PJ Harvey & John Parish Issue #39

A Woman a Man Walked By

By Leah Urbom
Published: March 1st, 2009 | 2:59pm

More than a decade after recording Dance Hall At Louse Point, John Parish and PJ Harvey re-team for A Woman a Man Walked By. The album opens with single “Black Hearted Love,” a gritty, mid-tempo number with melodious guitar play from Parish, and Harvey’s haunting voice proclaiming, “When you call out my name in rapture / I volunteer my soul for murder.”

“Sixteen, Fifteen, Fourteen” speeds into a complicated rhythm; where “Leaving California” cools down and recalls something more akin to Harvey’s 2007 piano-based release, White Chalk. The start-and-stop theatrics of “April” are then challenged by the bluntness of the title track — whose anger is palpable and reflected again come the stubborn song, “Pig Will Not.”

Spoken-word venture, “Cracks In the Canvas,” taps off this intriguing experimental release from the duo. By the end of the record, it is clear that Harvey still stands representative of everything a rocknroll woman should be.