White Chalk

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White Chalk
White Chalk cover
Studio album by PJ Harvey
Released September 24, 2007 U.K.
October 2, 2007 U.S.
Recorded November 2006 – Mid 2007
Genre Alternative, Piano
Length 33:57
Label Island
Producer PJ Harvey, John Parish, Flood
Professional reviews
PJ Harvey chronology
The Peel Sessions 1991–2004
(2006)		 White Chalk
(2007)

White Chalk is the eighth studio album by PJ Harvey. It was released on September 24, 2007, in the UK, and on October 2, 2007, in the US.[1]

Work on the album started in 2006, with producer Flood and John Parish, who also worked on her To Bring You My Love and Is This Desire? albums. Other collaborators on White Chalk are Eric Drew Feldman and Jim White from the Dirty Three. [2]

The first single to be released from White Chalk was "When Under Ether" on September 17, 2007 on digital download and 7" vinyl. A second single, "The Piano," was released on November 26, 2007. A third, "The Devil," will be released on digital, 7", and CD formats in March 2008.

Contents

[edit] Style

For this album Harvey has moved away from alternative rock and recorded a set of songs for piano, despite her lack of expertise on the instrument. In an interview in The Wire she explained "the great thing about learning a new instrument from scratch is that it...liberates your imagination."

As well as this, she sings in a higher register than usual, at a pitch outside her normal range.

Lyrically, however, Harvey has stuck to the dark, moody themes typical of much of her music.[3]

[edit] Reception

The album has received extremely positive reviews. The Observer gave the album 5 stars out of 5. Rolling Stone gave the single "When Under Ether" 4 out of 5 stars. The album has a score of 80/100 on Metacritic.

[edit] Track listing

All songs written by PJ Harvey.

  1. "The Devil" – 2:58
  2. "Dear Darkness" – 3:10
  3. "Grow Grow Grow" – 3:23
  4. "When Under Ether" – 2:25
  5. "White Chalk" – 3:13
  6. "Broken Harp" – 1:59
  7. "Silence" – 3:11
  8. "To Talk to You" – 4:01
  9. "The Piano" – 2:37
  10. "Before Departure" – 3:49
  11. "The Mountain" – 3:11

[edit] Formats

The US release is available on CD or 33 rpm LP. The UK release is available on CD or 45 rpm LP. White Chalk is also available on iTunes complete with a bonus track "Wait"

[edit] Personnel

  • PJ Harvey: vocals, piano, acoustic guitar, zither, bass guitar, keyboards, harmonica, broken harp, cig fiddle.
  • John Parish: drums, vocals, bass guitar, banjo, acoustic guitar, percussion, wine glass.
  • Eric Drew Feldman: piano, optigan, vocals, mellotron, keyboards, mini-moog.
  • Jim White: drums, percussion.

with

  • Nico Brown: concertina on "Before Departure".
  • Andrew Dickson, Bridget Pearse, Martin Brunsden, Nico Brown & Nick Bicât: additional vocals on "Before Departure".

[edit] Credits

  • Produced & mixed by Flood, John Parish & PJ Harvey
  • Engineered by Flood
    • Assisted by Catherine Marks & Andrew Savors with additional engineering by PJ Harvey & Ali Chant
  • PJ Harvey managed by Paul McGuinness with Sally-Anne McKeown at Principle Management
  • All songs published by Hothead Music Ltd. / Universal Music Publishing Ltd.
  • Photography by Maria Mochnacz
  • Artwork by Rob Crane & Maria Mochnacz
  • Dress designed by Maria Mochnacz, PJ Harvey & Annie Mochnacz
    • Dress made by Annie Mochnacz

[edit] Chart performance

See also: PJ Harvey discography
 This section does not cite any references or sources. (October 2007)
Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed.
Chart (2007) Peak
position
U.S. Billboard 200 65
Australian Albums Chart 20
Austrian Albums Top 75 46
Belgian Albums Top 50 12
Danish Albums Top 40 18
Dutch Albums Top 100 34
Finland Albums Top 40 32
France Albums Top 200 10
Irish Albums Top 75 15
Chart (2007) Peak
position
Italian Albums Top 100 19
New Zealand Albums Chart 31
Norway Albums Top 40 7
Portuguese Albums Top 30 20
Swedish Albums Top 60 20
Swiss Albums Top 100 21
UK Albums Chart [4] 11
European Albums Top 100 12
United World Chart ¤ 18

¤ - total sales confirmed by United World Chart = 41 000 [5]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Cohen, Jonathan. "PJ Harvey Goes Into The 'White' On New Album", Billboard magazine, 2007-07-02. Retrieved on 2007-07-03. 
  2. ^ PJ Harvey to return with new album NME.com 07-02-2007, Retrieved on 07-07-07
  3. ^ Stubbs, D. "Return of the Native" in The Wire 283 (September 2007), p.34
  4. ^ PJ Harvey - White Chalk - Music Charts.
  5. ^ United World Chart - 41st week.

[edit] External links

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PJ Harvey
Studio albums
Compilations
Discography