Hi readers! Today, I present a few music tracks to you of English musician P.J. Harvey.

From one of my more exceptional and avant-garde albums in my collection, her “Is This Desire?” album (1998 Island Records Ltd.) is in my view an electro-pop style album – with daring combinations of sound elements that make up a rich symphonic layering. Some of today’s recent up-tempo electric pop that is made by other artists, in my view, replicates her style similarly from which is based.

Featured tracks for this post, primarily, are: “The Wind” and “The Garden”.

This is not a review of the entire album, rather a recommendation of the 2 tracks; and, for 3 others that are recorded onto the same album.

The first one: “The Wind”, is lyrically about desire to escape into isolation to the point of self worship (arguably), to then only feel captive to that isolation with no way of being rescued. Basically, I find that is what it’s about. I envision it as a “Dracula” story of the countess.

The instrumentation in this song, coupled with gentle vocals like from that of a spectre (or a siren), mix for a suspenseful auditory combination. Electric guitar and standard kick drum, each double as driving… sometimes alternating, rhythm.

The second track that I recommend, is entitled “The Garden”. With a seduced male being the subject (if I’m not mistaken), the song is about a man in a garden (a reversal perhaps to Eve, in The Garden) being tempted by another male. And he fall to his knees. He’s seduced. As in the first track “The Wind”, the subject is captive in what otherwise should be a described concept of paradise.

Both of these songs (like the others recorded on this album) are in a music style which I hear now in 2019 becoming more commonly broadcast in the US. Similarly, by female artists of the same artistic niche and genre.

In this album “Is This Desire?”, P.J. Harvey utilizes most interesting effects from an eclectic assortment of instruments and digital manipulations, as described; but also using dissonance. Both melodic and poetic, it does captivate.

I also recommend that you check out 3 of the other songs on this album: “A Perfect Day Elise” – which lyrically I’m not interpreting in this post, “Catherine”-which clearly is about pain and betrayal, and thirdly “Electric Light”-with a similar message.

“Electric Light”, reminds me in auditory style to the lesser bombastic tracks of “Chemical Brothers”.

Enjoy this album, and skip past the tracks that you might not find interesting. Most importantly, enjoy it in stereo sound!