Let England Shake

3.5/5. As someone who’s only really familiar with PJ Harvey’s 90’s material, this album was not what I was expecting at all. It’s a much chiller album musically, though thematically it’s still pretty heavy, tackling the complex feelings of wanting to be proud of one’s national identity while being aware of the horrible things their nation has done, in this case England and its history of war and imperialism in the 20th/early 21st century. At points it almost feels like she’s doing something musically similar to 2000’s indie acts like Arcade Fire. I’m still more into her 90’s work, but this was a pretty good and very different album from PJ Harvey.

Not really my style. Something about her singing voice just doesn’t really hit for me.

Pretentious as all other PJ Harvey albums on this list. I will never understand what makes this album, or artist, essential listening.

Was really looking forward to this, but disappointing overall

Я слухав різні альбоми Пі Джей Харві доволі давно і доволі багато, але якось все одно погано орієнтуюсь в її дискографії.

Саме цей альбом пам'ятав поганенько, тому переслухав із задоволенням. Є в ньому якась така приємна складова, важко висловити в чому саме вона проявляється. Щось таке ніби як течія ріки, потік небанальної фолкової музики. При тому що хітів тут ніби й нема. Коротше ставлю 4.

Sad in a cathartic way :)

Very excited to explore this artist as I was only aware of her from the collaboration with Nick Cave which was great. Hearing this now on the first time and it's not disappointing at all, quite interesting and seems like could be a concept album although I haven't done any research and might be wrong here. Definitely easy 3 stars, but could be more and she seems like an artist I should Revisit

I think I listened to one other PJ Harvey album before and it wasn’t my favorite. But wow this album was great! So much interesting stuff going on. It’s very Anglo centric and I don’t know what a lot of the songs were about but the music and vocals were captivating.

Not quite as good as other pj Harvey albums I know but I definitely want to listen again

This album doesn't quite hit for me the same way some of her earlier albums do. I still enjoyed it, but I don't think I'll be returning to it; if I'm ever in the mood for some PJ Harvey, I'd be reaching for Rid of Me or To Bring You My Love.

Honestly, do we really need 4 PJ Harvey albums in the list?

Alright, last PJ Harvey record on my album journey, and I was curious what direction this one would take. As it turns out, this is rather simple to describe - Let England Shake is her anti-war album.

Having spent two-and-a-half years researching the history of conflict and trying to find the right words, PJ put forth a collection of songs that explores the many facets of armed conflict, including the preceding climate and aftermath. The beauty of this record is that, aside from the mentions of her country, England, and allusions to the 1915 Gallipoli campaign in the First World War, the themes explored are universal. There are the xenophobic sentiments expressed on "The Last Living Rose", the government's narrow-minded focus on warfare instead of other avenues like agriculture on "This Glorious Land", the failed diplomacy on "The Words That Maketh Murder", the disastrous mismanagement of soldiers carried out on "On Battleship Hill", the vain nationalism on "England", the loss of innocent life seen on "In the Dark Places", the thorny pervasiveness of military expansion into other territories on "Bitter Branches", the hasty retreat of civilians and refugees from wartorn cities on "Written on the Forehead", culminating in the grief over loved ones killed in action expressed on "The Colour of the Earth". The fact that so much of what PJ has described on this record can still be felt to this day is equal parts disturbing and poignant.

It certainly helped that this record is also just as catchy as PJ and company worked their way between jaunty tunes and somber ballads, with PJ's singing in her upper vocal register as the central focus. I genuinely appreciate how I could hear the contributions from John Parish, Mick Harvey, and Jean-Marc Butty, giving these songs a very communal feel as their backing vocals harmonized with PJ, all the while using a variety of instruments, such as the autoharp, zither, Rhodes piano, bass harmonica, and horns. Heck, I was even surprised by the incorporation of a few samples, including the "Regimental March" bugle call on "This Glorious Land" or the refrain and chorus from Niney the Observer's "Blood & Fire" expanded upon with "Written on the Forehead".

All in all, Let England Shake is such a strikingly potent record that holds nothing back, as PJ went into graphic detail on what armed conflict entails. Her words and performance certainly shook foundations.

She sounds so much like Karen O on this record it's kind of insane. I like the folksy/indie vibe she was going for here, but I don't think the songwriting was as strong overall here as it was on SFTCSFTS, where each track had a catchy chorus or strong instrumental part of some kind

1.90

Love this. Favourite PEEJ

Let England Shake was definitely a really good album. This one definitely took a turn from the last PJ Harvey album i heard going from a very grungy sound to a more pop-esque sound. I may not like this as much as the former but i still really can't deny how textured and detailed all these songs feel especially with some excellent production. PJ Harvey herself also had a great voice which helped add to these songs. But the main show stealer is the production. I genuinely sounds so great here, it sounds incredibly polished and expensive no matter which producer worked on it. It's not my favorite kind of PJ Harvey album but its still a really good one.
Best Song: Let England Shake
Worst Song: The Words That Maketh Murder

Definitely the weirdest PJ Harvey album I’ve listened to yet. Sounds a bit like Joanna Newsom at points. Still very good though

Dudel Dudel Dudel

this was pretty good pj harvey is consistently great

While I've heard the name before, this will be my first listen of any PJ Harvey song. Seconds into the first track, I thought "well, this is different. I usually don't like different, but I think I like this."

⭐⭐⭐.75

I don't know what I was expecting, but this absolutely blew me away. Wow.