PJ Harvey’s Revered Eighth Album ‘Let England Shake’ For Vinyl Reissue

PJ Harvey’s revered eighth studio album Let England Shake will be reissued on vinyl on January 28, 2022, alongside a collection of unreleased demos on CD, vinyl and digital, via Ume/Island.

The record, written over a two-and-a-half-year period, was recorded in five weeks at a church in Dorset during April and May 2010. Harvey’s influences for its writing included Harold Pinter, Francisco de Goya, the poets of World War I, Ari Folman, and the Doors. She also researched the history of conflict and sought modern-day testimonies from civilians and soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Let England Shake was described in a five-star review in The Guardian as “a richly inventive album that‘s unlike anything else in Harvey’s back catalog…her creative peak.” The Daily Telegraph said it was “a profound and serious work from a singer-songwriter at the height of her powers, a meditation on mankind’s apparently endless appetite for self-destruction.” Ahead of the vinyl reissue of the album and the demo collection, the demo of the title track has been shared:

The album entered the UK charts at No.8 in February 2011, spending an aggregate of nearly six months on the bestsellers across more than a year. It was certified gold and went on to win the Mercury Music Prize, the Album of the Year accolade at the Ivor Novello Awards, and the Uncut Music Award for Album of the Year. It was also named album of the year in 16 other publications.

The new vinyl edition of Let England Shake is released on January 28, and can be pre-ordered here. Let England Shake – Demos is available on digital, CD, and vinyl on the same day.

Also available are the vinyl repressing of A Woman A Man Walked By, and of White Chalk, as well as White Chalk – Demos on digital, CD and vinyl; and the vinyl editions of The Peel Sessions 1991-2004 and Uh Huh Her. Additional PJ Harvey editions can be ordered as follows:

Uh Huh Her – Demos on digital, CD and vinyl;

Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea on vinyl;

Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea – Demos on digital, CD and vinyl;

Is This Desire? on vinyl;

Is This Desire? – Demos on digital, CD and vinyl;

Dance Hall At Louse Point on vinyl;

To Bring You My Love on vinyl;

To Bring You My Love – Demos on digital, CD and vinyl;

Rid Of Me on vinyl, for the first time since its original release;

4-Track Demos on stand-alone vinyl;

Dry – Demos on digital, CD and vinyl;

The studio album Dry on Too Pure/Beggars Archive.