Woman A Man Walked By, A

Q - 4 stars out of 5 -- "The closing 'Cracks In The Canvas' is the best of both parties: with just cracked ukulele and organ fuzz, Parish conjures up a limpid elegy for the singer's bereavement." Mojo - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[A] joyful understanding, a quiet intuition, a compendium of the participants' pasts and presents. After nearly two decades, this man and woman still turn heads." Record Collector - 4 stars out of 5 -- "At its wildest, as on the raucous 'Pig Will Not' and the title track, Harvey sounds deranged, freed from any kind of vocal styling or even composure, shrieking and howling over Parish's blues churn." Spin - "Harvey morphs from rasping seductress to screaming chimera with stunning velocity..." Pitchfork - "Harvey has said that her collaborations with Parish give her the freedom to push into new places, and there is a sense of exploration here as she fits her words to the shapes of his songs." Blender - 4 stars out of 5 -- "Parish, a guitarist and keyboardist, has the extra chops to devise music that lurches and stomps unpredictably or floats into the ether." Uncut - 4 stars out of 5 -- "The division of labour is clear: Harvey ransacks her copious notebooks for lyrics, while Parish constructs a selection of diverse musical frameworks." Spin (p.79) - "Harvey morphs from rasping seductress to screaming chimera with stunning velocity..." Q (Magazine) (p.101) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "The closing 'Cracks In The Canvas' is the best of both parties: with just cracked ukulele and organ fuzz, Parish conjures up a limpid elegy for the singer's bereavement." Mojo (Publisher) (p.100) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[A] joyful understanding, a quiet intuition, a compendium of the participants' pasts and presents. After nearly two decades, this man and woman still turn heads." Pitchfork (Website) - "Harvey has said that her collaborations with Parish give her the freedom to push into new places, and there is a sense of exploration here as she fits her words to the shapes of his songs." Record Collector (magazine) (p.92) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "At its wildest, as on the raucous 'Pig Will Not' and the title track, Harvey sounds deranged, freed from any kind of vocal styling or even composure, shrieking and howling over Parish's blues churn."

This album follows Polly Harvey's 2007 release 'White Chalk' and is Harvey and Parrish's second collaboration after 1996's 'Dance Hall At Louse Point', an avant-garde collection which never enjoyed the success of her solo albums. This album's synthesis of folk, blues and experimental rock has been hailed as bold, challenging and inventive, yet with a more accessible sound than before. Co-produced by Flood (Smashing Pumpkins, Nine Inch Nails), it includes the single 'Black Hearted Love'.|