Just as Polly Harvey’s previous set, 2016’s The Hope Six Demolition Project , was preceded by, and in part based upon, a book of poetry, so too is her 10th album. But whereas her 2015 volume of verse, The Hollow of the Hand, was informed by reportage from Kosovo and Afghanistan, last year’s novel-in-verse Orlam leaned heavily on the mythology and dialect of her native Dorset. Listeners not already familiar with Orlam may find this reimagining of it a little lyrically opaque, not least because of oblique references to a character who shares his name in part with Elvis – not one of Bridport’s better-known exports.
Some of the songs are wilfully challenging. The murky and ominous All Souls makes the lowlights of 1998’s particularly difficult Is This Desire? sound like Steps in comparison. By way of contrast, the brief but stirring title track recalls Let England Shake; the more subdued A Child’s Question, August feels uncharacteristically warm, with its “Love me tender, tender love” refrain; and strident closer A Noiseless Noise is thrillingly primal. This might not be Harvey’s most immediate collection, but it’s as fascinating and rewarding as ever.
