The Hope Six Demolition Project
by PJ Harvey
  • Record Label: Vagrant
  • Release Date: Apr 15, 2016
Metascore
79

Generally favorable reviews - based on 34 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 27 out of 34
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 34
  3. Negative: 0 out of 34
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  1. PopMatters
    Apr 22, 2016
    60
    On The Hope Six Demolition Project, the album just sometimes sounds flat uncomfortable with its focus.
  2. The Observer (UK)
    Apr 18, 2016
    60
    The distance between the photograph and the viewer is sometimes too great.
  3. The Telegraph (UK)
    Apr 15, 2016
    60
    This began life as an art project at Somerset House, with Harvey composing and recording in a makeshift studio before a viewing public. Such pressurised circumstances might explain the absence of any sense of real pleasure in the finished work. I don’t hesitate to hail it as impressive but it does feel more civic project than classic album.
  5. The Independent (UK)
    Apr 13, 2016
    60
    The tableaux of refugee camps, warzones and dereliction--an abandoned building littered with syringes and shit, a drug-riddled neighbourhood, a polluted river, “a displaced family eating a cold horse’s hoof”--builds grimly throughout, albeit to uncertain ends.
  6. DIY Magazine
    Apr 11, 2016
    60
    This isn’t the best or the bravest music of her career, but Harvey continues to pave new ground. This time, she takes that responsibility very literally, exploring new places and inviting listeners into her strange universe.
  7. New Musical Express (NME)
    Apr 8, 2016
    60
    The album’s lyric booklet is very bare, offering little explanation. Sometimes this spare approach works, sometimes not.
  8. The Skinny
    Apr 6, 2016
    40
    PJ Harvey's least beautiful record by some distance, The Hope Street Demolition Project's intentions are admirable and inarguable. But weighed against the expectations raised by the overwhelming invention of her stout back catalogue, it falls uncomfortably short.

Awards & Rankings

26
#26 Most Shared Album of 2016

User Reviews

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User Score
6.6

Generally favorable reviews- based on 80 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 55 out of 80
  2. Mixed: 10 out of 80
  3. Negative: 15 out of 80
  1. longjetty7
    Apr 24, 2016
    8
    I'll admit, I wasn't completely sold the first time I listened to this album. The music is a bit strange and not at all what I was expecting,I'll admit, I wasn't completely sold the first time I listened to this album. The music is a bit strange and not at all what I was expecting, but I've listened to it a few more times and it's definitely grown on me. PJ Harvey has never been a stranger to being musically adventurous, and once again she has surprised us with something new and unique. In some ways this is actually her most mature album. Her lyrics and singing are more straightforward and confident than ever, the arrangements are varied and tight, and overall the album moves along at a nice pace and is incredibly cohesive. The style is actually kind of a weird combination, with the high and low vocals, the brash saxophone, the folksy, bouncy melodies, and the rock-heavy instrumentation, but it actually works surprisingly well, and it's something I feel only PJ could pull off.

    Overall this is a really enjoyable album and it's an absolute pleasure to listen to start to finish. It creates a really nice, unique musical atmosphere just as well as she did on Let England Shake and Is This Desire? Part of me wishes this album were longer, so I could get lost in this musical world a bit longer, but I do appreciate that it gets its message across effectively and doesn't overstay its welcome in the slightest.

    Standout tracks: The Wheel, Line In The Sand, The Ministry Of Defense    … Full Review »
  2. paulhonet
    Apr 18, 2016
    9
    Huge PJ fan since the early days, 25 wonderful years; the first time I have listened to the album, I was not fully seduced. You need first toHuge PJ fan since the early days, 25 wonderful years; the first time I have listened to the album, I was not fully seduced. You need first to make the journey to the album and slowly, it captures you. It is a bit destabilizing but again a completely different record, worth to own. Not my favourite PJ one though, but still a unique record in these "copy paste" years. I had learned to avoid expecting something from a new PJ record, as every last record was taking another direction. I am still sometimes missing the energy and rawness of the three first records, but the creativity and renewal of the artist has to be recognized. I really don't know if had better enjoyed a “Dry 2 kind of record than this new one, but it has surprised me enough to make me want to share these lines.… Full Review »
  3. jimmypowder
    Apr 15, 2016
    4
    Let me first say I am a huge PJ Harvey fan and I have every album she has ever made. This album just doesn't cut it for me. What's up with allLet me first say I am a huge PJ Harvey fan and I have every album she has ever made. This album just doesn't cut it for me. What's up with all the droning background vocals? Just awful . Listen to the background vocals on most of these songs. They are weak.
    I wanna hear my Polly again but not with this group!    … Full Review »
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