alternativo.
Eh
Mooi album, ook de duetten met Thom Yorke. Wel zwaar op de hand af en toe.
OK, probably worth another listen but not yer converted
You said something gayet guzel ama baska acip dinleyecegim sarkisi yok gibi sanki
A true album that is more than just a collection of songs. I need to give it another good listen.
Decent rock and roll.
Rockig
Confession: although everyone seems to recommend PJ Harvey, I've only heard Let England Shake and I didn't like it. This one is better, but still not a big hitter for me. It takes some of the better sounds from alt-rock and steers it back into the mainstream of rock music. I like the unexpected Thom Yorke feature. I like Harvey's voice on the more lyrical tracks and when she uses more of her range - but not so much in the straight-ahead rock moments.
So great.
Late 90s/early 2000s sound. Me back then wouldn't have liked it back then. And me now isn't that into it now. But me now probably would have really liked it back then.
It's a good album, but I'm wondering if I don't know where it fits historically/contextually with it's time period. Today, it sounds like a very standard post-grunge era rock album. I've never been particularly into grunge in general. Favorite Songs: One Line Least Favorite Song: Beautiful Feeling
Solid, but just not hitting me as much more than that on first listen. The only other album of hers that I've heard is Let England Shake, and that was more of an immediate impact. It's still clear that she's one helluva musician and songwriter.
An interesting album, with some influences from Patti Smith, Radiohead and Bjork. (6/10) Favourite Tracks: This Mess We're In, Good Fortun
Very 90s despite 2000 release. First track: mismatched vocal with accompaniment. Second track Patti Smith clone. Gets better. Needs to be accompanied by something other that generic 90s alt guitar.
I like it
2nd listen. Really liking this album.
Ok but not something on my everyday list
VOTI "Big Exit" 3 "Good Fortune" 1 "A Place Called Home" 3 "One Line" 3 "Beautiful Feeling" 3.5 "The Whores Hustle and.." 3 "This Mess We're In" 4 "You Said Something" 2 "Kamikaze" 4 "This Is Love" 3 "Horses in My Dreams" 3.5 "We Float" 2 AVG: 2.9 Pros: Thom Yorke e alcuni arrangiamenti mi sono piaciuti di più delle linee vocali, tipo "Kamikaze" oppure "Horses in my Dreams". Cons: Secondo me PJ Harvey ha un estensione vocale che non è adatta alle linee vocali che scrive. Per esempio in "Kamikaze" canta in falsetto e secondo me ci vorrebbe qualcosa di più potente. Mi è capitato di avere la stessa sensazione con altri pezzi della Harvey, tipo "Hardly wait" reinterpretata da Juliette Lewis secondo me rende di più. Conclusione: forse meriterebbe più un 2.5, ma considerando la media matematica e aggiungendo il bonus Thom Yorke arriva a 3.
More of a 3.5, but gonna round down. I liked it, but didn’t love it.
It was pretty good , the song with thom yorke was the best part
Ja, dat gaat Rustig album, ook mooi verloop. Ik ga zeker eens door haar discografie gaan
A bit boring
Strong 3
Stuck on what to give this cus I quite liked it, but a 4 star is maybe a bit too much. I will say I don’t think I heard the whole album, maybe missed 2-4 songs. She had a good voice, not much more I can think to say really. Maybe somewhere between a 3.25 and 3.5 star
This Mess We're In: Io gli voglio tanto bene a Thom Yorke però quando fa le collaborazioni raramente riescono un po' come per tutti i cantanti con una forte identità artistica. In Conclusione: Questo disco mi ha messo un po' in difficoltà. Conoscevo i PJ Harvey solo di nome e non avevo mai ascoltato nulla. Al primo ascolto li ho trovati molto congeniali ai miei gusti e ho trovati alcuni pezzi interessanti del tipo "questo vorrei risentirlo" e la mia impressione generale era da 4, però qualcosa non mi convinceva. Al secondo ascolto credo di aver messo a fuoco cosa non mi convinceva: in questo disco i PJ Harvey sono un gruppo con una forte personalità, però mi sembra ci si adagino molto. I pezzi funzionano, l'atmosfera è coerente, però a livello compositivo sono tutti un po' scarsi, sembrano appunto il risultato del gruppo di musicisti che si chiude in sala a scrivere un pezzo, ognuno pensando al suo strumento e poi registra i pezzi cotti e mangiati. Non sembra esserci una visione olistica dei pezzi, magari è pure che non c'era un produttore a guidarli? (Non lo so perché non ho letto nulla a riguardo ancora). Comunque questa consapevolezza mi ha fatto rivalutare l'album ad un 3.
Inizialmente non avevo avuto una buona impressione poi con lo scorrere del disco è andata sempre meglio. C'è qualcosa che non mi convince nel suo stile però in generale è stato un ascolto piacevole che vorrò ripetere.
3/5
One of those artists that I've been aware of but never properly listened to. Elements of Patti Smith, Nick Cave, Radiohead etc. Very good. Would give it 3.5
Ok but nothing that blew me away - enjoyed the alternative listen though
bleh. not a relisten. fine. 3 stars?
not my usual taste honestly but I did find one song I liked! This Mess We're In ft. Thom Yorke = good
Never been a fan of PJ Harvey, but I get the appeal. Was good to be forced to listen to an album of hers and I did like it. But I don’t think it’s converted me into a fan.
I enjoyed it, but no real standout tracks and I probably wouldn't revisit. 6/10
Pleasantly surprised by PJ Harvey. She gave me a Rashida Jones vibe. I give her album three Quincy's!
Pretty eclectic but not really my vibe.
Not a bad listen at all. Good background noise for when I was working. Nothing stood out as amazing but still a good album.
Joni Mitchel's album was more varied than I expected, I really got into the atmosphere of her songs and the storytelling and that. I got more out of this than her Blue album. Listening to PJ Harvey while cleaning really helped with the cleaning. It had a lot of energy. Will listen again when I'm running or angry, or both.
Sounds a lot like something my dad would listen to. Nothing about this is really gripping me, i don't dislike it and the individual songs are okay though
Pretty boring. I don't usually say this, but the singer's voice started to wear on me a little.
Not bad, good background music. Pretty chill.
3.1 + This one finds PJ Harvey with a sleeker sound, wearing an on-trend early aughts outfit on the cover and with guest appearances by Thom Yorke at his prime. I remember listening to this in 2000 and seeing her perform in Paris. The concert was blander than expected, and listening to this album again I can see why I found that show disappointing. What's all but absent here is the raw power, the angst and anger, the sexual ferocity. The album's look and sound are like a TJ Maxx version of PJ Harvey.
Mayormente rock instrumentista de una polifacética artista. Canciones con variedad de estilos en su interior, se puede escuchar bien. Le ha faltado algo, que quizás solo sea escucharlo más
It was alright. I liked the songs with Thom Yorke and I thought the songwriting was pretty compelling, but her voice was frustrating at a lot of points. Worth another listen at some point but generally just some okay alt-rock.
Haunting and soulful... Thom Yorke guest vocals... miss not listening to this album.
Nice indie rock stuff, cool collab with thom yorke thrown in as well
Felt overall like very average indie pop rock. I listened to it three times and never disliked a song, but had trouble connecting with anything.
meh
Fairly ambivalent about this album. Didn't dislike it, but didn't care either
Decent background music but nothing stand out.
i liked this one actually
Good fortune is a great song and certainly evokes a Chrissie Hynde vibe. Album was quite varied with a cool Thom Yorke cameo. Enjoyable but i don't expect to listen to it again.
she's got a fantastic voice, but her music in general just kinda leaves me a little cold.
Dig PJ's sound
Not for me
Este es uno de esos discos que me alegro de haber escuchado, ya que de no ser por este sitio probablemente hubieran pasado desapercibidos para mí. No recuerdo haber escuchado sobre PJ Harvey ni nada de su música, pero es un disco que me impresionó: la calidad de la música, su voz y el uso de métricas inusuales: ¿notaron que "One Line" está en 7/4? Otra cosa interesante es que en esta lista hay otros grupos con vocalistas que tienen timbres de voz similares a Harvey: Siouxsie And The Banshees y los Yeah Yeah Yeahs, y probablemente habrá otros. A pesar de este review mayormente positivo, temo que mi calificación no será tan alta. Prácticamente todo el disco tiene una vibra dark/depresiva al punto que parece a propósito que una de las canciones más oscuras del álbum se llame "Beautiful Feeling". Las dos canciones que guardé del disco fueron "This Mess We're In" y "We Float".
Creo que su cambio hacia el pop fue más por estrategia de ventas, era un tiempo en el que tenía que competir contra Natalie Imbruglia, Alanis Morrissette, Sheryl Crow e incluso Shania Twain. Espero en la lista venga alguno de sus anteriores discos. This mess we're in, this is love y Horses in my dreams son muy buenas.
PJ Harvey es una de esas que incluso he sentido sobrevalorada a veces. No es que me desagrade, incluso tiene un par de cosas que me gustan, pero de pronto a la segunda vuelta ya no le hayo el gusto. De este disco sí me gustaron Big Exit y This Is Love, que creo que además son de sus muy muy famosas, pero la que canta con Thome Yorkee, blaagh.
Won the mercury prize - must have been an average year
Not bad, the rock and roll of the times
Cool, but not anything I haven't hear before
Good Fortune - huge Patti vibes, although I guess she hadn't heard of her until people started comparing them. The middle felt like some generic 00s rock songs and honestly by the last two I was checked out.
Good but not my style...again
This is the kind of album where if you like it, you say that the artist displayed her range, whereas if you don't, you say that it's inconsistent. I fall into the latter camp. Some of the songs were pretty good, though I hesitate to call any of them great, and many of them fell flat. I don't really like her affected growl, and there's something about some of the backing instrumentation that didn't age well, but I can't put my finger on what it is. Best track: This is Love
Solid
Nice album, but I was going in with expectations of the sound to be more eerie. Not a bad album by any means, but it did not blow me away
Punky.
Did not enjoy this
Banal
Album #186: PJ Harvey – Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea ⭐⭐ Unpopular opinion time. Just to set the scene here, I am a lifelong PJ Harvey fan. She’s literally one of my all-time favourite artists. I listen to her all the time, and I know this is one of her most popular albums. For me, though, this is an album I’ve never, ever warmed to. I really thought today might finally be the day. I’ve had many, many goes at giving it another chance, thinking eventually I’d warm to it, and sadly it just hasn’t happened. This album annoys me for a number of reasons, chiefly among them the fact that she won the Mercury Prize for it. It was critically lauded enough that this was apparently the album where everyone decided, “We better reward her with something for this one, because this is next-level.” I just couldn’t believe that, with everything she’d done before this album, this was the one. It shows the banality of music awards, and maybe that’s apt, because I think this is a really banal album. I have loads of issues with it. Sonically, I think it’s her least interesting album. The aggression of Rid of Me and Dry is gone. The experimentation of Is This Desire? is gone. Instead, you’ve got very straightforward, stripped-back, fuzzy alternative rock. That might be perfectly fine in the hands of another artist, but it’s just not enough for her, in my mind. The standard is too high. I get what the album is supposed to be about. It’s an album of lost love and gained confidence in New York City. But just because you can name skyscrapers, different boroughs in the city and set a few scenes on rooftops doesn’t make for a very lyrically interesting album, unfortunately. Her lyrics here are among the weakest of her discography, in my opinion. She doesn’t say anything particularly interesting for pretty much the entire album. She repeats herself a lot, and it’s often fairly obvious where the next lyric is coming from. Her vocals are great, because her vocals are always great. But she’s not delivering anything interesting with them, and it brings everything down. This is the woman who once sang a song about cutting her lover’s legs off if they tried to leave her. Now, am I asking her to make Dry 2? Am I asking her to make Rid of Me: The Sequel? No. On Is This Love, she sings, “Does it have to be a life full of dread?” No, Peej, no. It’s obviously a more positive album than her earlier work. But it’s just very, very vanilla for me. She has a great band behind her, with Rob Ellis on drums, who’s one of my all-time favourite drummers, but his drums are so muted on this thing as well. Very few moments where he expresses himself. And I get that the production is meant to be slick. It’s New York. It’s slick. It’s cool. It’s a cool-sounding album. But, it lacks rawness and character. I actually think the precursor to this album is A Perfect Day Elise from Is This Desire? It’s a similar style of tune. A Perfect Day Elise could easily have fit on Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea. But, Is This Desire? is much more lo-fi, but it’s also way more experimental and way more interesting. The weirder tracks on that album are vastly more interesting and enjoyable than the weirder tracks on this one. If you liked this album, or if you’re only really getting into PJ Harvey, I would strongly recommend listening to Is This Desire? It’s my favourite PJ Harvey album and her most interesting, in my opinion. I think she was ascending into the stratosphere of quality there, and she took a big nosedive for me here. There are three moments on this album that I really like and actually come back to quite a lot. This Mess We’re In, where Thom Yorke comes in and saves the day and makes things a bit more interesting. It’s a beautiful duet between the two of them. Kamikaze, which is a little more old-school PJ Harvey and has this creepy quality that, to me, almost feels like an eerie foreshadowing of 9/11, which was right around the corner. There is a level of intensity that the rest of the album doesn’t have. And We Float, which is a beautiful song despite having some of the lyrical issues I have with the rest of the album. She goes a little more electronic and atmospheric on that one, and it’s much better for it. But overall, the atmosphere is stunted. I’ve tried this album a hundred times. Some of my favourite album reviewers love it. I see it lauded all the time. I don’t think anyone in the comments, or any other review I’m going to read, is going to save it for me. This is PJ Harvey’s weakest album, in my opinion. It’s two stars for me every time I listen to it.
This is my 2nd album from this artist in 4 days, and while it was (unlike the previous one) at least tolerable, it wasn’t anything to get excited about (her voice is annoying to be honest). As I said in the previous review, praise from critics is not the same as successful musician- and sing her praises all you want, the low sales speak louder than the critics. Real talents are lucky to have even 1 album on this list, this one definitely doesn’t deserve 2. Oh wait, silly me, she’s British so that’s why she gets on the list. 🙄
Better than other PJ Harvey records.
3 of these albums so far on the list. The other two got a 2, and I am on the fence on this one. Okay, 2 it is - the streak continues
2.5/5
PJ Harvey is an immensely polyvalent artist and I respect her so much for it, but the alt-rock direction she went for on this particular album really didn't speak to me. The Thom Yorke collab invites the comparison: a lot of the material here has the same dullness I disliked about Hail To the Thief. Out of curiosity though, I queued up 'Is This Desire?' after this and actually adored it! Sad that it's not included in the book. Every record I've heard from her has gone in a totally different direction from the last, so perhaps we all just need to find our right PJ Harvey album. Standouts: One Line • You Said Something
Cool enough but no head bobbing hits. Sets a mood but that's about it
#1035. You Said Something was good. Miss me with the rest of it. 2/5: meh
Apparently she's got an MBE for services to music and a NME award for an outstanding contribution for music. Really? I found it all a bit bland and boring.
I think I can best summarize this as 'not my thing'. I don't think anything was outright bad but didn't really like it.
A bit dull
This wasn’t bad. It just wasn’t for me. And that’s okay.
мне она не нравится
Not really for me.
This was ok. A little repetitive and nothing really standing out.
Neither here nor there. Forgettable songs and a generic style they doesn't leave an imprint.
One of the albums of all time
Didn’t vibe with it.
Not a PJ Harvey fan before this album. Still not one after. Annoying, monotonous, dull.
I admire PJH but it’s not really what I want to listen to. And I’m sorry about that.
Standard rock, don’t like her voice.
Sounds a lot like Patti Smith. Not the same level of artistry though. Best song is This Mess We’re In. Not into it though.
Tyttöenergiaa ja naispuolista näkökulmaa
Y'all actually like this? Maybe I'm the dickhead here but I can't get into this. It just feels like a walmart version of Sinead O'Connor, someone who could actually say something. Sure, there is talent here, but this just feels like a nothing burger, singer-songwriter slop of an album that goes on way too long.
It was a good listen, soft yet bold and I liked her voice although her lyrics may have been repetitive
I value deep lyricism, this just doesnt have that for me. But I do like indie rock, sooo....
Don’t get it
Unmemorable
Was alright
Polly on her usual arc
Dang I guess I am too picky about my turn of the century woman singer-songwriters...
I’ve never been a great fan of PJ Harvey. I like the occasional song and enjoyed listening to Let England Shake. I recognises a couple of songs that get frequent plays on 6Music, but I didn’t warm to this overall. It’s exactly of its time sadly. Lots of plodding guitars.
Está divertido pero es demasiado denso, no se cómo explicarlo mejor. ME parece que ela compreisón del sonido me cansó. El resto no está mal pero tampoco destaca.
It's not bad. It's just so boring.
i didn't hate this album, but unfortunately i didn't resonate with it very much at all. i'm not a huge lyricist though and i've heard that's a large part of the appeal, so maybe that's the problem lol.
It's ok. Not great, not horrible
PJ Harvey makes me think of Fiona Apple but if she was more upbeat. Overall I really can’t get with a fast paced Fiona Apple.
It was alright. Will not revisit honestly.
do not love
2,5
Gets better in second half. Would go 2.5 stars if that was an option
Her voice is fine, but this strikes me as just more generic guitar strumming rock. I think this is meant to be carried by the lyrical work, but nothing felt that groundbreaking or unique to me.
Fucking tedious, and boring
It was ok
Meio chato
Fine album, not blown away or really hooked by it.
Who is picking these records? This is not a good PJ Harvey record. WTF??
I was ok with PJ before I listened to this album. I'm questioning why this one is on the list. It's kind of annoying. Like she's trying a weird Dylan impression and failing at it. I know she's got talent but it's not showing on this album. Good fortune and A Place Called home really hit me wrong. Some of the other tunes are boring but those two made me question ever listening to her again.
I suppose that i dont like this style of pop
An album firmly in the singer-songwriter non-genre, SftC SftS' relative success and inclusion on this list is puzzling. It's a decently interesting album, but it isn't markedly more unique than some other contenders in the singer songwriter space; Harvey's a good singer and has a decent voice but she isn't an incredible talent; her lyrics are generally a step above most pop songs of the era, but they're not profound and are never striking. There are bits and pieces of the songs that are great — there's this little instrumental bridge in "Horses in my Dreams," that I absolutely love — but the majority of the songs are interesting at best and off-putting at worst. Truth is, her music tends to be at its best when her instruments have some time to breathe and when her vocals aren't present. Which is strange, as she's a capable singer with a pretty voice, but the melody and vocal rhythms are so blase that she might as well let the instruments be front and center and do some vocal backing. An okay album that can easily be forgone in the span of one's life.
I’m getting less and less excited each time I see an album from the 2000s, and I had a hard time getting myself to care about this one despite multiple listens through.
How does she have several albums on this list? There's just nothing essential about any of this. Clumsy lyrics, extremely generic music, very limited vocals. This time we get an atrocious collaboration with the Radiohead guy. Bleh.
*Strong lyrics but this mostly felt like mumbling over a grunge guitar *To be fair, this is not a favorite genre of mine anyway
Ik snapte dit niet denk ik.
The Good: Who doesn’t like stories? The Bad: What if we don’t like The City, or The Sea? The Ugly: The looming uncertainty if I have more PJ Harvey albums to listen to… We all have tastes that might not mesh with what the rest of humanity likes. I, for one, like to get really drunk every now and again, while my wife hates that, and she, for some odd reason, likes to clean the house constantly, while I hate that… Ying Yang some might call that. In the case of Mr D’s taste in certain artists, I don’t know if we can talk about Ying Yang… more like “just kick me in the nuts and let’s get it over with”. I’ve mentioned it several times before, one of these days I might just have to purchase the damn book so I can read the reasonings behind the, at times, nightmare I have to go through while listening to album #x of artist Y. This album started off okay… but then this singing thing was being repeated several times… and my finger started itching, and I was forced to hit next over and over again. According to my wife I am turning into a grumpy old man… maybe… at least I know who’s to be blamed… fucking Dimery. 2*
A bit of a mixed bag, but no real standouts
I get the appeal but was not for me
Couldn’t even finish it, sorry PJ
FOUR PJ Harvey on here, seriously? It's alright until she starts singing 😏
No. I'm sorry. The man who wrote this list obviously loves pj harvey. I don't blame you guy, if I was writing this list of course I'd put all my favourite albums. And haven't bothered to do that so I can't really complain.
- i've listened to 8 songs and i'm not sure i like this album -This mess we're in is not too bad but only bcs there's thom yorke - her singing melody never changes and it's just too bland for me + she loves to shout in the high nots (not enjoyable) - 2/10
I’m sure she is a wonderful person.
I really want to like PJ Harvey but it just doesn’t DO IT FOR ME
This is the second of her albums I have had in just a couple of months. The Thom Yorke song was good because it sounded like Radiohead This Is Love was tough to get through. I'm not finding too much to like here, and honestly, I'm looking forward to the end ⭐⭐.49
It's not that every song sounds exactly the same, albeit many of them do, it's that every song just isn't very good. PJ's voice can generously be described as "soulful", less well-meaning listeners would call it "willing but not able". It's just a rather boring but not horrible album.
Good at what she does and this album showcased her talent well.
I think 2 good songs - This is Love and You Said Something, rest kind of boring to me although I'm sure the lyrics are impressive
Idk why this is on this list. It’s not crazy good and it’s kinda just eh. 2 stars
Moments of sparkling greatness like the opening track, but buried under just too many songs that sound like filler, meandering about and going nowhere. I understand that the album is supposed to be about New York, but too much of the lyrical matter sounds like the romanticizations of a newcomer from the suburbs.
Whiner than a vineyard tour
This didnt really hit for me. Some good tracks and beats, but overall it sounded older than it is. A couple tracks I was suprised I already knew like the This is Love song.
we'll float, it's a good listen
Bueno
Entiendo el momento en que salió, pero ya a hoy me aburrió.
I can't enjoy it. It's like noise to me and her voice is aggravating.
It's just a little meh.
Soft, slow, and wimpy. Not the way I like my 90s rock
Just your average 00s pop-rock album—I don't have much to say about it, and I don't really like it much either.
Muy normalito tirando a mediocre, que no irremediablemente horrible, una pena porque la tia es muy chula y se la ve potencial. Una sorpresa la aparición de Thom Yorke.
Escutei duas músicas. Me lembra trilha sonora de filmes da década de 80 e 90.
boring ass new wave shit plus some fun
het begon allemaal zeer goed.. toen trok Tom Fucking Yorke zijn bakkes open en was alles om zeep, zeker toen PJ zelf de zeurderige zaag begon te spelen... waarom PJ waarom?
Not bad, not wow.
179/1001 First listen. No part of stuck out in my mind as any better than the rest. I’d like to know why I needed to listen to this. 4/10
What exactly is alternative here? This is female fronted pop-rock, there's not much else going on. It doesn't feel different, it feels standard for the 2000s. It's incredible how a little bit of Thom Yorke makes it feel slower, more odd, but that's just the eeriness of his voice. As a first time listener for PJ I'm not super impressed, but I don't hate it. 2.2/5
No pude terminar de escucharlo, pero no porque fuera malo sino por cuestión tiempo.
"É só isso?" - Zoio, Everson
This album is so 2000s. I'm just not sure if I'm a fan of PJ Harvey's style, I'm not huge on her voice and the songs didn't really hit for me. There were a few Thom Yorke collabs which also dated this album to 2000. For me, it's just okay.
Today’s album was a collection of songs, each of which were a collection of notes, words, and rhythmic components. It lasted approximately 47 minutes. While better than some albums, it was worse than others. It featured instruments, including the guitar, bass guitar, drums, and voice. That’s all I really have to say. Perhaps significantly more active listening would be important. But it was quite uninteresting to me, so it became background music almost instantly. 4/10.
Early 2000s alt style, kinda comparable to Stereophonics but not quite. Not my style but can see why people like it.
On a few tracks I was could hear Siouxie Sue crossed with Chrissie Hind, a combination that would normally have me rushing to put the album on repeat, however, it didn't grab me. One or two tracks were great, but that wasn't enough to make me reach for more.
12313
Es un álbum para NPCs deprimidos
Review - my second PJ Harvey album. No where near as good as Let England Shake. The guitars are sort of droney in the first few songs particularly, a bit like Stereolab but less interesting. There are some songs where she goes for repeated high notes and her voice just isn't quite there. That said, she's obviously a good songwriter and some of the songs here are really good and well performed; more are really good and midly performed. An ok album. Rating - 5/10 Need to hear? YES
Didn't really grab me, a few average songs and the rest just passed me by.
None of the songs really engaged me. The highlight was the track featuring Thom Yorke. Otherwise the songs kind of blurred together.
So far suicidal lol. Pretty basic in terms of instrumentals but the singer sounds familiar in a good way. I like the mellow track with no drums but it’s so far picking up after the middle of the album. not good but not bad, probably wouldnt listen to it again.
I wasn’t into this one :( I feel like the instrumentals were too repetitive for the first half. As if it was building up to a climax that never came. I don’t know if it’s just my shitty zoomer attention span or not. As soon as “Whores Hustle” started I literally said out loud “THERE WE GO.” Because I feel like that suits her voice better! MASSIVE props to her guitar work though. I just wish her vocal style gelled with better instrumental build-ups. I’m definitely willing to give her more chances in the future, just not for this album. Favorite track: The Whores Hustle and the Hustlers Whore
Not my vibe, but I can see whey it made the list.
It’s okay, solid singing and instrumentation. Just not really my cup of tea.
I felt very indifferent about this album. None of the songs particularly appealed to me or moved me.