User Score
Generally favorable reviews- based on 99 Ratings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 82 out of 99
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Mixed: 7 out of 99
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Negative: 10 out of 99
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Sep 4, 2022
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Oct 21, 2020
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Jan 27, 2014Punk on a piano. Minimalist melody with expansive vocals that float into her highest ranges. Scratchy. Wailing. Hurt. Desperate. Patient. The cohesion of this is unparalleled. And while there is no intricate playing or swirling solos. Just clunky 3 chord melodies. It's has a surreal goth feel but is way to serious in tone to be bundled with fantasies.
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JohnRJan 30, 2008This is PJs inevitable mind-control over her fans. We wait with bated breath for the next album, only to believe we've been horribly wronged upon the first listen. Then, just when you're resolved to throw the album off of the roof, you find that the music has settled deep within you. White Chalk is no different.
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JyotirmayaDasDec 20, 2007
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AlanKoslowskiDec 15, 2007
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DamonMitchellNov 13, 2007I haven't had my heart so beautifully broken in a long time. This feels like the end of a trilogy in "Stories from..." she was in love with a boy and America, in "Uh Huh Her" the love affair was over but she had enough anger and fire to spit about it, in "White Chalk" the fire is out and it's an empty place where what's left really resonates.
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NiamhOHNov 8, 2007an excellent piece. she's outdone herself and surprised us all once again. niamh thewhiteponystolemyheart.blogspot.com
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roccocavaliereNov 7, 2007Great album...but, is she pj? Really?
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PatrickWheelerNov 6, 2007
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RyanOct 30, 2007Quickly becoming my favorite PJ album, along with To Bring You My Love, though not at all similar. Its bony, preternatural anti-glow of lonely inner struggle is so compelling my jaw was dropped after the second listen. The only reason I don't give it a 10 is because I, as any fan of this beguilingly beautiful album should, just hope her next is even better.
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P23Oct 25, 2007Superb!
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DellyPOct 24, 2007I'm not gonna give it a 10 because not a lot warrants a 10 but this is a brilliant album. Had heard some PJ before and wasn't that big-a-fan but this is awesome and has since encouraged me to revisit previous endeavors much to my delight. Go, buy, enjoy!
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allans.Oct 24, 2007Perfectly poised, relentless fragility that rings emotional depth from simply piano figures. It isn't the muscular spectorama that was "Stories from the City..." , but Peej yet again hits the spot. It's truly thrilling to hear someone creating music for reasons other than shifting units.
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JennieF.Oct 23, 2007The more I listen to this record the more I'm convinced that it's a concept album...a story about a woman from the past seduced, impregnated, and abandoned. She dies and then comes back to haunt her seducer. I know, it sounds crazy...but the lyrics could certainly be read that way. Regardless, it's a tour de force of storytelling from a musician who constantly reinvents herself.
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JKOct 17, 2007It sounds like PJ's plumbed the depths, and instead of wondering what's really down there like she did in Uh Huh Her, this time she's landed and walked around and serenading the darkness she's always threatened to meet in the past.
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SimonGOct 14, 2007Haunting, beautiful, Polly finds a voice and style which returns her to Dorset, to her childhood. She takes her voice to a new level and pushes the boundaries. Check out the video of Grow, Grow, Grow on the divx site. I find the review by NOW amusing, clearly the reviewer is stuck in 1992 and is disappointed she's not churning out garage blues by formul.
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FlemmingOct 10, 2007Of course this is great. what did you expect?
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StaciaM.Oct 8, 2007PJ Harvey continues to evolve. This story makes "Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea" sound boring. With tons of piano and very high notes, this sounds like a totally different woman, and I love it just as much as the old one.
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JeremyFOct 7, 2007
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mathewB.Oct 6, 2007A must for long-time fans. Musically, very different, but thematically very consistent with her previous work.
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EuchridE.Oct 6, 2007
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TimC.Oct 6, 2007Stunning. More like her earlier stuff with John Parish (whose presence and obvious influence appear on the recording) though rather from the style of "Who Will Love Me Now" than "To Give You My Love". My only complaint is that the CD is too short!
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JesseS.Oct 5, 2007Dark...depressingly uplifting. For me, her best. Subtle & brutal at the same time.
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SteveOct 5, 2007Having watched 2 clips online, I missed the crunching guitars and signature howl, but was more disturbed that the songs sounded very 'samey'. Having listened to the entire album, I am in love. This is true artistry; it feels like a true work, as opposed to just another album. If you want repetitive pop-fare, look elsewhere.
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TrevorOct 4, 2007A gorgeous album....dark,yes, and courageous...
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JavierR.Oct 4, 2007Probably one of the bests shoots in this season. Shoot of melancholy, but great for sure.
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HaroldN.Sep 30, 2007her ability to re-invent and create something unique is what really impress me.. great album!
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JoeSep 28, 2007An absolutely amazing, beautiful album - PJ's best in many years! so glad it's getting the raves it deserves, although the idiot writing for NOW magazine clearly wouldn't know quality if it bit him on the ass. Trust the majority - this is a masterpiece of a record, well worth buying. My favorite of 2007 so far.
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MarcoSep 27, 2007white chalk is the best ethereal pj's album. the top along with "to bring you my love" in her career. buy her new record!!!
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NovakG.Sep 26, 2007Utterly beautiful album,soaked in deeply moving sadness of ONE wounded,if not buried,Heart. I did not miss guitars at all,Polly*s piano is such a strong, but sophisticated instrument-thankfully to John Parrish and Flood*s profound production.One of the greatest albums this Year!
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bruceSep 26, 2007Clearly a departure from past work, White Chalk may well be Polly's finest moment to date. Haunting, unsettling, and courageous, Harvey is one of the only artists today willing to take risks for the betterment of her artistry. I can't stop listening to this album, and it has already knocked other albums off of my top ten of the year. Thanks Peej!
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PaulCSep 26, 2007What are they smoking at NOW Magazine?
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RenatoS.Sep 26, 2007Great return to form, after SFTC, SFTS and UHH!
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FabioR.Sep 25, 2007orgasmic album!
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AlexSep 25, 2007I was pretty shocked hearing this, because it's totally unlike anything PJ's done before, the singing, the style, the pianos (!) But i realized after a few listens how great it is. Thank god for PJ Harvey. For every Britney there's a PJ.
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[Anonymous]Sep 25, 2007This has to rank as one of the finest albums of the year. No music or album has ever before been so haunting yet so endearing at the same time. Every song seems minimalistic, yet with further inspection, every song seems to be perfectly crafted; each pause, each moan, each beat seems perfect.
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Awards & Rankings
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With its bones on show and chest wide open, White Chalk may not be the greatest album of all time, it may not be to everyone's tastes, and it may not even be Polly’s finest. But let it and it'll haunt you.
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Nothing Harvey has done in the past, however, can prepare you for her eighth album, White Chalk, whose cover is as singular as the tunes therein.
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An album of lonely beauty and piercing sorrow, White Chalk is P.J. Harvey back at the peak of her considerable powers.