Album Review: A Woman A Man Walked By

John Parish & Polly Jean Harvey’s excellent second album

Mar 30, 2009

Thirteen years since their first collaboration Dance Hall at Louse Point, Polly Jean Harvey and John Parish show no signs of wavering with A Woman A Man Walked By.

John Parish is clearly aware that the best instrument he has on hand is Polly Harvey’s voice. Those pipes are undoubtedly the star of A Woman A Man Walked By. Harvey goes through the catalogue of vocal styles for which she has long been revered.

She is still fully capable of emitting the howls and wails she displayed on Rid of Me and To Bring You My Love, mixing it up with melancholic beauty, and the girlish choir voice she sported most notably on her last solo album, White Chalk.

This pair of longtime friends and musicians know how to push each other, and how to compliment each other’s style. There is no need to construct a heavy and oppressive musical background. The instruments need only latch onto Harvey’s voice and let the magic happen.

Overview of A Woman A Man Walked By

A Woman A Man Walked By combines the overt storytelling of Harvey’s Is This Desire? and White Chalk with the equally literary and shadowy rock style of Dance Hall at Louse Point.

The first single, “Black Hearted Love,” starts with a simple and slightly sleazy guitar riff. It’s almost too modest when considering the rest of the album, but once Harvey’s velvet voice kicks in, it’s clear that a fine ride is ahead. “Sixteen, Fifteen, Fourteen” raises the bar, and exudes a confidence that is more representative of these two rock veterans.

Each track on the album is the impression of a character created by Parish and Harvey. “Leaving California” vocally draws the easiest comparison to White Chalk. With “April,” Harvey conjures the image of a fragile and lonesome person with a shaky sorrowful voice.

The most pleasing and raucous vocals are displayed on tracks “A Woman A Man Walked By/The Crow Knows Where All the Little Children Go” and “Pig Will Not”. “Pig” in particular should make fans of Dance Hall at Louse Point’s “Taut” and Harvey’s “Snake” demo shiver with nostalgic delight. “Passionless, Pointless,” a mournful break-up song, is a complete one-eighty after the bashing of “Pig Will Not”, but no less affective.

Simply, there is more bite in Harvey’s voice at 39 than the voices of any hot young tart being praised in the mainstream media.

Parish and Harvey Deliver Real Rock

The greatest pleasure of A Woman A Man Walked By is the feeling that both Parish and Harvey are still at a creative high point. They sweep in and conquer by making raw and thoughtful music, not terrible frat-party-stripper nursery rhymes. This is a Woman and a Man still going strong amongst the children. If only they would tour the U.S.

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