Let England Shake

Rolling Stone (p.60) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "The sound is muted guitar/organ balladry, heavy on melody but never rocking out, channeling her voice through different electronic filters for that extra touch of spooky alienation." Rolling Stone (p.74) - Ranked #47 in Rolling Stone's '50 Best Albums Of 2011' -- "There's a punk sense of horror in low-key death-folk ballads like 'The Last Living Rose'..." Spin (p.73) - "Slack, virile, and fantastically rhythmic, LET ENGLAND SHAKE is a glorious uncoiling....Musically, the record is stompy and melodic." Spin (p.59) - Ranked #2 in Spin's 'The Top 40 Albums Of 2011' -- "PJ Harvey's voice is so heroically strong, the rustic arrangements so bracingly irreducible that LET ENGLAND SHAKE's brutal vision becomes beautiful and redemptive." Entertainment Weekly (p.83) - "[H]er loosest, most eclectic effort in ages....It's a hoedown for the end of civilization." -- Grade: A Uncut (p.80) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "LET ENGLAND SHAKE is the sound of someone as maddened as they are enthralled, aglow with anger and passion." Uncut (p.35) - Ranked #1 in Uncut's '50 Best Albums Of 2011' -- "[W]ords and music that complemented one another beautifully; intelligence, emotional commitment, craftsmanship and creativity stitched together in auspicious fashion." Magnet (p.43) - Ranked #5 in Magnet's '20 Best Albums Of 2011' -- "LET ENGLAND SHAKE is easily Harvey's most accessible record since 2000's STORIES FROM THE CITY, STORIES FROM THE SEA and, conceptually, one of her best." Billboard (p.32) - "The standout moment, among many, is the warbling track 'Written on the Forehead' with a heavily processed psychedelic swirl dovetailing seamlessly with Niney the Observer's reggae classic 'Blood and Fire.'" Mojo (Publisher) (p.94) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "Of all her many guises -- doomed blues siren; righteous rock vixen; tormented Victorian ghost -- this may be her most powerful....It turns out, more than ever, Polly Harvey was made for these times." Record Collector (magazine) (p.87) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "[T]here are some beautiful and strong moments on this album. The opening title track and 'Last Living Rose' are Polly at her unpretentious best..." Clash (Magazine) - "Displaying the most vigorously strident songwriting of her career, its lush poetic folk is concurrently bold, barbed and muscular."

前作に続きジョン・パリッシュとのコンビで作られた4年ぶりのソロ作は、心情を吐露するこれまでの内省的な作風から一転、政界情勢やイングランド史を題材にした曲が並んでいる。だからといって、プロテスト作品というわけではない。アコギの調べに乗る叙情的な歌声が田園風景を思わせ、（言葉はわからずとも）PJからの力強くて温かいメッセージを受け取ることが出来るだろう。穏やかな表情で魅せる新境地開拓の一枚。
bounce (C)柴田かずえ