Is This Desire?

"The River"

Used to be, PJ Harvey albums would begin with nary a whisper, sneaking up on you, then smack you on the head with a Stooges-like raw- power- trio and a hellwoman shriek. So this new kinder, gentler PJ takes some getting used to. But as she’s matured, Harvey has lost none of her impact -- she’s simply buried her drama deeper in layers of lush instrumentation and, more importantly, a controlled sense of purpose. At the same time, having exorcised much of her young anger, her head is now clearer to focus on the more important things in life -- like sensuality and, oddly, spirituality.

Indeed, Is This Desire? is one of the sexiest albums of the year. Harvey comes very near to concept- album territory here, alternating song subjects between odes to certain females ("Angelene," "My Beautiful Leah," "A Perfect Day Elise," "Catherine," "Joy," and "No Girl So Sweet") and, on the spiritual side, a mystical appreciation of the elements ("The Sky Lit Up," "The Wind," "The Garden," "The River"). The latter three also form a consistent musical set -- a recurring piano motif appears in all three, as does a similar atmospheric haunt.

As with the best sensuous work, there is richness everywhere -- dense layers are formed by sampled beats, ambient layers of keyboards, electronic noises, syncopated guitars, and Harvey’s own thick, expressive voice, which, as she matures, is beginning to resemble Patti Smith at times. Anyone expecting the scorching fury of her Rid Of Me era will find it only on two songs here -- "The Sky Lit Up" and "No Girl So Sweet," both standouts because they serve as bracing wake-up calls from the album’s overreaching moodiness.

On the downside, no one song leaps out melodically. But that’s nothing new for Harvey -- she’s always been more influenced by the darker blues tradition. Nor is it to suggest that these 12 songs can be listened to passively. Among all the album’s other charms is its pervasive sense of mystery -- one never quite grasps Harvey’s full intent, and that’s as it should be. The deeper experience is in the guessing.

-- John Bitzer