Review Summary: Prettiest mess you've ever seen.
The year was 1998 and the era of the angst-ridden artist was coming to a natural conclusion. Grunge was long dead, Radiohead had just changed the face of mainstream music in a way no band really had before and that left PJ Harvey in a strange position. She had made a name for herself in the early 90s as foolhardy lyricist on albums such as
Rid Of Me (when “PJ Harvey” was a band) and it was clear that if she kept that image up she would end up becoming just another forgotten artist of the time. It could be argued that Polly began her transition on
To Bring You My Love but
Is This Desire is where her transformation truly began from a headstrong, no nonsense lover to meditative and contemplative songwriter.
“Angeline” kicks the album off and it is immediately clear that this isn’t the Polly we had heard three years prior. The fuzzy, distortion-tinged guitars are replaced with a soft backing piano and inconspicuous acoustics, simplistic percussion and a subdued Polly singing about the cruel nature of life and how she believes happiness waits for her “two thousand miles” away. The song has an underlying sense of vulnerability which simply wouldn’t have been found on her previous work and Polly gives it heaps of character through her world-weary, yet stunning vocals and sombre lyrics.
Is This Desire? builds an atmosphere the likes of which fans had never heard before from Polly, at once reflective and at times menacing. Nowhere is this better demonstrated than on lead single and fan favourite “A Perfect Day Elise”. Tonally it stands out from the rest of the album for having more of an electronic quality to it and contains hints of the swaggering attitude you would have expected to hear on
Dry and
Rid Of Me, yet it still sounds completely unique to her previous work. The instrumentation itself borders on industrial music and this could very well be down to the fact that production was handled by none other than Flood, best known back then for his work on
The Downward Spiral and
Songs Of Faith And Devotion. The guitars grind away in the verses and a looping guitar motif carries the chorus as spacey keyboards swirl in and out. You would be right in thinking it sounds quite unlike anything else on the album and it does run the risk creating a sense of instrumental dissonance but it ends up being more of an exciting detour before things get stripped back again on the bluesy “Catherine”.
At the time,
Is This Desire received criticism from fans and critics alike for presenting a seemingly impenetrable set of songs with too jarring a shift in style for many to comprehend. Polly was seen as one of the more powerful female vocalists on the alternative music scene and for her to employ a more aching and whispered voice would no doubt have confused many but it works so well with the overall sound of the album that it is nigh-impossible to imagine it any other way. Backed by only a drum machine, piano and organ on “The Garden”, Polly’s seductive voice fits in perfectly with the lofty imagery of fallen angels and forbidden love. “The River” is one of the few instances where the lyrics are almost completely opaque and indecipherable, without any obvious meaning as to what Polly is referring to alongside a sombre piano and oppressive soundscapes. Closer “Is This Desire?” may very well be one of the most simplistic pieces present on the album, featuring a downtuned guitar and barely noticeable percussion. Polly sounds almost defeated as she ponders the concept of love through the characters of “Joe” and “Dawn”, possibly an ode to her difficulty in finding a suitable romantic partner and the spontaneity of attraction.
Is This Desire? stands beside
White Chalk as being one of the darker and more downbeat albums in her discography and for some that could be off putting because they simply prefer her more energetic and confident side. To say
Is This Desire? lacks confidence would be giving the album less credit than it deserves however, and it would be much more accurate to say it is simply less immediate. Like any good album, multiple listens are required for it to be truly understood and appreciated, and Polly’s reinvention of her image and core sound has arguably helped the album escape trap of becoming dated over time. If “A Perfect Day Elise” was your first taste of the album and you were given the expectation that
Is This Desire?” would be a dark alternative rock album with hints of industrial music, you would no doubt be underwhelmed but the album features some of the best songwriting of Polly’s career and, in conjunction with the fresh and unique instrumentation, this results in one of her best albums and the perfect way to lay her punk stylings to rest.
Is This Desire? is Polly proving to the world that she deserves to be taken seriously as a songwriter and it is nothing less than a triumph of atmospheric rock.
