Joan Crawford on Acid

[The Man in Blak 0]

I finally got around to picking up White Chalk today, even though the critical response was a little mixed. And I can see where they're coming from; you really don't expect the same chick that ripped your face off years ago in the early 90's to do a gloomy Sufjan Stevens concept album. But, somehow, a lot of it still manages, even though the context (even when delivered in a brisk ~30 minute package) is pushed too far, even though it does tend to evoke some unsavory comparisons to the aforementioned Stevens or pre-soul Cat Power or even the quieter moments from last year's Arbouretum release.

 

The presentation throughout is too straightforward, which is a surprise when you consider that the artist in question is very aware that her Art Is In Progress. Every song reinforces that we're dealing with the kind of folk music that haunts the darker corners of your grandparents' house; hilariously un-tuned piano at the forefront and whispers and airy vocals in constant reverb, lingering around a higher register that is as unfamiliar to Harvey as it is to her fans. But, for the most part, the songs are still there, with all of the structural wrinkles and cutting lyrics that one would expect, even if it makes you look twice at the volume knob on your stereo.

 

White Chalk isn't good enough to be Harvey's Nebraska, but it's good enough to warrant checking out if you enjoy her previous work or gravitate towards that kind of stripped down folk. As for the actual thread itself, how does everybody else feel about the rest of her work? Personally, I'd consider all of her mid career stuff from Rid of Me (engineered by Steve Albini) to Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea to be essential listening for the period.

[Kinetic 0]

Rid of Me is ferocious, definitely one of my favorite 90s albums. To Bring You My Love is very good. I don't care for Is This Desire? or the one with stories from various places at all. I care so little, in fact, that I haven't been at all tempted to hear this recent album.

[Giuseppe Zangara 0]

Still haven't checked out White Chalk. My lack of interest stemmed from Uh Huh Her being pretty lousy, and the album before that, Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea—which I liked—having came out all the way back in 2000.

[Guest Tzar Lysergic]

Is she the one who sang "Hot White Cum"?

 

I sang that in K-mart.

[The Man in Blak 0]

Yeah, Uh Huh Her is probably worth a mulligan - some of the songs are okay, but the instrumentation and production decisions don't quite jive with the material at all times. It comes off as a weaker Is This Desire? to me. (And, of course, I forgot that Is This Desire? actually came before Stories... - you can snip it from my previous recommendation).

 

Stories... is fantastic, though. Sure, it's the PJ Harvey Pop Album, but it's a damn good pop album, with "Big Exit" probably serving as her best opener (and one of her best tracks overall, period.) In retrospect, it raises the eyebrows to hear Thom Yorke hanging around on some of the tracks, since Kid A came out a little under a month beforehand, but his contributions fare pretty well.

 

White Chalk would probably make for a really good EP. The whole album sounds about as far removed as possible from the abrasive rock from her early career work, Rid of Me, but there are moments that sound more immediate than anything off of Is This Desire?. If you're looking for a quick three-track sampler, for the sake of curiosity, I'd investigate "The Devil", "When Under Ether" (the first single), and "Dear Darkness." The title track and "To Talk To You" aren't bad either, but they tend to exemplify the weaknesses that plague the overall album, either by piling on too much (banjos and autoharps and all sorts of shit flood the soundscape near the end of the former) or droning on a bit too long (the latter).

 

Is she the one who sang "Hot White Cum"?

 

I sang that in K-mart.

 

I think you're thinking of Liz Phair but, considering that PJ Harvey once commanded Robert Deniro to sit on her face in song, you're pretty much in the same ballpark.

[Guest Tzar Lysergic]

Liz Phair, that's it. I have nothing else to add.

[godthedog 0]

i like 'exile in guyville' more than anything pj harvey ever did, but harvey's still the better & smarter artist overall. a harvey-penned "hot white cum" would be a lot more interesting than the one phair did. she'd probably spit it back in the dude's face and shit on him while it was burning his eyes.

 

i think the key to everything she does is that it's going to be ridiculously theatrical--even her ideas of things that are "stripped" or "subtle" are something like THIS IS SO FUCKING SUBTLE, IT'LL MELT YOUR FACE RIGHT OFF! BUT SUBTLY! FUCKYEAH! any song she whispers on would be a good example of this. sometimes that bothers me, but usually i can sit back & appreciate it.

 

strangely, 'uh huh her' is the only album of hers i still listen to with any regularity and still get any desire to. i think it's a solid piece of work, in its own disposable kind of way, and she's not trying so hard to be important. it feels more...comfortable i guess, i don't know how else to put it.