Bleep

PJ Harvey’s songs have frequently found themselves anchored in narrative - lest we forget, this is an artist who released an album called Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea. As such, it makes sense that Harvey should cross over into writing for the stage with her original compositions for Ivo van Hove’s adaptation of All About Eve that ran at London’s Noël Coward Theatre earlier in 2019.

However, it might surprise you to find out that Harvey’s music for All About Eve is light both on Harvey’s singing and lyrics in general. Ten of the twelve tracks here are instrumental numbers, while the two songs on the album - ‘The Sandman’ and ‘The Moth’ - are sung by the play’s stars Gillian Anderson and Lily James respectively.

Harvey’s music here is a moody reverie of chamber instrumentation. There is a feeling of suspension that runs through All About Eve which gives it an almost Lynchian quality - particularly in the way that strings appear to drift off into the ether on tracks like ‘Chamber’. While the tension of recent Harvey records like Make England Shake is carried over into All About Eve, there is also a sense of otherworldly abstraction here that is not dissimilar to the vibe of recent records by Harvey’s contemporary (and former partner) Nick Cave.

PJ Harvey’s music for Ivo van Hove’s stage setting of All About Eve is cerebral, brooding and beautiful.