PJ Harvey - Big Exit Live! 2001

Ah, the bombastic opening track from my favorite PJ Harvey record (that I know - I still don't have them all). There is such a tone that runs over this record; it's a little bit Nick Cave (that's probably more due to Mick Harvey's presence on this record and less to do with the fact that Polly Jean and Mr. Cave were at one time an item) and a little Radio Head (which is accented by not entirely because of Thom Yorke's presence on three tracks). It's also claustrophobic and quiet and a little bit hopeless and violent, as if just months before 9/11 Ms. Harvey was channeling the new Zeitgeist of fear and aggression that would be coming down the pipes and never quite leaving us here in the States. Listening to this record is a very specific mindset. It's fun and creatively-inspiring in the right moments but perhaps a bit bleak and haunting at others.