Ahead of the release of her next album, PJ Harvey has now shared the third track from The Hope Six Demolition Project. Premiered on Beats 1 by Matt Wilkinson, The Orange Monkey is the latest from her travel inspired LP.
Following on from the Kosovo inspired The Wheel, and The Community Of Hope which describes a bleaker side of Washington D.C., Harvey has yet to share the direct inspiration for The Orange Monkey. Regardless of any specifics, the song continues the themes behind the album that we have encountered so far.
Image via Pitchfork
Harvey’s songwriting often comes from an incredibly personal place, one listen to When Under Ether would dispel any doubt as to that. The Hope Six Demolition Project charts her global travels, particularly to war torn locations like Kosovo and Afghanistan. Wilkinson comments that Harvey has been described as a “war correspondent” due to her personally experiencing situations and places.
Lyrically, The Orange Monkey speaks again of travel through both space and time. Harvey’s voices comes fully to the fore at the end of the first verse, with the lines “I took a plane to foreign land/ And said I’ll write down what I find.” Multiple vocals sit against the hefty beat and instrumentation. There’s a sense of deserts and travel in the pacing percussion and choral chanting. Also in the narrative style lyrics, which possibly touch on evolution and industrialisation; as the orange monkey changes, and stands on two feet, and “the track was now a motorway.”
The album The Hope Six Demolition Project will be release April 15 via Island/Vagrant Records. Stream the full track The Orange Monkey below.
Image: Telegraph