PJ Harvey - 'Shame' (Universal-Island)
4/5
By: Laure James
Compelling lyricism and crafted catharsis are the components to Polly Jean's newest exponent off 'Uh Huh Her', 'Shame'; the hoarsely cooed and saddening confession of how 'I jump through you into the fire.' It's strikingly unhinged and debilitating, but Harvey appears to fuel herself via such passionate sorrow from the outset; she appears to find a strength and confidence within each punishing experience and despite her heartbreak, declares, 'I don't need no rising moon/I don't need no ball and chain...'
The ambiguity of the title is also tastefully enigmatic. Harvey claims that, 'If you pass me by/Such a shame, shame, shame,' evoking either potential disappointment, or a tongue-in-cheek assertion. Or both.
Fittingly, Harvey recently described songwriting as 'painful', but her emotional involvement with the craft is evidently the power behind such exertion. 'Shame' is a ravenous song that blends objective, driven emotion with gritty and biting lo-fi guitars. Gnarly, tightly-wound and inexorably beautiful, be assured that this is a far more revealing and effective introduction to her most recent work than can be proffered elsewhere.
Artists in this article: PJ Harvey
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