PJ Harvey The Hope Six Demolition Project - Demos 180g LP

Collection of unreleased demos written for the ninth PJ Harvey studio album, The Hope Six Demolition Project, originally recorded in London and Dorset in 2012, including demos of "The Wheel" and "The Community Of Hope." Features brand-new artwork with cover art based on a drawing by Polly Jean Harvey, plus previously unseen photos by Maria Mochnacz and Seamus Murphy. Artwork is overseen by Michelle Henning with Rob Crane. Mastering by Jason Mitchell at Loud Mastering, under the guidance of longtime PJ Harvey producer John Parish.

'The Hope Six Demolition Project' (Island) is a type of musical documentary or new journalism based on her firsthand reports from Kosovo, Afghanistan and Washington, D.C. It brims with searing images and vivid vignettes, a work that belongs in the discussion with Kendrick Lamar's 'To Pimp a Butterfly' or D'Angelo's 'Black Messiah' as one of the most powerful protest albums of recent years.

While Let England Shake's songs gained a dignified heft in their polished final form, the early versions of Hope Six's songs often have a nimble immediacy that heightens their power. They're often even more pared-down than the demos for her previous album were; frequently, it's just Harvey and her guitar, and fans know how potent that combination is....[T]he simpler approach on The Hope Six Demolition Project: The Demos lets the songs' moods and details shine through in ways they didn't on the studio versions....While The Hope Six Demolition Project: The Demos is one of Harvey's more unfinished-sounding sets of song sketches, sometimes that's for the better - and, as always, it's fascinating to hear her music in its rawest state.