PJ Harvey announces new album with enchanting single, ‘A Child’s Question, August’

nme.com:

PJ Harvey has announced her upcoming 10th album, ‘I Inside The Old Year Dying’ with the release of the lead single, ‘A Child’s Question, August’.

Check out the track below.Shared today (April 26), the new single follows a series of teasers shared by Harvey on social media, and follows on from her last full-length LP with 2016’s ‘The Hope Six Demolition Project’.According to the double Mercury Prize-winning artist, ‘I Inside The Old Year Dying’, was written over a period of three weeks, although stemmed from ideas dating back to 2017 when she felt she had lost her connection with music.Seeking to revive her connection with songwriting, the inspiration for the new tracks was uncovered following advice from film-maker Steve McQueen, who told her to ignore the ‘process of writing an album’, and instead rediscover why she first fell in love with “words, images and music”.The album will see the singer-songwriter return to her roots – inspired by the likes of Nina Simone and Bob Dylan – and provide fans with “a resting space, a solace, a comfort, a balm” which is created to feel “timely for the times we’re in.”Today also sees Harvey share the first single from the LP, ‘A Child’s Question, August’.

Coming in at just shy of three minutes long, the enchanting track captures the feeling of solace mentioned by Harvey, and features a music video directed by Steve Gullick.‘I Inside The Old Year Dying’, is set for release on July 7 via Partisan, and is produced by long-time collaborators Flood and John Parish.

Pre-order the album here.Discussing her time working with both of the producers, Harvey also adds that the LP came to life through a series of “spontaneous performances”, which were “recorded at the moment of their creation.