Melodramatic meanderings.
Polly Jean, well, she has always been a bit out there hasn’t she? She is a woman who has made it on her own terms and did so for the best part of two decades and that has to be commended, right? Heck, that’ll probably get us in trouble because we mentioned the gender bit and that’s not really important, any artist who has remained in the public eye and held onto their credibility deserves a thumbs-up and PJ definitely gets one from us.
The thing is, her new single ‘The Piano’ hails from her recent album ‘White Chalk’, and unlike previous PJ records, it hasn’t really been grabbing the attention like some that have came before. Sure, the reviews are still there and she carries the same presence but it just feels as though the special ness, or more accurately, the unique ness of PJ Harvey no longer exists. There are countless indie and alternative female artists at every turn these days and a lot of them are quite good, something which couldn’t always be said and they all owe a bit of a debt to PJ for breaking down a few doors for them. It’s just a pity that now the world is turned on again to female artists that PJ has moved away from it all.
Sure, ‘The Piano’ is haunting and stirring and after a few listens, sinks neatly into your subconscious but if you gave it less attention, it could have came from anyone. The backing vocals chime nicely and the tale is kinda dark in a looking back at childhood type of way but when its dealing with a back-catalogue history, it feels a bit of a damp squib.
The lyrics “nobody’s listening” aren’t really appropriate to use to sum up the song but it is not unfair to say that less people are listening to what PJ has to say and if that’s the career path she wants to follow, then fair enough but its probably too early to second guess her next record. It can only be hoped that PJ comes back all guns blazing in the future as she deserves better than to bow out quietly with a whimper.