Cool to read some of the PJH discussion here. Not sure of her following in the states.

Yeah its cool to hear her sing the Thom Yorke part for this mess we're in.

Picked up the vinyl reissues for TBYML, ITD and Stories. Will get Uh ha her as well. Got the Stories Demos on Vinyl as well. The other demos I've really enjoyed on spotify.

Hope six didn't really click for me until I saw the tour. Agree it's not as good as LES. Hopeful for a new direction next.

My Uh Huh Her reissue just shaped, and they're now taking pre-orders for White Chalk.

Nice.

Edit to say that the UHH demos are now up on spotify.

...and it sounds great, though it is missing i think:

No Child of mine
Cat on the wall
you come through (mainly bummed about this one).

and
the end
seagulls (which is understandable)

You Come Through especially sounds like something that could only come together in the studio

I think you are right.

Uh huh her was built for 3am CST, it seems.

Uh Huh Her sounds great, though I think i got a little distortion on Shame.

White Chalk reissue + demos out today. I love this album, but it’s always struck me as more of a winter album and we’re doing a little belt tightening around here, so I’ll wait until the weather gets cold again

Let England Shake reissue + demos record out 1/28

Two demos out from the upcoming Let England Shake reissue, the title track and Words That Maketh Murder. Probably the most interesting demos in the whole reissue series thus far. Really interesting to see how she built her songs up around the archival loops.

I’d been passing on the demo LPs but may actually grab this one.

LP sounds fantastic. Also nice to finally have the liner notes; I never appreciated all the samples used on this album. Really interesting to consider it as the first step in what seems to be a new creative process, taking more overt direction from others' prior works.

Obviously Hope Six is a bigger step in that direction, but I didn't realize that was such a big component of this album too. The sample list and demos album really lays it all out.

I'd easily put The Glorious Land up there in her top 10, and that "fox hunting" sample really ties the whole thing together.

What's up?

Finally got my uh ha her reissue LP - sounds great.

Already had old pressings of WC, LES and H6, so won't be getting those.

Still, White chalk is a fav and I really like listening to the demos on spotify. Though because they are kinda low-fi, I don't know if vinyl for that is necessary. Belt tightening over here as well. Though vinyl, headphones and silence could persuade me.

LES is all time great, this glorious land, written on the forehead, plus more traditional fare like bitter branches. Front to back just perfect.

So I am really keen to check out the LES demos and get the vinyl. Those two early tracks released sound interesting and different enough from the LP versions.

For example I think there was an early TV appearance for let england shake where the sample was a bit more pronounced (like the demo) than what appeared on the LP.



The best part about all this is the creative process.

that's right, I remember reading about this recently:

https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/pj-harvey-let-england-shake-demos/

This bit particularly:

But Let England Shake - Demos shows that these lines could also work their way out. The album’s title track initially featured a sample from Canadian vocal quartet the Four Lads’ “Istanbul (Not Constantinople),” which Harvey scrapped after realizing it was “drawing the song back rather than letting it become its own living entity.” Listening to the demo version, this was undoubtedly the right decision: The Four Lads’ overly cheery melody clouds out the pitiless blue-sky clarity of the song’s studio take.

Interesting history there! Yeah I think the album version is definitely stronger for that very reason. But still really fun to see the creative process behind this record.

I need to place The Police sample that’s listed in the album credits.

oh - I don't know it.

Polly’s posting pics of new recording sessions

Strong agree. That one & Words that maketh murder are both in my top 10. Totally spaced on the LES release, hope my store has copies tomorrow. Polly is among my wife’s all time artists, but she doesn’t like the last two albums. I tell her she’s nuts whenever this comes up.

The band she had with Mick Harvey & Alain Johannes doing the LES songs is still one of favorite shows of the 10 years. Can’t wait for new music.

This is being covered in depth on other message boards today, but I’ll summarize:

A 6-LP box set of B-sides and rarities — including 14 previously unreleased tracks — has landed in a few record stores ahead of schedule, without prior announcement.

Seems to be a distribution error. Small handful of them out there now in Los Angeles and Virginia. Shelf price is $160-$180. Those claiming to be in the know say an official announcement and release is planned for down the line.

Odd situation but there you go.