PJ Harvey released her eighth studio album on the 24th of September. If you are one of her fans and loved her previous albums, forget all about them. This new record reflects a massive change of direction in her work. White Chalk is definitely gentler than Uh Huh Her or anything Polly has done before. Drums and guitars are replaced by piano and harp, which gives a harmonious and ethereal feel to the album. One of the songs is actually called "The Piano" and another one "Broken Harp".

The rock chick Polly once was is definitely dead. The question is: is it necessarily a bad thing? Some artists never want to grow old and keep on releasing albums that sound like their first record. First of all, what’s the point? Second of all, no artist can (or should) write the same songs and create the same music at twenty and at nearly forty years old, because it would be nothing but a lie. When listening to PJ Harvey’s new album, some might feel like she has lost her rage. Maybe she has, but at least she does not pretend that it is still there.

This new record definitely sounds more grown-up. Polly seems to have grown into a more peaceful singer-songwriter. The melodies are pure, ethereal and immaculate, as is Polly’s voice. The vocals make me think of Thom Yorke and of a Vespertine-era Bjork, as well as a more melodious Kate Bush. Polly’s fairy sounding voice is breath holding and makes White Chalk an intimate and powerful album. The vocals as well as the music create a new world for the listeners; an airy, light and graceful world that makes you feel like flying. Polly’s voice gives her music the wings to attain summits we never knew it could.