One of the things I appreciate most about the John Parish/PJ Harvey collaboration is their willingness to explore a wide range of material both lyrically and sonically. The last collaboration, A Woman a Man Walked By, contains ballads and punk. The whole album is fantastic. Even several years after its release, when the first track "Black Hearted Love" comes on (and it often does), I cannot turn it off or skip it.
At the outset, "Black Hearted Love" feels like something that can't be contained, a flood bursting an embankment, an explosion of guitar following the eight beat, closed hi-hat intro. The song dips down into something more dubious a few bars before PJ begins singing, the guitar mimicking, shadowing portions of the vocal. It's almost like the character in the song is having this relationship she sings about with the guitar (as representative of the man). The insistent, scratchy guitar emerges every time she begins addressing the namesake of the song, and it's the last thing you can hear as the song fades out at the end.
The eeriness of the song, the way it pulls the listener in, is well represented in the official video; the colorful bouncy house shining brightly in the dark, damp woods, lightning flashing ominously at every side. There is something strange and twisted at work and the camera just can't stay away. On the other hand, maybe the singer was drawn in the same way the camera was, magnetized by a man who's gonna do nothing but rain on her and put her in danger-- exploding light bulbs and all-- until she's alone in the dark.
Still, it's her choice, she knows the game she's playing.
For you are my black hearted love...
In the rain
In the eveningI will come again
What a beautiful picture of my dark goddess!
ReplyDeleteI've been meaning to check this collaboration out-- thanks for the reminder, chica. :)
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