White Chalk
Polly Jean Harvey has never made the same album twice, and neither has she ever made an album as bleak as White Chalk, which finds her trading guitar for piano and haunting her own house.
P.J. Harvey has never been good at standing still or looking backward. When she tries to duplicate a successful past sound, as on the underwhelming 2004 effort Uh Huh Her, her heart just doesn't seem in it. When she tries something new, however, there are few more exciting artists out there.
Polly Jean Harvey's appearance on the cover of White Chalk -- all wild black hair and ghostly white dress -- could replace the dictionary definition of eerie, and the album itself plays like a good ghost story.
PJ Harvey - White Chalk review: Piano replaces guitar, resignation replaces anger, and PJ Harvey comes up trumps.