PJ Harvey has announced her first album in seven years, I Inside the Old Year Dying. The follow-up to 2016’s The Hope Six Demolition Project was recorded with longtime collaborators Flood and Jhon Parish, and will arrive on Friday, 7th July.
“After many years of work I am very happy to release this collection of new songs,” Harvey wrote on Instagram when announcing the album. “It was a difficult album to make and took time to find its strongest form, but it has finally become all I hoped for it to be.” Harvey has also shared the album’s first single, ‘A Child’s Question, August’, alongside a video directed by Steve Gullick. Watch that below.
PJ Harvey – ‘A Child’s Question, August’
“I think the album is about searching, looking—the intensity of first love, and seeking meaning,” Harvey elaborated in a statement. “Not that there has to be a message, but the feeling I get from the record is one of love—it’s tinged with sadness and loss, but it’s loving. I think that’s what makes it feel so welcoming: so open.”
Since releasing The Hope Six Demolition Project in 2016, Harvey has remained relatively active, largely working on music for the small screen. She composed the score for British drama series The Virtues in 2019, along with last year’s Apple TV+ series Bad Sister. In 2019, she also recorded a cover of Nick Cave‘s ‘Red Right Hand’ for the Peaky Blinders soundtrack.
In recent years, Harvey has also been reissuing classic albums from her back catalogue, including Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea, Dry, Rid of Me, To Bring Your Love and Is This Desire? Last year, she released an expansive, 59-track box set of b-sides, demos and rarities, featuring 14 tracks which had previously never been released.
Further Reading
Love Letter to a Record: Workhorse on PJ Harvey’s ‘Stories From the City, Stories From the Sea’
Stream PJ Harvey’s Cover Of Nick Cave Classic ‘Red Right Hand’ For Peaky Blinders Soundtrack
PJ Harvey review – Sydney Myer Music Bowl, Melbourne 21/01/17
