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White Chalk
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White Chalk Image
Metascore
80

Generally favorable reviews - based on 38 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
8.0

Generally favorable reviews- based on 99 Ratings

  • Summary: The British singer's latest album was produced by John Parrish and Flood.

Top Track

White Chalk
White chalk hills are all I've known White chalk hills will rot my bones White chalk sticking to my shoes White chalk playing as a child with... See the rest of the song lyrics
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Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 33 out of 38
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 38
  3. Negative: 1 out of 38
  1. Observer Music Monthly
    100
    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.
  2. Hot Press
    90
    Beautiful, arcane, unsettling--and that's only the cover. White Chalk isn't so much a record, as a great effort at dragging you into another world.
  3. Dot Music
    80
    This yet again reveals PJ Harvey to be one of the UK's greatest contemporary songwriters.
  4. Village Voice
    80
    As usual, the excellent mix--opaque but sunlit--helps; as usual, we eagerly await her next album.
  5. Drowned In Sound
    80
    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.
  6. New Musical Express (NME)
    70
    Frustratingly, though, White Chalk isn't consistent enough to be a classic PJ album, and if you're new to her music, this isn't the ideal place to start.
  7. NOW Magazine
    20
    The painful White Chalk is either a studio experiment gone horribly wrong or a crafty bit of career self-sabotage by a sensitive artist who'd rather make sculptures in the desert than play pop star.

See all 38 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 35 out of 37
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 37
  3. Negative: 0 out of 37
  1. DamonMitchell
    Nov 13, 2007
    10
    I 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 I 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.… Expand
  2. Joe
    Sep 28, 2007
    10
    An absolutely amazing, beautiful album - PJ's best in many years! so glad it's getting the raves it deserves, although the idiot An 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.… Expand
  4. mathewB.
    Oct 6, 2007
    10
    A must for long-time fans. Musically, very different, but thematically very consistent with her previous work.
  5. NiamhOH
    Nov 8, 2007
    9
    an excellent piece. she's outdone herself and surprised us all once again. niamh thewhiteponystolemyheart.blogspot.com
  6. JennieF.
    Oct 23, 2007
    9
    The 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, The 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.… Expand
  7. Trevor
    Oct 4, 2007
    9
    A gorgeous album....dark,yes, and courageous...
  8. All_ButTrU4
    Sep 4, 2022
    5
    Taken in the context of her back catalog, "White Chalk" makes sense as progression record and gives a hint of where she would arrive at onTaken in the context of her back catalog, "White Chalk" makes sense as progression record and gives a hint of where she would arrive at on "Let England Shake". Taken at its time of release in 2007 it makes less sense and is a seismic change in direction. While there was always a darkness to PJ Harvey it was more rooted in bluesy edginess rather than true gloom which is what we get here. Of course with PJ Harvey, she manages to make something extremely bleak and bare sound intriguing and ultimately sound great. This is a piano driven record and the sound of a guitar is scarce to say the least. Her vocals are completely different to what's gone before this record, high pitched and ghostly. The rock is completely gone and we are left with a gothic, haunted house of an record.… Expand

See all 37 User Reviews

Awards & Rankings

60
#60 Best Album of 2007
80
#80 Most Discussed Album of 2007
61
#61 Most Shared Album of 2007

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