CD REVIEW
Let England Shake
Island
Alt-rock priestess PJ Harvey has managed a neat trick during her two-decade career by forging a singular voice yet constantly reinventing herself with each new album. Her latest, Let England Shake, is a return to full-band rock sound after 2007’s subdued White Chalk albeit not that of her raw early albums or the arena-ready masterpiece Stories From the City, Stories From the Sea. Melodic with a touch of folk and even a reggae sample, the album is another stellar collection. Harvey takes an unflinching look at patriotism with images of WWI and its devastating affects on her native England. The words are raw enough that she doesn’t need to sing stridently, instead offering them with a haunting lilt and catchy almost playful arrangements that allow the themes to insinuate themselves with more power. (Omar Aziz)
