Let England Shake: PJ Harvey’s moving document of the “endless cycle of war”
When it comes to making a list of the most essential alternative rock artists of all time, PJ Harvey’s name should always be near the top. After performing in the band Automatic Dlamini, Harvey began making music under her own name in 1991, releasing her debut single, ‘Dress’, that same year.
Throughout her career, Harvey has used her music to explore personal themes, often taking a distinctively feminine perspective, whether that be through satirical criticisms of gender expectations (such as in ‘Dress’) or empoweringly defiant statements, as evidenced in ‘50ft Queenie’.
Blending themes of sexuality and violence on albums such as Dry and Rid of Me, Harvey has consistently created incredibly strong bodies of work that reflect terrific songwriting skills. As the ’90s soldiered on and the 2000s began, she found further acclaim with To Bring You My Love, Is This Desire? and her Mercury Prize-nominated album, Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea.
However, 11 years later, Harvey nabbed the prestigious prize again for her album Let England Shake, beating the competition in the form of artists such as Adele, James Blake, Anna Calvi and Ghostpoet. The musician’s eighth album, made in collaboration with producers John Parish, Flood, and Mick Harvey, is one of her greatest.
The record takes a slight sonic shift compared to much of Harvey’s previous work, possessing a distinctively English sound inspired by traditional folk influences. Harvey uses the record as a concept album of sorts, exploring the “endless cycle of war” and its effects, reflecting the political backdrop in which it was made. With war raging on in places such as Afghanistan and Iraq, Harvey wanted to make a piece of art that reflected this climate.
Reflecting on her creation, Harvey told The Quietus, “I do feel at this stage of my life, it feels very important to give voice to the things that really matter,” she said before citing “things that I feel need to be said that aren’t being said, and address the issues of the day,” as her inspiration for the record.
Discussing the lyrics, she revealed that she didn’t want them to sound “self-important”. Rather, she “wanted to leave them very open to interpretation”. Elsewhere, she told The Guardian, “I wanted to remain a narrator.” The album is a rich amalgamation of perspectives, with Harvey aiming to create a chronicle of the impact of war through those who have been directly affected.
For example, in ‘The Glorious Land’, Harvey lifts several lines from Russian Folk Lyrics, singing, “How is our glorious country ploughed?/ Not by iron ploughs/ Our land is ploughed by tanks and feet/ Feet marching.” She ends the song with a powerful statement on the psychological effects of war, “What is the glorious fruit of our land?/ Its fruit is deformed children.”
Let England Shake is one of the musician’s most powerful works, defining the climate in which it was made with harrowing resonance.
