PJ Harvey
“The Wheel”
The Hope Six Demolition Project
The day has arrived! HALLELUJAH!!!!!! The first single from Polly’s long awaited follow up to Let England Shake. The Hope Six Demolition Project, named after a government project in Washington, DC, to demolish and renew a housing project, is set to be released in April 2016. The first single, “The Wheel”, was introduced to BBC listeners Thursday, Jan 21. This song is a wonder. It is about the disappearance of children in Afghanistan during the present regime and points a bloody figure at those Western powers who support the regime but refuse to ask the government what is happening. As usual, the lyrics are direct and bring the listener into the song, in this instance through the song of a blind Afghani man singing in Arabic. The lyrics are so memorable, and the tune is one of Polly’s best. Her voice is in wonderful shape, sounding better than ever. The guitar that snakes through the left speaker reminds me of whatever is taking the children. The chorus goes “I watched them fade out”, while John Parish and Mick Harvey chant “I heard it was twenty-eight thousand”. The official debut in the US has not happened yet, but you can hear it on the BBC’s official website:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/artists/e795e03d-b5d5-4a5f-834d-162cfb308a2c.
Take a listen. You will be as blown away as I was.