Reviews (page 6 of 9)
Unavailable on Spotify.
4/10
Elegant and provocative
I love PJ and I listened to this a lot when I came out to try and get a foot hold into it but never managed it. I thought a return to it may help, be it no. I can appreciate the storytelling, the state of the nation lyrics and the general folk ambiance. But it really lacks hooks and tunes to get me to want to come back to it.
Some unknown cool music
interesting album and good sound, would probably rate a 3.5
For some reason I wasn't expecting this album to be very good. Maybe because I had to scrounge up some youtube downloads because this album randomly left spotify. But boy, I was proven wrong. This is fantastic. Love the guitar work and the subject matter of the album. It's all great
What did I just listen to? I think I am missing some key information here. Clearly PJ Harvey can sing because some songs their voice is beautiful, and then others it sounds like she is intentionally trying to sound off key and screechy. Not my jam.
Only thing on Spotify was the demos. Idc or k if that’s what the real album sounds like. Boring.
Put your album on spotify you slut
What a revelation! Fantastic album
First PJ harvey album. It was cool! Interesting enough to check out her other stuff
Oof.
nah, not something I want to hear again
Don't think this one is good as Dry, but it's good seeing an artist like this have a critically acclaimed album 8 albums into their career I do like it though. it sorta fades in and out, and when you are in its pretty good, and when you are out its fine too The standout would be the Words that Maketh Murder. Fun bouncy song
Classic
I need to listen to more PJ Harvey. Really enjoyed this.
Not my thing
I REALLY want to like PJ Harvey, I really do! I just can’t get into her though. I don’t know what it is but literally nothing she does is of note to me for some reason.
Rarely does a record get unanimously touted as a masterpiece upon its' release, and even more rarely does such a label stand the test of time. Let England Shake really is fantastic and stands as one of the best, most British, albums ever. A handful of stellar tracks: 'Let England Shake', 'The Words That Maketh Murder', 'On Battleship Hill', and 'Hanging in the Wire'.
PJ Harvey’s greatest album vocally. The songwriting is absolutely gorgeous and she never misses on yet another masterpiece.
To be honest, the only thing I knew about PJ Harvey going into this is that they were shouted out by E-Dubble on Be a King. Turns out that's due to him sampling The Last Living Rose off of this project. Unrelated but that's my favorite song here. Rest sounds good but it's gonna be a grower if anything.
If you're in the mood for "sorta beautiful and utterly depressing," this is the album for you. Songs about war, blood, and dying empire. There's so little joy in this album (not that Polly Jean is known to be super-uplifting) that it makes it a bit of a slog as you go along. Her voice has rarely sounded better and the arrangements are cool. But if you're looking for hope for the future and an uplifting trip -- don't push play on this one. Unexpected bangers: On Battleship Hill, Bitter Branches
This didn’t stand out as anything special to me.
I’m surprised that this album is a required listen given that PJ Harvey seemed to be past her prime by 2011. There is something good about this album. I’ve stayed engaged with every song. Some songs bordering on “not listenable” but not quite there. Choice Cut: These are the Words that Maketh Murder
Grows on you
Perhaps I wasn’t in the headspace for this, and normally I can appreciate the more eccentric ballads, but I just didn’t feel anything for this. It was too ambitious and too vanilla. Perhaps, one day, someone will be able to explain this to me in depth. I’m happy to listen and reevaluate should that day come, but I can’t get there alone.
Cool album
I like the album I have by her more but this is interesting
I like PJ Harvey. This is not one of my favorites from her but its alright.
I've never listened to PJ Harvey but I enjoyed this album.
I'm mesmerized by PJ. This won an award. I play it often. I'll be generous and give it a 5.
Was this the one that won the mercury prize? Is that why it’s on this list? Because I can’t see any other reason why you’d pick this album as one of the greatest of all time.
I like this one
Kinda knew I would like this and I loved it. Feeling 4 stars on the first listen but I can easily see it going up with time <3
A very unagitated and calm album, maybe I miss some more powerful vocals from PJ Harvey from time to time.
When I first saw this album listed, I thought "Another one? Really?" But upon 2 listens, there is actually something captivating here. Standouts are the first four tracks.
pj harvey is so cool - this album is so spooky and cool so far
Það eru einhverjir töfrar hérna, dáleiðandi beat og söngur. Er langt eftir í á í þessu góða verkefni, en ég hef bara verið of upptekinn við að hlusta á þessa plötu á repeat. Njótið.
What are you going on about?
Don't really see what all the fuss is about. She sounds a bit like Björk, but nat as quirky.
"Let England Shake" is the eighth studio album by PJ Harvey, released in 2011. Man, I feel like I've been getting a lot of PJ Harvey stuff recently. I'm not necessarily complaining, she's an interesting artist to me, even if I don't particularly love her music. This one definitely sounds like a departure from her earlier work, focusing on reverb-drenched folk rock. The main themes of this album revolve around Harvey's disdain for war, especially the various conflicts that her home country of England was a part of. Her lyrics mainly focus on the effects that wars have on society, in particular young men. The message is surely powerful. Her lyrics are very strong. I feel like some of the music is a bit lackluster, but it allows for focus to be drawn toward the lyrical content. The main thing I didn't enjoy was the male duet (?) vocals accompanying hers. I think her voice would've been perfect alone.
I was a bit torn on whether or not I liked this album but the fact that the Pogues were a recognizable influence on the artist pushed it across the line. I'll likely listen again just to filter meaning from all of the darkness
Whatever I thought of the three previous PJ Harvey albums (I liked them), I totally fell in love with this one! Just has an amazing unique sound (autoharp!) and such interesting lyrics, but most of all this one is one I want to listen to more times for pure enjoyment.
This had a different sound. I liked it!
Unique and moving. Amazing.
PJ Harvey is an artist new to me from this project, and I’ve really liked what I’ve heard. This is different from those other albums, but stands with the best of them - a contender for favorite PJ Harvey album for sure! I loved the odd folksy/old-timey military feel of a lot of this. It really felt like it was from another time and yet still strangely modern and new. That’s quite a feat! Terrific!
I don’t get it. Nothing is bad? But there are some baffling decisions that are just bad. The song This Glorious Land has this really dissonant bugle call that just doesn’t fit musically and is honestly hilariously distracting. I think a lot of the music is…critical of England? I can’t tell if it’s critical or weirdly positive, like is it ironic? The trouble is I can’t tell. Is this a WWI album? It doesn’t really feel like it. It’s too pretty, needs more grime and grit I love the part where they sing BLOOD BLOOD BLOOD LET IT BURN. But it sounds like it could be a song circle and has no energy or heart or fear. This is one of those albums that I totally get why people love, but my god is it not for me
Another one where I'm split between 3 and 4. gonna go 4 with this, she has a great voice and this had a good amount of unique and solid melodies
Fun
Absolutely a fan of Harvey through Uh Huh Her, but this album lost me, as if it was being self-consciously not a Harvey album. All and Everyone is a good example--starts off great then detours into a kind of talk poetry. Same for On Battleship Hill--starts great, then starts wandering vocally, gets back to very poetic rhythm, then wanders, then ends just when it got intriguing. Love Hanging on the Wire and wish the rest was as organized. Many of the parts of many of the songs grab me, but sad to say it didn't work for me.
We’ve had quite a few mercury prize winners of late. I do like my Polly Jean but I think I liked her earlier stuff better. I can’t remember who I wanted to win that year - maybe Elbow - but she was worthy enough. It’s poetic and clever and well-executed. I loved the starting sample. Not a PJ must for me but good enough.
I am ambivalent about PJ Harvey. I enjoyed the music but her voice is a bit too Bjork-y for me. I didn’t listen closely to the lyrics. It’s always nice to have Billy Bragg involved.
PJ Harvey is brilliant. I really admire her drive — and ability — to continuously push her art to new and challenging places with each release. When this album came out (I can't believe it's been 13 years), I was blown away. On this listen, I was equally captivated and really struck by how this seems to channel ghosts from the past. The songs sound like they were written a century ago, and there is something haunting the album as a whole. As much as a collection of thought-provoking and emotionally evocative material, there's a heart-wrenching sheen cast by the performances here, and I am all in.
I tried getting into PJH for years (Jeff first tried to get me into her back in 95), but I could never find my way in until Andre played this for me on a road trip. I was immediately smitten. The songwriting, performance, production... it all came together for me, and I've been a PJH fan ever since. Sometimes you just need to find the right door. There's so much to admire here, but I especially love all the interpolations, samples, and subtle call-backs to older songs: Istanbul (Not Constantinople), Summertime Blues, Caroline No, Blood and Fire, etc.
There's not an album of hers I don't love. A few years back I read a New Yorker article about her work on The Hope Six Demolition Project. What I recall is how she's inspired by and takes a few different historical/political themes and weaves them into her work after deep research and thought. I knew Let England Shake must have had similar inspiration and this morning Andre confirmed---WWI, Iraq, and Afghanistan wars. The purpose and meaning she puts into her work is in part some of the reason why every single album Polly Jean puts out is a banger. Plus she fucking rocks. Jen introduced me to PJ back in the 90s (Down by the Water) and Andre helped me explore her canon of work. Just opening this album with Let England Shake merits 5+ stars but every single song is immense in lyrics, sound, and meaning.
Ik weet van het bestaan van PJ Harvey, maar meer niet echt. Het thema van dit album ligt bij de de Engelse nationaliteit, landschap, oorlogen, politiek, etc. En ik maar denken dat Polly Jean een Amerikaanse was. Na het album twee keer van top tot teen geluisterd te hebben weet ik het zeker: los van The Last Living Rose vind ik er niet veel aan. Sorry Polly. Wel een leuke sample tegengekomen: Blood and Fire van Niney the Observer in het nummer Written On The Forehead. Highlights: The Last Living Rose Rating: 5,5
PJ Harvey is zo'n artiest waarbij ik door de jaren heen altijd een beetje aan het cherry picken ben geweest. Goeie singletjes van albums afpikken, en een volledige luisterbeurt onbewust ontwijken. Het beluisteren van dit album bevestigd in ieder geval dat dat geen slechte tactiek was, al is dit maar één van de vele albums. De nummers die ik al kende, 'The Last Living Rose', 'The Words That Maketh Murder', en 'All And Everyone', zijn ongeëvenaard op deze plaat. Ik denk wel dat het een belangrijk concept album is, gezien het een oorlogsthema bezingt dat vandaag de dag weer z'n opmars maakt in de West Europese media. Verder geeft het al een voorschot op de controversiële Brexit van bijna 10 jaar later. De teksten zijn sterk, de boodschap duidelijk, maar de losse hoofdstukken in het verhaal missen een beetje overtuigingskracht en het muzikale vernuft dat wél op de voorgrond stond in de drie reeds genoemde nummers. 6,5/10 Highlights: The Last Living Rose The Words That Maketh Murder All And Everyone
Vaker geprobeerd maar eigenlijk nooit een heel PJ Harvey doorgekomen. Deze keer wel goed gelukt. Zonder twijfel zal Patti Smith een inspiratiebron zijn voor PJ (All and Everyone) en natuurlijk ook de zangstijl van Bjork en muzikale stijl van (former-lover) Nick Cave komen vaker terug op de plaat. Niet de minste artiesten om iets van over te nemen. Dat maakt Let England Shake voor mij eigenlijk een verrassend behapbare plaat, ondanks de oorlogs-kritische teksten. The Glorious Land vind ik echt outstanding. Ik kan alleen de mars-trompet die op willekeurige moment in dit nummer wordt geblazen echt niet weerstaan. Toch een fantastisch nummer. Bitter Branches is ook fantastisch en heeft een vergelijkbare opbouw als White Rabbit. En net als White Rabbit zonder climax. Goud. 8/10 Highlights The Last Living Rose The Glorious Land Bitter Branches
I like PJ Harvey, but this didn't land for me.
When you hear this against the early 90s PJ, it shows such a remarkable change. For one thing, her voice has matured and blossomed, to the point that it sounds a bit Kate Bush-y. There's also a cracking undercurrent of anger and protest in songs that skewer what it means to be English as the Tories began their endless running of the country into the ground, so that's nice.
production is good but its just not my thing
Alternative music, I guess. Not crazy about her voice.
Nice relaxing listen, can listen to her for ages and not get too bored. Preferred Stories From the City album, but I was hungover when I listened to that so need to second listen it. This one gets 3.5
Always liked PJ and this is different from her early stuff. I do like the odd sounds she puts in.
Never heard this album before; I kind of lost track of all things PJ Harvey after the 90's. This is great though!
I liked this quite a bit. It's got a lot going on and I like the dynamics from song to song. 4/5
Probably her best album, Polly Jean forever. A-
Intrigued by the first listen and convinced by the second listen. A really interesting album; we will be exploring PJ Harvey more.
Weinerlicher Folk Rock.
I thought at album 1001 I was done. I thought that after 1001 I would have hit every pj Harvey album. Neither of those were true. This list continues to find ways to make me suffer with some albums. I will say this wasn’t the worst pj Harvey album and probably the most palatable. Yet it is still not a fun thing to listen to. 2.5/10
Took me a few tries to get into it, it’s good but it’s still giving these vibes: https://youtu.be/X7W9ws2PTXk?si=dmFfyt0qNOKuxasd
Only a couple of the songs were really good
I wish I loved anything as much as PJ Harvey loves England. 3/5
I tried to like this one, but it just didn't connect. Even gave it a second play. It's decent, not annoying or anything, but nothing stood out or impressed me enough to remember.
On Battleship Hill sounded vaguely like Riptide by Vance Joy, no?
B- Let England Shake 4 The Last Living Rose 3 The Glorious Land 3 The Words That Maketh Murder 4 All And Everyone 3 On Battleship Hill 3 England 4 In The Dark Places 3 Bitter Branches 3 Hanging In The Wire 3 The Colour Of The Earth 3 The Big Guns Called Me Back Again 3 Written On The Forehead 3 It wasn't great, but it definitely made me excited to listen to more PJ Harvey.
I didn’t enjoy anything about this
I got so excited that it was a woman singer and then i was immediately disappointed. Why does she care so much about England. She says England more than RHCP say California
Creative dark folk rock in the vein of White Chalk with dark, grand lyricism. A
Yeah it's alright.
beautifully realized and fulfilling piece of art; that being said I don't love what she's doing with her voice here as a big time Rid of Me fan, and there are some stretches that are definitely on the grating side. have to give it up and give it a 5 for the excellent realization of a vision, but this is not something I'd ever have going on repeat
I might even like this one more than the other. I’m gonna go 3.5.
Blegh - this album whiffs of an artist intentionally creating a stinky album because they've won all of the awards and know people will eat it up - and y'all fell for it! If that's not the case, then this record is just a mish-mash of nothing particularly inspired or inspiring.
I was hoping I'd like this more than I did. It is mostly solid, and every now and then i would find moments I enjoyed but it didn't quite come together in a way that I enjoyed overall. 2.25 stars.
I had not heard of PJ Harvey and I made a variety of bad assumptions about what this album would be. After a couple tracks the shock of being so wrong wore down and I started to ponder if this was something I actually liked. I decided it was just an ok album for me. I see it had a lot of awards and that is kinda how it feels. A lot of the critically acclaimed media kind of has a tier of polish that I can't seem to distinguish. Favorite track (I don't recall) 3/5
PJ Harvey is a talented artist with lots of good music, this album was very mid and I'm not sure why it made the list of 1001 albums over others from her that are better.
primera y ultima
I love it! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ Polly for president!
Cohesive and mellifluous, a surprising change of tone for a PJ album. I feel like the other albums of hers I’ve listened to have been intentionally discordant, so it was unexpected to get something more tame. But I liked it. I was caught up in the vibes, digging it a bit, up until the last track. That one just didn’t feel like it fit properly with the rest of the songs. Suddenly choral and jangling, it threw me off. But, overall this was a very chill listen.
Absolutely borinnggggg
Artsy singer-songwriter pop. Boring to me. Beautiful voice.
This was pretty good with a few stinkers in it. Will I listen to again: 30%
I really like that this list includes both an early and later PJ Harvey album. This is quite a contrast from the more grungy and raw "Rid of Me" from the early 90s.
Did not like this at all
Sounds like a low budget album made by no talent writer with an electric keyboard. I keep getting this kind of crap and wonder why it’s important to hear these before I die. Maybe so I can appreciate better music?
I remember when this came out just after the riots and thinking wow, it was so impactful. Even though it was written beforehand it really felt reflective of national anger, and that real change was on the cards and people weren't going to stand for austerity and Tory cunts for any longer. Obviously we know now how that turned out, the focus of anger was successfully diverted onto hate of minorities and division, things got much worse, and now we're about to swap one bunch of tossers for another crowd of red Tories who are openly talking about doing austerity all over again and blaming it on the last government for years just like Cameron did. Still, thanks Peej for a glint of hope in the darkness.
3 - Ni fu ni fa
There's better PJ Harvey albums. I hope they're on this list. I suspect this one was included because it's about England
2.5/5. Not something I really enjoyed, but better than some other stuff I've heard from this artist.
Good.
better than the other pj harvey album. i liked it quite a bit.
Good alternative singer-song writer effort. I went back to LISTEN to it a couple of times and more carefully and it greatly improved my experience. As background music it just gets lost.
I had never heard of PJH until the YouTube algorithm served me up a live version of “Dress” which is now in my normal video rotation. “Rid of me” is also another good one from her earlier work. This album was pretty much a struggle to get through. 1.5/5 rounding up
Bailed halfway through. Not the best by PJ Harvey imo
Used to own Down by the Water which I really liked but I feel this album really shows her maturity as a songwriter. All songs are great. Less quirky than previous work but that's not a bad thing. A pleasant album I will listen to again.
not my thing
There are some parts which are okay musically, but her voice is just terrible. I could barely understand the lyrics, which according to the other reviews are quite good? Oh well. I struggle to see how this made this list.
4.0
I was not familiar with the artist or album before listening. I did not particularly enjoy this. The instrumentation is fine, but I don't particularly enjoy her voice. Some songs are better than others, but overall not interested to hear again.
Vraiment aimé l'album, en général je dirais que j'accroche de plus en plus sur son style de musique. C'est très intense et très bien exécuté. Pas un album parfait, mais c'est sûr que ça va rentrer dans ma rotation. 8/10
This just isn't really my thing, and that's OK.
Too much PJ Harvey
Ok, but not for me 2/5
PJ Harvey is a good songwriter but the music is boring to me.
nice vocals. the music often reminded me of nick cave, at other times björk. interesting listen.
Why is this on this list?
Album 319 of 1001 PJ Harvey - Let England Shake Rating : 3 / 5 I like early PJ Harvey. This left me thinking, "Old PJ Harvey". Nothing too special here for me.
PJ Harvey.
Great female rock voice
dude this blows.
She should have stayed in the 90s
can see a lot of Florence + The Machine inspirations, PJ Harvey are a bit obsessed with England though cmon I get it
This was pretty good, 3 stars
I've generally liked what I've gotten of PJ Harvey's so far and this is no different but I didn't realize how diverse her discography was before this one. I know she's done slower stuff and more hardcore stuff but this is straight-up 2011 British indie folk rock that's both operatic and ethereal and it's just as good as her older stuff.
Kinda odd but it was good 3.1/5 Id still never listen to it again
Let England Shake: 5/5 The Last Living Rose: 5/5 The Glorious Land: 4/5 The Words That Maketh Murder: 4/5 All And Everyone: 5/5 On Battleship Hill: 5/5 England: 4/5 In The Dark Places: 4/5 Bitter Branches: 5/5 Hanging In The Wire: 5/5 Written On The Forehead: 4/5 The Colour Of The Earth: 4/5 Avg.: 4.5
I only listened to part of the album because I couldn't stand the voice.
Gefällt mir ganz gut! Insgesamt ganz geil. Habe bisher selten bis nie ein Album von ihr komplett angehört. Das hier finde ich ganz gut. 
I had never heard of PJ Harvey before being assigned this album. So - I was leery at best. And then I was totally caught off guard by her totally unique voice and haunting, trance-like, and soothing atmosphere of many of these songs. The first half of the album is near perfection and I was ready to give this album a 5, but I felt like the 2nd half drops off a little except for Bitter Branches. She also gave me that Peter Gabriel vibe in a lot of ways. Great stuff! Favorite tracks: Let England Shake, The Glorious Land, The Words That Maketh Murder, All and Everyone, Bitter Branches
If I’m being honest, this was far too alt and artsy for me. It wasn’t completely unlistenable, but I didn’t enjoy it.
"Goddam' Europeans! Take me back to beautiful England", transposing this album 13 years later takes on a very strange story in the post-Brexit landscape, while Polly was influenced by classical poetry while creating some of her own, the tone of the English nationalism seeping through is hard to avoid. It can be likened to the opening ceremony of the 2012 Olympics where its a throwback to when Britain, or England, was actually Great, now its a sad reminder of whole isolated we feel, by choice.
Loved the artfulness of it. But the songs didn’t resonate with me.
yay Great Britain is sooooooo cool
Listened in one sitting. It's a love letter to England and also has some political commentary going on. I like how she uses outside melodies/media in a multi-layered backdrop. I liked the The Colour Of The Earth... & Written on the Forehead... She's cool, I'd come back to her work sometime.
First PJ Harvey offering. It was ok. I liked this album less the more I listened to it. It is definitely an antiwar activist album and I appreciate the message I just think it lacked subtlety. Everything was blood blood death blood more death… It’s a straight 3
interesting and fun music, enjoyed that
Good album. Would give it 3.5 if I could
Too screechy for me.
Guter Indie Pop
Easy listening, I liked it.
Quite enjoyed this. Probably worthy of proper study in terms of the lyrics. Move variety in the tune just not so keen on her voice
I liked the Manu Chao sample. That was the best part.
honestly, I’m kind of sick of PJ Harvey however, this album I had a little bit of a change of heart because I’m pretty sure I usually only give ones. I did like the sound of some of the background music but I really just can’t get behind the voice it sounds like they couldn’t find anyone better. I know that’s harsh but it’s just not good voice to me however, I did like some of the music.
4 albums out of 700 thus far are PJ Harvey. Can I get one of my old band's albums up in this thing? What the actual... ---- thus far i am hate/love/hate with the 3 albums - really hoping this steers towards the "Stories From the City..." album rather than their/her early crappy dry <pun> work. ---- Immediately I can tell this is definitely better - far better. Melody, actual production value, interesting time signatures and instrumentation - dammit it irritates me that I've been subjected to the early stuff (or that she/they - ?? is it proper to just refer to Polly/her? or are they really a band? - even released those first few albums) because these later-period albums are so different - they simply *sound* so much more full and expressive. I'm not getting as many tracks that elicit chills as "Stories From The City..." did - but much like that album, it bears repeat listening - after a 2nd spin I'm appreciating the craft even more. Not sure if I like it as much as that one but there's a depth here that I think will only make this more appealing the more I listen. Also: big appreciation for these old-school short-ish albums. 42 minutes is perfect. 7/10 4 stars
Admittedly I do not care much for PJ Harvey. I respect her artistry and having her earlier albums like Rid of Me and Stories From the City on the album, but this makes the 4th entry on the list which feels excessive. Truthfully she's still a great songwriter. She has a lot of compositional ideas that pan out exceptionally well here.
I wasn't a fan of this. I do like her other music.
Meh
Nothing offensive, but only one or two songs that I’d ever intentionally listen to again.
Pretty mediocre pop? I wasn't that into it
Pretentious English Indie Folk Rock. Middle of the road for PJ Harvey. Not that bad.
Eeeh. Was not for me.
So much PJ Harvey! This album was good. Very different sound from the last one, which I think I enjoyed more.
Pretty decent
Pretttttttay good
Meh
ok
Not for me
I’ve tried mightily to be more into PJ over the years, but alas I just never really got her. When it comes to female art rock artists I will almost always lean way more towards those placed in the same category as PJ, and who I find way more interesting: Bjork, Mazzy Star, Siouxsie and The Banshees, St. Vincent, etc. I did find the production on this album quite interesting though. Still, her 1993 album Rid of Me probably deserves way more credit. 2.5/3
I appreciate the vibe, I like plenty of artists that are similar but PJH just isn’t it for me.
Sigh….This album is like musical celery. Tastes kind of interesting but for me there is no substance or nutritional value. I think this chick is more of a poet and def sounded that way. Little too artistic and self serving for my tastes.
Put PJ on a long list of acclaimed artist I just don’t get. There’s some stuff here I liked, but overall didn’t grab me. I sound like a broken record, but this is an average to slightly above average album. 2.75/5
Genre: Folk Instruments: 2/5 (I liked the auto harp) Modern Translation: 1/5 Dance Potential: 1/5 Listening Location: Commute to work Favourite Song: None Made me feel: Confused and weirded out. I first realised this was an album about war when I heard the military trumpet in the third track, then I started reading the lyrics. I don’t love albums that make political statements and this was no different. Liked her voice, creative education but not for me. Was nominated for a bunch of awards though.
What is with the bugle thing in "The Glorious Land". I thought some other tab was making noise it was so discordant. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. Felt like artsy fartsy music college music that would get the alt hippis to snap fingers and nod about how deep it is
One of her best.
Wasn't feeling it
it's ok
I've always heard about PJ Harvey but I've never listened to her. No better excuse. It seems like this is a pretty political statement about the British government and its history. A whole lot of references to war and British actions in the word. It's a great record, though it's tough to sit down and have this on in the background. It's a record you have to pay VERY close attention to. It's more of a statement than it is a record.
Liked the first half a decent bit. Second PJ album I’ve gotten after Rid Of Me. Neither has clicked with me yet. Wish I could understand the hype now but sure I’ll discover it later down the line. I usually don’t focus on the lyrics the first time I hear an album so I’m sure some of the disconnect lies in that. Rating: 3.1
Nicht meine Richtung
It was nice. Indie rock, soaring at times screechy vocals. Generally a nice listen through but has some standout tracks, Words makeh Murder, All and Everyone, In the Dark places. The last track is shite.
Definitely not my thing, too downbeat and miserable.
For PJ Harvey this is a solid 5 but not quite in the same level as some of the 5-star albums I listened to. This album requires attention. You have to listen to the melodies and focus on the lyrics to get the point. It's a beautiful album and, while the music is not at all similar, I love Harvey's rambling melodies and anti-structure that reminds me of Joni Mitchell.
Great stuff. Right level of kind of atmospheric for me. Some albums try a bit too hard. This seemed effortless solid 4.0
I’m not really into folk, and the Wwi inspired songs.
This is... not good. It's pretentious, boring, and haz literally zero stand out moments. Someone asks this for every album so I guess it's my turn. Why would this album make it to the list? It's not culturally significant, it's not influencing anyone of note, and does nothing new in any way. It's just crappy indie rock.
Before I listen to this I am writing down that I've always thought this is one of the ugliest album covers ever made. After listening, that was as good as expected, very
Qué buena es! Me recuerda, a veces, a Clap your hands and say yes.
ingerland.. breksitti tarkoittaa juuri sitä.. saatana eurooppaan kuulu semmoset.. hampaat irvessä.. ikenessä..veressä...prkl... skinny indie narttuesque laulaa ÄÄÄ ÄÄÄ ÄÄÄ type singing . ehkä turpa kii?? ens kerralla? oisiko? hyvää albumia olit tekemässä,, tarvi olla tollattiin. FOOOKIN 'ELL words that make murder
Weird
Lyrically could be something special but sonically is pretty boring to me.
2.7 Kate Bushn't faves: let england shake
My 4th PJ Harvey album on this thing, which is wild to me. It's interesting to see how hard this list goes at some artists, but as far as over represented English artists on this list, she's one of the best. I had not heard this--much more recent than the others--album of hers. It's good, and is what I was expecting.
Beautiful!
Really not a fan of PJ Harvey
Some good and some fine-ish songs.
She's just really good at music.
3.75
I like how the title suggests England should be nuked Was listening to this while on a minibus, a ~4yo girl heard it and asked her mom "If everyone asked god to turn the war off, would he do it?". Got her mom and half the minibus in tears. Now that I've ran out of memes to translate, time to speak about the lyrics. While I agree with the notion I don't think listing consequences of war is enough to do... anything really. First of all, most of the people I know want to die anyway. And I'm sure there are authors who portrayed dying soldiers in much more terrifying ways, so doing it again but in a less shocking way seems pretty pointless. Now, I know a way to make better anti-war propaganda but it's asocial and also illegal where I live so I'll have to wait for Kanye to do it. Although these lyrics are weak as propaganda, they didn't fail to set the atmosphere and worked well with her voice and the music. Also wtf is that horn in The Glorious Land lmao I thought that sound came from somewhere else
it was nice to listen to but i didnt look up or listen to the lyrics so ymmv >Also wtf is that horn in The Glorious Land lmao I thought that sound came from somewhere else I got faceit flashbacks
Pulled a lot from various points of English music throughout history with her own unique twist. Most notably accenting traditional folk music and some of the more recent indie music from the aughts, it was an interesting look into a new artist. I'm excited to hear her other album on this list
As much as I love Rock Goddess era PJ Harvey, the confident strangness of her later work is just glorious.
Probably my favorite PJ Harvey album. It's also the only PJ Harvey album I've listened to. It's good, is it must listen worthy? I'm not sure. When a list like this gathers so many artists that sound similar and don't do much to break away from the track they're in are they really list worthy? Regardless, PJ Harvey's Let England Shake is probably the better of the angry white chick alt rock that was so prevalent of the 90s-00s. 3/5
Kelpo siistiä singer/songwriter indierockia. Lauluääni ei aina miellyttänyt. In The Dark Places ja On Battleship Hill parhaita. Muutama outo sample
Bad
Better than I thought it would be.
This was a really interesting one. Another artist that I feel like I should have been at least familiar with, but PJ Harvey is totally new to me. She's been around awhile though, and a few of her albums seem to be very critically acclaimed (including this one). The album is about England and it's about war (anti-war to be precise). That should sum up that part pretty well. It is very thoughtful, and she seems to be both trying to cover a lot of ground and capture the feelings of people in these situations. I was more interested in the album musically, I found that to be the more compelling part. It's a bit alt-rock, it's a bit folk, it's often somewhat unsettling. About halfway through I found myself struggling with the album a bit, but also realizing that I had saved basically all the songs since there was something in each one that I liked. I'm struggling a lot with an overall rating here, this feels like one that's hard to fully wrap my head around on one listen. It's definitely a bit art-y album, and the war theme makes it a not very light listen. But there's a lot that's clearly really good in here, both thematically and musically. I'm in the 3- 4 range, but this is definitely less of an everyday listen type of album for me. This is my first PJ Harvey album, and this seems to be a pretty significant departure from her earlier work, so I'm curious to hear a bit more of her music. Update, I gave it a second listen the next morning, I felt like it needed that. I really enjoyed it a lot when I stepped back and just listened without thinking about the lyrics too much. All of the songs I had noted the night before still stood out to me, and I added "England" to the list the second time around. It's still a bit of a tricky listen, but I think I like this. Favorite song: On Battleship Hill Other: Let England Shake, The Last Living Rose, The Words That Maketh Murder, All And Everyone, England, In The Dark Places, Written On The Forehead 12/14/23
Surprisingly good but started to lose me by the end.
It feels like I'm not the target demo for this album. A lot of her vocalization gets on my nerves a bit, and I don't know enough about the history of England for this to resonate with me emotionally. Musically it doesn't really stand out to me.
This whole album had the same vibe. It was cooler than I anticipated.
Let em
2/5
I’ve never listened to PJ Harvey so this was a pleasant surprise. Really enjoyed this.
This is twice in 4 days now, grow up
Second of PJ Harvey's in four days which is too much for my taste.
Inegal
Oi mate, me love some delightful British music, let England fooking shake, mate! 8/10
Better than the last one of hers, still not brilliant
The best thing this album has going for it is that it sounds different from all the other (many other) PJ Harvey albums on this list, which I hate more.
Enjoyable, but far from my favourite of hers
1. let england zhake - 1 2. the lazt living roze - 1.5 3. gloriouz land - 1 4. uuordz that maketh murder - 0 5. all and everyone - 1.5 6. on battlezhip hill - 1.5 7. england - 2 8. in the dark placez - 1.5 9. bitter branchez - 1 10. hanging in the uuire - 1 11. uuritten on the forehead - 1 12 the colour of the earth - 0
Smart, funny, sad, weird!! Incredible. Can’t wait to go down the pj hole
COME ON INGERLAND
Production was nice. Lyrics seemed interesting, pretty explicitly historical and political, didn't get a chance to listen closer
finally some polly jean !!! i’m an unabashed stan i love this album - beautiful intense lyricism and interesting instrumentation i think PJ is one of the coolest songwriters out there, it’s remarkable to take a rly alienating concept and make something compelling and accessible like this i also think it’s exciting that later in her career she did something that was such a departure from her earlier work and still made an album that is true to her identity as an artist i love you polly 😍😍😍😍
This is fine I guess, but I don’t really vibe with it. Feels kind of generic, and it definitely has some obnoxious points. I hate the bugle ass shit on The Glorious Land. They didn’t even try to sync up the tempo there. It’s like some boomer’s ringtone is going off in the background. The Words That Maketh Murder was above average. I like In the Dark Places, and her singing is engaging on England.
This was pretty sick a kinda folky indie vibe i really like. Loses a few points for a terrible album cover and being all about england
2w
I liked it! Song 3 till 5 Span was my favourite on the Album 3.5/5
She’s been touted as your favourite musicians favourite musician. Can see the appeal. Should 3.5
Let England Shake The Last Living Rose All And Everyone On Battleship Hill England
I've never quite gotten PJ Harvey. She is clearly very talented and creative. This is a very different album, and I appreciate what it's going for even if it's not quite for me.
Pretty average sounding album, didnt stand out to my interests.
Would listen again
It was kinda spooky which I dig but the songs ran together a bit
I liked a couple songs here. Nice chill female vocals 3.1
The last worthwhile record Polly Jean mustered. A melancholy rumination on the Great War and its long-term effect on her English homeland. The best songs focus on the human cost of violence.
Good
This album makes me proud that the USA seceded from England.
I like: The Last Living Rose The Glorious Land The Words That Maketh Murder
Trash
Really quirky dark indie vibes. Male vocals and weird inserts (battle call trumpet, why?) ruined most of the songs for me. Finally an album with songs that didn't just repeat themselves, so that was nice. Fav tracks: Let England Shake, On Battleship Hill
Goddamn this Obama era jangle rock is aggressively not for me.
No bad, not great. Decent album.
Up there for the worst named album: I take one look at this album and all I think of is EDL. Look the name PJ Harvey sounds like a block out of some shitty estate making garage music with his house covered in England flags. He then finishes making some music, goes inside to beat the wife, off to the pub with the lads to go flex his new tattoo of St George killing the dragon to only watch his team lose at the footy and start a fight with everyone there. The music itself isn't awful, just couldn't get that picture out of my head for the entirety.
I didn't think it was bad by any means, I just don't enjoy this type of music
A nice album but not the vibe I'm after off a PJ Harvey record, still saved a few tracks for a folk rock list.
Pas mauvais mais j’ai aucun souvebir de l’album
war is bad 2011 edition but pretty good
A deeper and more poetic rock album than average, this album has hints of Tom Waits, especially on the opener Let England Shake. First album on this journey that I wanted to listen through again and dig deeper into the poetry. Some real beautiful instrumentation. A winner and one I’ll return to again at a later date.
Remember this being massive when it came out. God bless the NME. Like an English Bjork. Honestly, bored me a little at the time. Just never really in the mood for it. 3.5/5
MMM?
Only gave it one listen. I reckon it had potential, so will give it another listen some time soon
It was ok. Nothing amazing. Won’t be downloading the back catalog or anything.
Meh. A gentle sound that wasn't too annoying in the background but it felt kind of pretentious.
Modern folk - quite good
Nope!
PJ Harvey is a treasure. Her music is not always easy or accessible, but it's always interesting. She's always pushing the boundaries and never dull. This is an album of hers I haven't spent much time with but it's very good and will be put into my regular rotation. 4 stars.
Great album cover. Not my favorite PJ album, but there are some bright spots. And at the very least, it belongs on a list like this.
Should I be surprised that this didn't rock as hard as I had expected? I'd never really given PJ Harvey a fair shake before now, but this was fine. Upper end of fine. I'm going to be generous and award it four stars, even. There's a kind of wonky idiosyncrasy at play throughout, punctuated by moments of sublimity. I don't think the songs themselves are stellar, and though Harvey goes to some interesting places with her vocals, I'm not sure I particularly like her voice in and of itself. Then again, she absolutely hammers away at that Eddie Cochrane reference, plus I'm always game for some autoharp. What a mean spirited four star review!
Gotta say, not only did I quite like the songs on this album, but considering how much crap I’ve given this list for being more British than Benny Hill, I should also confess that I specifically liked how much lyrical attention PJ gave to England. (My fave song overall probably was “England” itself.) Writing songs about place seems to be a fairly good formula for critical success. I really liked “All & Everything,” too. I’ll be listening to this one again.
Somber indie
4+
This is a great album, really. I'm told that PJ Harvey modified her sound a bit on that album to make it more melodic than what she usually makes, and I'll have to take their word for it, but if that's something new she was trying, I hope she kept it up on her future albums.
A hard one to score. Generally I liked it but there's no songs that stand out as especially good so I've found myself giving it a three again.
Boring. Takes no risks, not a single memorable melody. Boo
england should shake more often if u ask me
Trur da va verdt et gjenlytt, men får sjå om da skjer
Interesting album, seemed like an updated Kate Bush, not going to be listening to it again but glad I've heard it
I remember listening to this album when it came out. I had seen it on a list of the best albums of the year, and even though I had never heard of PJ Harvey before, I listened to it, and I really enjoyed it. I've meant to come back to this album, but I'd never gotten around to listening to it again until today. I didn't enjoy it this time as much as I remember enjoying it the first time that I listened to it, but I still really liked it. I thought the folk lyrics worked really well, the instrumentation was great, and I usually tend to enjoy PJ Harvey's vocals. I really wanted to listen to this album twice today, but unfortunately, I didn't get around to it, so I don't have anything more to add.
Interesting, but not good. For an album about war, the singing is fairly bloodless. PJ Harvey can do bold, and so the title and title track felt like she was taking the piss. The Bjork comparisons aren't out of place either - the vocals on 'England' sound like Harvey is trying on both Bjork's writing and phasing. Also, out of tune, endlessly repeated samples will never fail to get on my nerves.
Nope
9/6/23
Great
Nice sound
I got the sneaky feeling that saying I love England 65 times on an album will get you on this list. The album seems like a love song or elegy to jolly olde England. Certainly listenable and at rare moments the vocals break through the surface to become nearly radiant. Nice to hear the combination of male and female voices singing together.
"Let England Shake" AKA, the first PJ Harvey album that doesn't suck. Maybe I've matured maybe she's gotten better but whatever the case, I'm considering going back to listen to her old stuff. I would've never listened to this without 1001.
I kept listening to "Let England Shake" over and over, trying to figure out why I liked it so much. Or whether I liked it that much? It was somewhat in the background while I was working, so I wondered if paying more attention would reduce my appreciation. But every time I came away really enjoying it. Different from early PJ Harvey, to be sure, but I dug it. And then dug it again. And again. Glad there's more PJ Harvey yet to come, and I see why she is the only artist with 4 Mercury Prize nominations and 2 wins.
Pretty…pretty…pretty…not good. What the hell is the English horn call on that one track? Delete the avant garde crap and you might have a low end 3.
I've loved this album for a few years now. It's such a hard one for me to pin down; on one hand it kind of washes over you, on the other it's incredibly eclectic and experimental. The washy guitar sound is really unique and always reminds me that this record was in a 19th Century church in Dorset, on a clifftop overlooking the sea. So cool. This is also a brilliant record lyrically, pouring over the hell of war. Favourite tracks: Let England Shake, The Glorious Land, The Words That Maketh Murder, On Battleship Hill.
Never thought I'd listen to British hipster music, but here we are. Borderline unbearable
Not my favourite album from PJ but still very well written. High 4 star
Album not available on Apple Music
Prima, maar niet echt mijn ding. Af en toe wat moeilijk gezongen.
Musically starts out interesting but slowly just repeats itself over and over. However, that's not its problem. It's melodically barren and rendered excruciating by the teenage level "oo England is bad war is bad" lyrics. Dreadful self centred low self-awareness moaning so loved by the kind of people that you should avoid talking to at parties.
Я только за музыку и ее перформанс ставлю 5. Я влюблен
Вау, я кажется нашёл для себя ещё один удивительный альбом. И очень интересный. Ну во-первых, это уже далеко не тихо-громко. Здесь тебя музыкой погружают в определённое состояние транса, чтобы "ненавязчиво" с тобой очень серьёзно поговорить. Или же, другая трактовка у меня есть - это своего рода песни умирающего лебедя, то есть - умирающего британского величия. Умирающих без какой-либо надежды. Вообще забавно получается, как у нас идёт три подряд альбома, так или иначе посвящённые Великобритании, её былому величию, её проблемам, старым и новым. И насколько разными они вообще в принципе могут быть. Goddamn Europeans! Take me back to the beautiful England!
this music sucks
Few nice moments
Fine
maybe i'm missing something but this album is... how do I put this... not good? at its best, it's just boring indie folk with bjork-esque vocals on top. other tracks like the glorious land seem to go out of their way to be annoying with the weird-ass pikmin c-stick trumpet noises that don't fit with the key of the song at all. the ending of all and everyone showcases someone trying their best to blow a horn mournfully. the last track was my favorite because bjork let someone else take a turn singing and then it was over. if England is shaking from this album, it's shivering with fear that another one like this is in the works. favorites: written on the forehead? i guess...?
Love PJ Harvey, and this is definitely among her most unique and interesting. Not sure it tops her more raw/punk music, but no doubt it's great. There's room for this one to grow even more on me, I think.
Alright bit one note
I am not familiar with PJ's work and after listening to the album I am thinking it may take a few more listens to really appreciate it.
Has PJ channeled Pink Floyd and Johnny Rotten? The mix of instruments is wonderful. The melodies often off-canter. Those trumpet injections into 'The Glorious Land' kill that song. Why a war theme album in 2011?
Boring
Not really my thing. Barely got through a full listen.
depressing album for me, PJ Harvey not the most uplifting of artists but this album seems her in an ever darker mood. I prefer her earlier Sheila Na gig punk stuff, while thus is nicely produced, and lyrically smart just found it hard work, and cant see my myself ever listening to it again
I was excited to get this album because I've heard PJ Harvey discussed a lot and a number of her album covers are iconic enough for me to recognize them without ever hearing her music. This was a good album but I wasn't blown away all the way through. There are some really solid tracks on here and I can see why someone else might love the full album. I do like this enough to check out some of her other albums though. I also think the songs get stronger as the album progresses. Standout Tracks: The Last Living Rose, On Battleship Hill, Hanging on the Wire, The Colour of the Earth, Written on the Forehead
Shockerande,,, 2011 pj harvey va int super speciellt. De va nicw dock
I like this album but perhaps I need more time for it to really settle. It’s cool though
Tråkigt tbh
Qué buena es! Me recuerda, a veces, a Clap your hands and say yes.
Not bad, not great
I had dry yesterday so back to pack PJ Harvey albums. Highlighted how different this album is, this was an interesting album, not sure I enjoyed it as much as dry, but glad i listened and it deserves its place on the list.
Not mad about PJ Harvey. I think im just not one for the real folksy sound. Solid collection of songs though, and her vocals are awesome as always. Just don't feel it personally.
I like this more than I thought I would but I don't love it. Probably wouldn't seek it out. Much prefer her earlier work.
Pretty good! I knew literally nothing about PJ Harvey going in but I overall dug this.
PJ's masterpiece.
Quiet and understated in some ways, explosive and cutting in others. Remarkable work! Warrants additional listens.