PJ Harvey and John Parish: A Woman a Man Walked By

There is an ongoing debate among Simpsons "fans" about whether or not the show should continue to exist. I've always been baffled by those who wish it off the air simply because the episodes over the last several years have not (supposedly) been as good as earlier episodes. I've never really agreed that they've been that bad, and even if they were, who cares? It doesn't make the earlier episodes any worse.

But after hearing the last 3 PJ Harvey albums, I am beginning to understand why someone might wish The Simpsons would go away. Each PJ Harvey album since 2000's Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea has been increasingly disappointing (and even that one was a disappointment when compared with her previous two efforts). These albums have been so bad in fact that it has poisoned the other PJ Harvey albums I have. The most recent collaboration with John Parish is no exception. While some of my disappointment can be passed off to Parish, it still manages to go back and taint Dancehall at Louise Point, an album from what I considered Harvey's best years.

So what's so bad about it? Just about everything. The music is rarely interesting, Harvey's vocal delivery approaches the obnoxious at points and the lyrics just sound a bit silly. From the beginning with "Black Hearted Love", the album disappoints. This is the kind of mid tempo rock song that might have been decent enough filler 15 years ago, but now, it's hard not to grow impatient. The album picks up with the second track, "Sixteen, Fifteen, Fourteen" which features less electric instrumentation, but a much more driving melody. Unfortunately, the next few songs are snoozers, and when things pick up with the title track, they don't move into any welcome areas.

I bought this album shortly after moving in with my fiance, and it can frequently make my enjoyment of music much more fraught than it used to be. Now, when I listen to a loud song that I love, I worry that I'm driving her crazy. There's always a dueling desire within me to turn the volume up to maximize my enjoyment or down to avoid making her miserable. No such battle takes place during the louder songs on this album. I just want to turn them down for both of our sakes.