release date: Feb. 28, 1995
format: digital
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,42]
Track highlights: 1. "To Bring You My Love" - 4. "C'mon Billy" (4 / 5) - 7. "Down by the Water" (4 / 5) - 9. "Send His Love to Me"
3rd studio album b PJ Harvey released on Island Records and produced by Flood, John Parish, and PJ Harvey. The album introduces a change of style from her previous albums. Personally, she had met a tremendous amount of artistic and financial success, which may be the reason for her choice to take some time off when she practically didn't perform live more than once in '94. She turns to new musical partnerships when working on this album, which has a more American sound and a blues-oriented style influenced by and with references to Captain Beefheart. I really enjoy the Captain, but do not enjoy the combo of Harvey's blues rock, and in the end I kinda dislike the result.
The album, however, may be seen as her international biggest breakthrough to stardom, and almost everywhere it was met with appraisal. The single tracks are not bad or unoriginal - I just don't like the dark, sinister tone and the heavy blues rock element. A few great tracks stand out like "C'mon Billy", and "Down by the Water" both of which are more like the music on her debut Dry (1992) and her successive album Is This Desire? (1998). With this Harvey experienced for the second time a nomination to the Mercury Prize Award in 1995, which was handed to Portishead for the album Dummy.
Although, I'm not overwhelmed by the result, the album is no near a bad one.
[ almusic.com 4,5 / 5, Rolling Stone 4 / 5 stars ]
