Back 1001 Albums Generator
Let England Shake by PJ Harvey

Let England Shake

PJ Harvey

2011
3.15
Rating
23274
Votes
1
6%
2
20%
3
37%
4
27%
5
10%
Distribution
Genres: Rock Styles: Alternative Rock, Indie Rock, Singer Songwriter, Folk Rock

Reviews (page 7 of 8)

Listened

england has done too much shaking

This didn't work for me. The themes, the vocals - it's ambitious but it didn't come together right.

Eh... it was fine. That's about all I feel about it. A bit too english for me Rating: 3/10 Favorite Song: In the Dark Places

I really love PJ Harvey but this album isn't for me

Even if it wasn't for me, I understood why her older material might be important to listen to. This...I'm struggling to see why it's relevant.

Female rocker

War bad Fave track: The Last Living Rose

This album really didn't do it for me. It's definitely really unique and seems to have some real artistic merit, but the obscure style wasn't my thing. I feel like the guitar is off in one direction, the keys and drums somewhere else, and the vocals back and forth doing their own thing. I get that it likely wasn't intended to produce radio friendly, top 40 singles, but I found the abstract style to be dissociating from what I recognize and look for in music I enjoy. No disrespect and I don't think it's "bad" but not my style.

Couldnt finish this one

I don't like what she's doing with her voice in this one. It's so grating. It was like nails on a chalkboard, except for one song, which she sang softer.

Irrelevant music.

Dogwater. Better than Bolt Cutters (barely). Couple of decent songs, a few ruined by out of tune trumpets. Let England Shake is the kind of album that feels like it was designed to impress critics first and actual listeners somewhere around tenth place. Out of tune horns and falsetto singing really annoy. It’s so wrapped up in its own sense of importance that it forgets to be, you know, enjoyable. The whole thing plays like a school assignment where the rubric demanded “historical references” and “serious themes,” and PJ Harvey turned in a project that checks every box but forgot to include a pulse. The autoharp—an instrument that can be haunting in the right hands—gets hammered into the ground here until every track starts to sound like the same brittle, jangling dirge. It’s less “innovative texture” and more “someone shaking a metal coat hanger over a microphone.” The production is intentionally stark, but often it just feels thin, like the songs were recorded in a cold room with the heat turned off. Lyrically, the album aims for gravitas but often lands on vague, distant commentary that feels strangely hollow. Instead of visceral emotion, you get a kind of academic detachment, as if the album is observing war from a safe balcony seat. It wants to be devastating, but too often it’s simply dreary.

I prefer her early 90s stuff. This was a bit boring.

This is one of those albums that needs a few listens to appreciate i think, feel bad scoring it low just didn't really enjoy it

- Quite weird, seems to be telling a story of war and England, but not really enjoyable to listen to

I thought I would enjoy this one, but I didn't. Maybe it's her voice, which sounds Björk-like to me, and I've had enough Björk on this list (are there any of her albums *not* on this list?). I don't see why it's on the list. Mostly forgettable for me.

Fav- on battleship hill 2/5

This was like listening to The Clash's career-ending single, "This is England" on repeat for forty minutes. English musicians complaining about England only works if it's a little bit fun. The Sex Pistols and Idles can spit on the Union Jack and make a crowd pogo-dance at the same time. Maybe if the album's slick hitmaker producer, Flood, had been replaced by Steve Albini, it might have had a chance. God Save the Polly Jean.

That’s morbid PJ. World War II memories, trenches, blood soaked dirt, detached limbs, and cruel nature. This album is an ode to the war dead. It’s acoustic, it’s good, but it’s just plain depressing. Bitter Branches and On Battleship Hill are the least depressing tracks. I liked her raw, earlier, electric album better. This one shakes it up, but only to the (2.3*s) rate. Our land is plowed by tanks and feet, its fruit is deformed children. Yikes, that and the many, many other war torn thoughts get Let England Shake onto The 1001 Must Hear List.

I did not like this album as much as PJ's previous list entry, "Stories from..." She takes a more political, artsy turn. Some weird additions like battlefield horns and babbling old ladies tried too hard to add uniqueness. Having the male back-up vocals was not a plus either. I understand that Harvey wanted to write something completely different from her previous works and she did, I just don't prefer it. Despite my less enjoyment this round, it's not bad and you can tell there is a talented lady behind the music. Actually hoping for maybe one more from PJ, an early one, so I can get a feel for her career. I like her enough to go out my own too after this project to explore her other records. 2.4 stars for ripping on American and England in a poetic way.

ist mir zu langsam und wehleidig

Great, another PJ Harvey record.

echt prima maar wtf is die trompet. beetje blonde redhead achtig.

Yeah, this one didn't do anything for me on any level.

PJ Harvey’s first two albums “Dry” and “Did Of Me” get most attention. I don’t think they are anything special. I much prefer the third album.”To Bring You My Love” and the fifth album “Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea”. They are well written, well produced and full of catchy, angsty music. Both deserve a place on this list because they offered something new. Genuinely influential for later generations. Alas, this list which features FOUR PJ Harvey albums doesn’t include the good albums. That’s a shame. “Let England Shake”? Yeah, it’s not great. Pass.

Eh. It was ok.

Pretty much everything I’ve heard by PJ Harvey has been via this project, and once it’s over, I’ll probably never listen to her again.

Have you ever been on an airplane and there are storms and so much turbulence? For me, this is the musical equivalence. I feel at any moment this album might crash and burn but it somehow seems to stay flying. It’s not an enjoyable flight or listen. When the plane finally lands and this album finally stops, I’m left with a relief that it’s all over and that I’d rather not go through that again. It made me too uneasy.

It left me with a whatever feeling, didn't hate it but also didn't make me want to listen to it again

usually i like pj harvey but this was kinda lost on me 2.5/5

This is what Margaret Thatcher is listening to in Hell.

I don't understand why this album specifically was must-listen. The other PJ Harvey was so much better. I did like The Last Living Rose though

I'll have to try this one again and sort out my feelings. Every time I go to listen to PJ Harvey I think I'm going to like PJ Harvey and then I don't and then I think I'm missing something and then I forget about it and the cycle repeats.

Hugely successful, Mercury Prize winning album.... apparently.... I'm giving it a go but finding it pretty dull to be honest. The autoharp is nice though.

Yeah. Well.

I didn’t love this one

This might be the kind of album whose emotional register can be properly assessed 1) if British or 2) when not listening in the background while working. But maybe it’s also that a protest album rooted in a war that had ended nearly a century before no longer has the same stopping power in 2026 as it might have in 2011, when nationalism felt more distant. Tops: Bitter Branches Drops: The Words that Maketh Murder, England

Ainulaadne kõla, jah. Aga see on veider olemine veidraks olemise eesmärgil ja mul tegelikult kõrvad veits ajavad verd sellise muusika peale. Dissonantsil on oma koht ja aeg ja PJ Harvey ei kasuta seda minu meeldimise järgi. 2.3/5

It was okay I guess

Damn Nick Cave fucked up the songwriting of this broad. The first PJ Harvey album had grit and edge and apathy. This sounds like mumford and sons with a female singer. All and all its okay. Decent melodies and sonic traits. But little to no relistenability. And also to listen to before you die? Maybe stick to the first PJ Harvey for that.

Wouldn't say it's bad just find it mildly annoying and a bit pretentious.

I struggle with what carries these songs

I was hoping I would like this, but it didn't really click with me. I have NO idea what she's singing about. I might have just missed the boat on PJ Harvey entirely.

200/1089 i’m left feeling fairly indifferent with this album. it was kinda good but also very monotonous imo. I’m glad I listened to it but not sure i’ll return faves: The Glorious Land, All and Everyone, On Battleship Hill 46/100

i did not like this going to be real, i tried it twice and just couldn’t get through it, i found the concept interesting and i’ve always loved war poetry and art but this is just kind of annoying to listen to, it was interesting and clever but it didn’t sound good it’s not really a listenable album. just not for me 🤷‍♂️

Out of the 3 or 4 PJ Harvey albums I’ve heard, this is easily my least favorite. It might be rich lyrically, but as a listening experience it’s hard to really enjoy. Least favorite track is easily "Written On The Forehead."

Want to hear more female artists but PJ Harvey is not doing much for me. Ultimately, the song composition is pretty average and, sorry, but she doesn't have a very good voice. Lyrics a bit of a yawn too. Perhaps one listen is not enough to hear something more but I'm not going to be rushing back to this album.

This has been a long slog through a ton of shitty records that make up the "Top 1001" that I must hear before I die. Here's one more to add to the heap. Why does PJH have 2 albums on this list? She blows. What sets this album apart from so many other one dimensional artists with no hit songs? The title song has 12M listens, why? It has no hook, feels like a thought not a finished song. It's wandering, meandering, fluffy nothing music. It feels like a rough draft and that they were gonna go back later and fine tune each song. I'm guessing they just never went back and we get what we got. Saw her open for U2 once, not enjoyable. Her voice borders on irritating. Weak album, no hits, no sunshine, no reason to make this list. 2 stars

Pas du tout mon style mais bon voilà quoi

It's clearly an ambitious album, and I think it achieves precisely what Harvey set out to do. Unfortunately, it doesn't resonate with me at all.

I’m not sure if this was a concept album or not. Didn’t care for the random battle trumpet in one song.

I can see the importance of the album material and maybe I wasn’t in the right place to listen but didn’t do it for me.

I'm very bored with PJ Harvey how is there so much

On some songs, her voice reminds me of Phoebe from Friends. On others, it sounds like Yoko Ono. Ok, mean jokes aside, usually I'm all for folky anti-war songs; but something about the sound of this just isn't for me. It sounds like she's got a decent voice hidden somewhere in there, but the melodies and the stylistic choices she makes ruin it. The lyrics don't stand out to me either. I do like the instrumentation on some tracks. My favorite song was Hanging In The Wire, but I didn't like it enough to find it playlist worthy. 2/5.

Very washy sound that without many other instruments sounded pretty half finished. Certainly a change in style that is notable considering it's all single guitar led stuff but not a patch on rid of me. I wouldn't say it's bad, you can tell the songs are well crafted, it just doesn't really work for me.

Ah this is why I was avoiding PJ Harvey. Third week in a row for her albums, and this one didn't click. Let England Shake and The Last Living Rose were great - I thought, here we go, another banger - but the rest of the album was self-indulgent, unfocussed silliness. Didn't land at all for me, became bored. She barely sings above a whisper by the end of the album. Stories from the City... was a good album. Mercury be damned, I didn't enjoy myself listening to this.

Beautiful voice and nice Melodie’s

You should shake this rec. it’s mid.

M’oui

An sich ok. Den Wechsel mit Erzählungen finde ich störend. 2/5

This was ok. There are other PJ albums I like better

Hilariously earnest for some so absolutely bland. This sort of thing is why it’s so understandable for everyone to hate the English.

I got almost all the way through this album before realizing that I wasn't actually listening to it and at some point it had slipped into background music territory. It's was nice background music, but not a very captivating album.

Hated this at the time. It’s better with hindsight but still a bit annoying, the concept is shit and so is her voice.

i really wanted to enjoy this album more. i like the sound a lot, and i respect songwriting about one’s country and wars. however, there's just a little too much patriotism that puts me off. the lyrics remind me of a flatter version of poems about motherland and war from my primary/middle school curriculum.

Didn't really care for it

Interesting in concept. It sounds boring.

Had potential but too whiney for me

Appreciate a concept album - but this is not for me

★★½

If I could give this negative stars I would

Bjork-adjacent, fart-smelling, performative bullshit.

This album was ok. Not 100% sure why it’s on this list. I did like the other album of hers, but this one was meh

No soy capaz de destacar ningún tema especialmente, pero me ha gustado.

Weird for the sake of weird. Feels like a Kate Bush tribute. Decent concept but not my cup of tea.

Interesting, but not good.

Jeez, PJ says England a lot here. This was okay? A bit whimsical and bland for me

I always like songs about history, especially if it is about the ugly sides of history. This album has so many different stories of wars and you can feel the bitterness and sadness in the songs. Problem is, I simply do not love the songs song-wise. I love the concept, I like the lyrics but I always like songs like these to have more feistiness, some anger, some fight in them. I would listen to this while in bed staring at the ceiling but would rarely play the entire album in any other scenario. Some of the songs I also just simply did not like (looking at you 'England').

Started it and loved it and quickly went downhill. I bet boomers love this.

slow burn

Ist bestimmt ein gutes Album und die Songs entfalten sich sicherlich mit häufigerem Hören, aber ich bin gestern gar nicht reingekommen. Da gefallen mir ältere Sachen von ihr besser.

Määääh. Hält nicht annähernd was der Name verspricht. Was für ein belangloses Gedudel.

I like PJ Harvey well enough, but never heard this later album. What happened to her? Did she settle down, get married, get homebound (or library bound) and lose all her fire? This is fairly boring. It's not particularly annoying or bad anywhere. But it's beige wallpaper. I'm not going to point out any high or low points, because I can't bring myself to care enough. Let's call this a 2

PP Weiners

This is my third PJ Harvey album, and they're fine but like, maybe just pick one? I don't mean these aren't good. I've enjoyed each of them for the most part. But I've enjoyed them for all pretty much the same reasons. I dig her vibe but some of the tracks, especially vocals, just kind of annoy me. I appreciate when she's being dark and moody but not eccentric and a bit kooky for some reason. I had to go back and read my review of her 2001 album Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea to make sure I wasn't crazy thinking that my review for this album would be almost identical. Nope. The only difference is really that I started that review explaining I had preconceived ideas about what PJ Harvey would sound like, but I actually hadn't ever listened to any of her albums. Other than that, all I would have to do is swap out song titles from that album for songs on Let England Shake and they'd basically be the same review. PJ Harvey is a bit of hit or miss for me with her 2001 more "hitting" than missing, but this one was a bit more of a miss for me. Her vocals got a bit too Bjork-y for my taste. I don't exactly get the critical acclaim, and I definitely don't get the warrant for including three (or more) albums of hers on this list, especially if they all sound so much alike despite spanning 30+ years.

Not for me

2/5 niemals ist die Frau so gut hier mehrmals aufzutauchen

Screechy voice, lyrics I can't really make heads or tails of. This is not my cup of tea at all

Had one album of her before on this I belive, and wasn't too impressed if I remember correctly. Feel the same with this. Finding a hard time enjoying her singing. Feels like too much wailing. And the melodies and overall music just feels uninteresting to me.

Not my cup of tea.

I assume Yoko Ono is a major influence.

I'm still undecided about whether or not I like PJ Harvey.

The music isn't bad, but I really disliked her vocals. I cringed & recoiled when I heard the title track. I love how my living room sounded after the 12th and final track ended. Silence can be a beautiful thing that should be broken sometimes - but not for stuff like this. Simply put the state of the room was better before 'Let England Shake' started playing at which time the room became loud and unwelcoming, suddenly smaller - after 'Let England Shake' ended the state of the room was better than ever as I took in little sounds that I had paid no attention to in far too long. Enjoy the silence or in my case Taylor Swift's brilliant new album.

Previously rated: #517 - Dry (3/5) #608 - Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea (3/5) #716 - Rid Of Me (2/5) *************************** Album #933 This one may be a bit better than Rid of Me, but I'm still not a fan of her style. Four albums on this list is more than she deserves.

I dunno, this kind of flew over my head I think.

This one didn't 100% work for me, unfortunately. I get what the album is going for but it, but I didn't care for most of the songs. Maybe I will feel differently if I ever come back to this album. Favorite track: "On Battleship Hill"

Did not impress me, mostly whiny. Might be more enjoyable if I took time to dive into the lyrics, but the instrumentation did not convince me to do so.

My only knowledge of PJ Harvey is passing references on Gilmour Girls and Halsey's track "Dog Years" from The Great Impersonator, which was supposedly inspired by her. I gotta say this is different than I expected but I suppose indie folk/rock sort of hits the mark. I think this is sort of a "death of an empire" record. I am not British but given the current state of things in the US I can sympathize. I understand the idea of making modern folk as antiwar music and acknowledging the conquests that gave us the modern version of England or the US. To me this is really a poetry project with musical accompaniment. I can tell a lot of research went into the lyrics and subject matter. It is definitely well-crafted but ultimately I don't really listen to much like this for pleasure and I feel that in 2025 using WWI as the primary inspiration really dates it. I understand the parallels to more modern wars but to me, there is a huge component of the modern injustice of conflict that is missing. The world wars did come with massive civilian tolls but there is something altogether different about a modern superpower invading a developing nation that cannot be mirrored by WWI in my opinion. The nobility of old have been replaced by oligarchs today but there's no draft, no matching of equal forces, etc. Especially in 2025, we have the war in Ukraine, Gaza, Yemen that are all essentially functions of the aggressor toeing the line of war crimes on the unfortunate civilians of the area with such a power discrepancy that it boggles the mind. Johnny is not marching off to war with his buddy and his rifle, Johnny is shooting missiles at children from an office building 8000 miles away. She does do a great job of capturing the bleakness and absurdity of war - "death hung in the smoke/and clung to 400 acres of useless beach front" - but for me personally it just doesn't hit that hard. I think in places the accompaniment is so blasé that it washes out the subject matter - "Hanging In The Wire" is one of those songs.

Pretentious innit

I’m not British enough to like this album

This feels like it should be my kind of music based on the time period when it was produced, but good golly it's dreadful. I was hanging on until the terrible bugle call sample that was neither in time nor added anything meaningful to the song. It sounded like a juvenile attempt at putting a song together in GarageBand. None of the songs feel impactful or interesting and Harvey's voice is often screechy or squealing in the songs. It feels like she wants so badly to be Delores O'Riordan, but doesn't have any of her vocal qualities. I don't understand why there are multiple PJ Harvey albums on this list, but I have yet to see anything about them that makes them worth listening to, let alone worth recommending to another person.

Not to my taste.

I'm struggling to find anything to say, its just pretty nothingy even compared to the other PJ Harvey album on this list, why do we need more?

Interesting concept, very ephemeral.

not my fav pj harvey. it is not gritty enough for me

I'd heard the name and thought PJ Harvery was a Black man so this was surprising. The music did not resonate with me... the subject matter felt incredibly heavy, and the music was not particularly pleasing to me so it was not an enjoyable listen.

Boring and unforgettable.

Not my fave artist

Modest Mouse vibes with manic pixie nonsense and discordant warbling added for extra effect. Not for me thanks.

The 1001 Project seems a bit too Anglocentric in its featuring of artists hailing from the UK or else UK-adjacent (read: results of British colonialism). This album as a concept of the history of England viewed through the frame of armed conflict over the years really drills down on that unfortunate bias. It's really a shame because there is a whole world of music this book seems to be missing out on while it puts the spotlight on a lot of stuff that seems comparatively less deserving. I'm pleased to have heard this record, yes, but perhaps not at the expense of say, "Selda" by Selda Bağcan. Jeez, guys. Anyhow, "Sheela-Na-Gig" was my introduction to PJ Harvey in high school, and although it wasn't totally my thing at the time, I enjoyed the sort of ferocity she exhibited in that track. Later, stuff like "Rid of Me" took that ferocity and loaded it into a gun pointed right at the listener's ear. A girlfriend in the early 00s put "One Time Too Many" on a mixtape for me. Independently, I've kept up with some of her work via collaborations and singles over the years, and it's always been quite compelling. I can't say I've ever listened to one of her records front to back until today though. This album starts off pretty jaunty and upbeat for such dark, violent source material, and pretty much stays that way throughout, strangely. Polly Jean has always had this ache in her voice that I really like. However on this record she's inhabiting a constricted falsetto that I haven't heard her perform in any previous work, and I cannot say I'm a fan of it. There's some great musicality and harmonies going on throughout, but for some reason overall most of the songs feel unfinished, more like ideas/sketches than fully realized, finished pieces. There are some highlights though. "All & Everyone" is a strong track in all its theatrical texture and mournful cadences. "On Battleship Hill" is a haunting piece with a driving rhythm and elegiac vocal melodies. "Written on the Forehead" is interesting in its use of Niney's 1971 ska classic "Blood and Fire" as a repeated sample motif (but here we are again with the colonialism thing). Other than these, the rest of it all seems parenthetical and uninspiring. It's all listenable, but for a concept record, it lacks cohesion. I always respect when an artist moves off the beaten path, but here it doesn't really work for me. The album art design is simple and cool. It certainly catches the eye and has a lot of movement, even if it promises something that the music itself doesn't exactly deliver. Anyway, I'm gonna go listen to Selda now.

Not modern PJ Harvey. Oh man. She has some great rock credentials from the 90s, but that miserable effort from 2000 does not fill me with hope here. Please don’t just be another 12 songs about New York. Nor London. I can’t handle more random city worship. We get it. You LOVE paying a lot of money for stuff and listening to desperate people yell on the street. I love starting into the reflection of our capitalist society’s worst tendencies for the price of getting robbed occasionally. Will I seem stupid for predicting this? Trick question. I will seem stupid, but probably not for whatever this first paragraph purports itself to be. Spin the block Peej. Let England Shake - No. I will not. This is an interesting, jangly little song. Not a bad start, despite playing god with the earth’s tectonic plates. I didn’t know you had that kind of power, and now I better tread carefully, lest hurricanes ravage inland Canada. The Last Living Rose - Brexit banger ™️. Yeah this is actually a really pretty song with a sarcasm I quite enjoy. Looking at England through a realistic lens while also acknowledging the role it plays in your life. Interesting and, dare I say it? Fun. The Glorious Land - This really is going to be England criticisms. I wonder if she will mention New York? Anti-War sentiments and parallels drawn between the two nations most responsible for the negatives in the world today. The Words that Maketh Murder - Well, they can’t all be hits. All And Everyone - We continue with sleepy nonsense. Not loving this departure from what made this album so captivating to begin with. There’s still time. On Battleship Hill - Whoa. There’s a battleship on a hill? Are we talking about some sort of harbour hopper situation? We’re so back. Haunting modern take on a psychedelic chamber pop song. I think. I don’t know anything about genres. That’s what it sounds like to me??? England - Man, another England song. Very cool track. A lot of this is extremely off the wall and I’m liking the general atmosphere. Interesting to see how disparate here albums are. In 20 years; the change in sound is staggering. In the Dark Places - Oh man, we’re starting to drag. Not in a cool way either. Bitter Branches - For the last time, do NOT eat the branches. PJ, I take you and this backup singer to the public gardens and you just keep eating trees. Worse yet, you write an extremely grating song about it. Hanging in the Wire - I have tried to listen to this song twice and I still can’t remember one thing about it. I’m sorry, I have failed my loyal readership. And my royal leadership. Written on the Forehead - This is an interesting one. I like the sample, and the general oddity of everything fits nicely. The Colour of the Earth - What a dull closer. Ugh. An inconsistent album that really started to take forever. It seems that when she ran out of ideas, she just started to repeat herself ad nauseam. There were some fascinating ideas here, and there was a bunch of dead air I was forced to sit through. Welcome to 2011. Well actually most albums from 2011 are utter dreck, so this was a standout I suppose. The best of a bad bunch so far. Anyway. Happy this is behind me. Bring on the angsty 90s PJ Harvey, and let England do what it will. Just do it away from me, please. 2-2.5 HIGHLIGHTS: The Last Living Rose, On Battleship Hill

Second album proposé après 'Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea' que j'avais plutôt apprécié (noté 3/5). Quelle déception ! Ce nouvel album a perdu presque tout ce qui m'avais plu dans le précédent : les morceaux dynamiques / rock saturés, les harmonies originales ... Le résultat n'est pas désagréable (+1), mais est plutôt ennuyeux (il m'a paru interminable) et ne présente plus d'intérêt pour moi. Je ne l'écouterais pas une seconde fois. =>2/5

Sitter ikke igjen med noe, men hun er kul da. Men mer trøkk takk.

Kind of a boring release to me, dissappointing after enjoying her first 2 albums. Bitter Branches was fun but outside of that I struggle to really enjoy or even remember the other tracks here. It's probably well written but I don't really tend to focus on the lyrics too much. The songs were all this kind of meh indie pop to me, a far call for her rougher and rawer earlier work.

Much less interesting than the previous album that I got from her. the music is good quality wise. It just doesnt vibe with me

This was.. not good. I really like early 90s PJ so this was so disappointing.

Stop making me listen to PJ fucking Harvey. Concept album, countries history (and let’s be real, futures) are blood shed. Supposedly haunting poetry, maybe if you like romantic myth cycles?? Historical naivety - maybe if you don’t contextualise ? And that’s before the pseudo old British folk stylings and whining. 2 Stars

I honestly don’t know if I hate this album or if I like it. There’s not a song that stands out and I dislike listening to it, but it’s not bad? I might revisit this in the future

I wasn't a big fan of this one. I felt like the vocals from PJ Harvey were a bit whiny and didn't like them much. The actual music I felt was a little boring and there wasn't much to shout about or any standout track I could pick out. There's the odd catchy vocal ('The Glorious Land') or piece of music (the title track) sprinkled here and there but there's not much meat on the bones of this album. It all sounds a little bit dreary. I wasn't gripped by anything melodically, despite it being pleasant enough. Nothing made my ears bleed, but it's not something I would come back to any time soon. It's a very slow and moody album without ever venturing into beautiful territory. Critics loved this apparently, but I must be missing something because this wasn't for me.

vaya mierda

absolute snoozer

Fully thought ‘Let England Shake’ and ‘PJ Harvey’ were a recipe for an absolutely mid electronic/dance album. Instead, it’s an absolutely mid acoustic alternative slog with often obnoxious vocal delivery. Let England Shake (5/10) The Last Living Rose (5/10) The Glorious Land (4/10) The Words That Maketh Murder (6/10) All and Everyone (6/10) On Battleship Hill (5/10) England (6/10) In the Dark Places (6/10) Bitter Branches (6/10) Hanging in the Wire (7/10) Written on the Forehead (6/10) The Colour of the Earth (6/10) 5.7/10

A bit of folk pop, tried to come off as earnest and deep but just hits me as whiny more than anything. Not a fan particularly, some good teams that'll probably get stuck in my head but generally misses the mark for me.

Ok, but not particularly catchy or memorable.

I got two albums of hers in a row. Random right? This one is def not as good as the other (Stories From The City). Some tracks seems a little Feist-like.

Mellow and kinda weird? I dunno I mostly just tuned it out while working

Bordering on musical narrative this is complex, dark & deep but oh so pretentious

I like PJ Harvey a lot but I found myself listening to other albums if hers. This one didn’t do a lot for me.

Nothing on it that interest me, I like PJ Harvey though!

Not my pitch of voice, interesting lyrics

I don’t like the vocal style and the music and lyrics are not interesting

Please use your singing voice next time. :)

The opening track made me think of the tune from the "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)" song

A lot better than Rid of Me that sounded like an incoherent mess. Her more mature take on this makes it sounds better, however it felt bland in some parts but had some good moments. I don’t think I’m big into this kind of music.

Daar is PJ weer. Het derde album dat we voor onze kiezen krijgen; nu al op voorhand veel te veel van het matige. Het is wel een andere klank dan de andere twee albums, met vooral een hoge stem als troef. En ten opzichte van de verwachting schiet ze minder, zogenaamd artistiek, uit de bocht (al ga ik door de grond bij de verdraaiende stem in bijvoorbeeld England). Wat hetzelfde blijft; ook dit is weer een gemaakt geheel. Gericht op de mensen die de kunst in muziek waarderen. Stap dan uit dit boek en maak een 1001 'kunstzinnige uitspattingen'...

Not a fan of PJ Harvey. None of her albums have been enjoyable for me so far. Just wispy and pretentious. I can’t connect with it.

Sounded dated, old and whiney. Seems like a facsimile of Florence and Bjork.

It’s fine. Nothing special.

nix für mich

Bit too much for me

Generally inoffensive, but that one song with the random bugle interspersed for no reason brings it down to a two

Let England Shake by PJ Harvey is not an album that I particularly enjoyed. I didn’t really like the song arrangements, material, lyrics or vocals very much. I skipped through the back half of the album pretty quickly. There were a couple of songs that might bring me back at some point to give this album another try but for now this is a 2 rating for me. 2/5

Voice just didn’t do anything for me

atonal and pretentious. music as "art" versus as music for the joy of music.

Probably didn’t give this enough time. But nothing grabbed me. At all. A lot of it seemed very similar. 2.75

I'm going to take all of my problems to the United Nations.

2 not for me

Let Non English Bands On The List (2.5/5)

Album #200! Woo! Too bad it’s not a better one. Musically, I feel like this albums falls into a lot of 2011 indie music clichés and it really dates itself with them. Lyrically it’s a ridiculous paean to mother England. The other album we reviewed by PJ Harvey was a lot more interesting to me. Pass.

Not for me. Kind of eerie?

Something was really in the air in early 2010s England . This and olympics was serious high of patriotism. Cant quite get behind it. This kind of sounds like something a more right- leaning zoella would listen to. Specific rating - 2.1 Fav song - the last living rose Least fav- written on the forehead

Yeah this ain't much, fever ray-lite at times. Songs don't really go anywhere. Lotta 2's lately

Only having been familiar with Harvey's earlier work, this album feels like a bit of a departure (or evolution if you want to look at it that way). This seems to fit into the indie rock mold from this early 2010's era, being more delicately crafted and narrative-based (focusing on England and their affairs in war in this album's case). I'm conflicted though, as this doesn't feel like the PJ Harvey that this list introduced me to. There are hints here and there, but the energy is largely missing. Thus, I have a hard time ranking this the same as the other two albums of hers that I've listened to so far. I can see how this would strike a chord with others, though.

I guess it’s not that bad. 2.5

Liked the arrangements and good beats

wanted to like this more, but it felt very 2010s indie to me. not really my vibe

So a lot of time I say the singer doesn't have enough emotion but I think PJ Harvey has the opposite. Sometimes her voice is so emotional that it makes me think, its not that serious.... Her voice is also not my favorite, its not great, but not in a Stevie Nicks, Janis Joplin, Joni Mitchell bad good way. It is better than the last album by her, the music is at least palatable, but just not complete for me.

I enjoyed Dry by her more - really was not a fan of the combination of singing voice with the music. Always felt off kilter and off-key, not terribly interested in finding out how purposefully so.

I mean it was fine but didn't really connect with it

There's 3 more PJ Harvey albums on the list. For me this is the last one and my least favorite one. If it was good enough, it would have been different enough to be on the list. But it's not. It sounds like she, as a grunge artist, is struggling to stay relevant in the changing musical climate, specifically the rise of indie folk around that time. I don't like the genre very much and this album doesn't seem to be one of the highlights to me.

Kind of dissonant pop rock

This is really interesting, but I don't think I would say that it's good. She's very talented vocally! I think that's really the only nice thing I have to say about the album though. I also don't really have anything particularly negative to say though, either? Like it's not good, but there's nothing specifically bad about it. It's just unremarkable, to the point where I don't have a favorite song from this album. If you're obsessively into British female pop vocalists, this album might crack your top 1001, but for a general audience this is probably a skip. Favorite Song(s): -

2 star, interesting idea, mediocre execution, doesn't stand on its own legs. Heart was in the right place

I really didn’t care for this.

Not something I’d actually listen to.

Another example of the schism of music fandom. If you're interested in lyrics maybe there's something here for you. The music is pleasant but BORing; two adjectives that I never associated with P.J. Harvey before listening to this. Boring music annoys me. I can read lyrics on a page. I don't need them to be delivered in sonic mediocrity.

Did I want a Fiona apple-y album about England? Not really. Kinda warbly and not my cup of tea.

Ik så meget mig hørte ikke det hele igennem

Um yeah, never gonna listen to this dirty English propaganda again. Not a fan of her vocal style. Better than Neil young tho.

An acquired taste. Interesting voice but it reminded me of Kate Bush without sounding anything like Kate Bush, and I don’t much care for Bush. Maybe the lyrics are good but I can’t get past Harvey’s voice.

# 412 : I don't love it, I don't hate it. I thought it was very ordinary and Quiet forgettable. This was another album where I didn't feel like it warranted the "must hear before you die" label.

Sounds like a mashup of a bunch of bands I don't like.

One of those albums that is just too … cerebral for me. Too much to think about to enjoy. I’m a basic bitch.

Now we're talking! Honestly I never followed up with PJ Harvey after the 90s album To Bring You My Love. Hopefully it's good! I wasn't impressed 2 stars.

Sounds like hippie anti war music but way too on the nose and the lyrics suck

Well that’s wildly different from her last couple albums I heard. Far inferior to Stories from the Sea, but not bad, really—just kind of boring? This one really fails to grab me in sound or vibe. Best song: Bitter Branches

Get why it’s on this list but this album felt pretty pretentious - sort've like something ‘ Kamilah’ from the Good Place would’ve released. Not something I’d go back to. I’m sure people that enjoy this kind of music would really enjoy this album though.

Well, this started out as a pleasant surprise. I liked it ... up until about the 7th song, then it fell apart for me. Her voice, something, just didn't work any more, and it never got better.

Like st Vincent but boring?

I mean it’s alright…

Hat mich gar nicht abgeholt, aber 1 Stern ist reserviert für schlimmeres

Had to muscle through this one. I just don’t get it.

So screechy

PJ tries Bjork but it doesn’t grab me

Eh. Just had a hard time with this

Weird like Bjork

2.5 In one ear and out the other. I understand putting PJ Harvey on this list, but this feels like a random one to include.

Well this was an odd one. With the opening track I thought this just wasn't an album for me. But then there was something I liked. The whole album kept swinging wildly between enjoyable and terrible, often multiple times within one track. I really don't know what to make of it.

She can’t sing. Or at least she’s not showing it on this album. Sounds like off key yodeling to me. Skipped the England track halfway through because I just couldn’t take it anymore.

Not really worth a listen

Not really my cup of tea, a little too angsty.

Totally get why people would like this but I didn’t care for it.

People are high that rate this a 5. I used to get high, now I sit in a cubicle and push buttons. This did not brighten my day in any way, shape, or form. Awful sounding and couldn't wait for it to be done, so I stopped at song#5. If I had went on it would be a one star. Probably is a one star, but giving it a two because I was able to stop early and not waste any more of my time. Have a nice day!😜🤘🏻🤷🏻‍♂️🌝🌞🎃💩👻

Not necessarily bad, just not for me.

One of the most wishy-washy albums I've heard so far. I'm sure there is plenty to like about this album but I really couldn't gauge what PJ was going for on this album. The poetry/lyricism felt tacky and mediocre for a majority of the album. The vocals also seemed substandard. Idk man listen to the first 15-30 secs of England and you tell me if that slaps. The production was at least very solid but besides that it was all mid. Top 3 Fav: no favorites 1.75-2.25/5 Top 3 Worst: England (solos), Bitter Branches, and Written On The Forehead

This album doesn't stand out to me. Nothing done here feels special or influential to any specific genre. It's well crafted, but not great by any means.

Nope. Sorry. If they played this at the pub, I'd finish my drink and leave.

Not bad I just don't really like this type of music and if I did want to listen to it I think there are better artists. I've heard this before and still feel about the same, I am not sorry that I listened to it but don't need to hear it again.

Ugh, I kinda hated this

The beginning of England sounds like a goat dying. There were times early on that I thought this was better than Rid Of Me, and then it slowly got worse as it went on. I can respect the musicianship of PJ Harvey but her music is not something I enjoy.

Still not a PJ Harvey fan.

i had a buncha friends in the 90s who looooooved ms polly jean, but i just never cared for her. i'm glad this album was on the list, because it's allowed me to confirm that i still just don't care for her. musically, i mean - i'm sure she's a very nice person.

It was interesting I guess?

2 músicas ok e o restante ta pra pra preencher o album

Look, I know PJ Harvey is highly regarded and I admit she has done some good songs, but seriously, what the fuck is this shit?

STANDOUTS: n/a OVERALL: 1.5/5; I enjoyed the first PJ Harvey album this gave me. THIS ALBUM?? No. Possibly too experimental?

Super mid and super weird 3/10

no thom yorke and wouldnt come back to it

I don't get it.

Too warbly

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.

Not my thing

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.

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

production is good but its just not my thing

Weinerlicher Folk Rock.

Only a couple of the songs were really good

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?

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

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.

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.

Absolutely borinnggggg

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?

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.

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

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.

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.

Too much PJ Harvey

Ok, but not for me 2/5

Why is this on this list?

She should have stayed in the 90s

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.

yay Great Britain is sooooooo cool

Too screechy for me.

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.

I wasn't a fan of this. I do like her other music.

Eeeh. Was not for me.

I appreciate the vibe, I like plenty of artists that are similar but PJH just isn’t it for me.

it's ok

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 is twice in 4 days now, grow up

Second of PJ Harvey's in four days which is too much for my taste.

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.

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

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.

Pretty average sounding album, didnt stand out to my interests.

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

I didn't think it was bad by any means, I just don't enjoy this type of music

It was ok. Nothing amazing. Won’t be downloading the back catalog or anything.

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.

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.

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.

Few nice moments

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...?

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.

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

Tråkigt tbh

ei ei ei herrat ei voi antaa ykköstä.. Soundi matchaa sanoja... koherentti.. Sanoitus kuulemma uskomatonta..

Not at all for me.

Eh. This is our third from PJ Harvey. The first two were decent, and this one I'd put slightly below that. It's weird in ways that I don't think always work. It sounds like she's trying to be the British Bjork, and I'm not much of a Bjork fan, so it figures I wouldn't appreciate an imitation. Take, for example, "The Glorious Land." It's a pretty generic alt-rock type of song, and then there's a bugle march just right on top of the track. Obviously there's meaning to it, it's obviously a war protest song (the album is a "war album," which just typing out makes me yawn). But musically, it's just uninteresting and feels lazy. Like something a college kid would do and be like "yo, but it's so deep, it's like the war is marching on in the background of whatever we're doing and stuff." With any album I've never heard before, my first impression is and always will be music before lyrics. This one might be great lyrically, but musically I find it too bland to even return to and get into the lyrics. A couple songs I enjoyed, but yeah, this is a dud for me. I understand the inclusion since it's "important," but that doesn't mean I have to like it. Favorite tracks: The Last Living Rose, On Battleship Hill. Album art: Not much to say. It's the title over, what, a cloud of black birds? I don't know, man. I've checked out. 2.5/5

Couple of listenable tracks on here but most of it wouldn't be for me.

Skilled musician and singer. But not for me.

This PJ Harvey record screams "Look at me! I'm still a relevant alt-rock icon!" Except she isn't and this is just pretentious. 1.5/5

Some interesting stuff here but not enough to keep me coming back. Enjoyed the first listen more than the second and third. Interesting & unique can’t be assumed to have a continuing allure. On Battleship Hill and In The Dark Places are songs I’d like to hear again, but would be okay without the rest. 1 - bad 2 - average 3 - good 4 - great 5 - outstanding

Not quite sure what I expected, but I certainly hoped for better. As a Scot, an album of songs about England is not top of my wishlist - even if it's not complimentary! Singing is great, but words and music less so. Maybe I'd like it more after a few more times through, but there's no time for that - on to the next!

The music is fine, but I don't like her voice. The whole thing kind of sounds like typical indie music that's trying to be weird and spooky for no reason at all

2/5. Idk, wish this was better than it was. Sure some interesting pop sounds and innovative songwriting, but not enjoyable. Just fine.

A few interesting songs but overall not that exciting. Patty did not like it. 2 stars

Weird composition choices. Lyrics belong on r/Im14andthisisdeep

Music and voice isn’t bad, can’t connect lyrically with her