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

The new single, shared today (April 26), 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 two-time Mercury Prize-winning artist, ‘I Inside The Old Year Dying’ was written over a period of three weeks, although she originated ideas dating back to 2017, when she felt she had lost touch with music.

In an attempt to rekindle her connection with songwriting, the inspiration for the new tracks was revealed following the advice of filmmaker Steve McQueen, who told her to ignore ‘the process of writing an album’ and instead rediscover why she first fell in love with ” words, pictures and music”.

The album will see the singer-songwriter return to his roots – inspired by the likes of Nina Simone and Bob Dylan – and give fans “a resting place, a solace, a solace, a balm” created to feel “timely for the times we’re in.”

Today, Harvey can also share the first single from the LP, ‘A Child’s Question, August’. Coming in at just three minutes long, the enchanting track captures the sense of comfort 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 longtime collaborators Flood and John Parish. Pre-order the album here.

Discussing his time working with both producers, Harvey also adds that the LP came to life through a series of “spontaneous performances” that were “recorded the moment they were created.” The studio was set up for live playing , and that’s all we did,” she explained.

“I think the album is about searching, seeing — the intensity of first love and searching for meaning,” she said. “Not that there has to be a message, but the feeling I get from the record is one of love – it’s marked by sadness and loss, but it’s loving. I think that’s what makes it feel so inviting: so open.”

PJ Harvey 'I Inside The Old Year Dying' album cover
PJ Harvey ‘I Inside The Old Year Dying’ album cover. CREDIT: Press

The full track list ‘I Inside the Old Year Dying’ is:

1. ‘Prayer at the Gate’
2. ‘Autumn term’
3. ‘Lonesome Tonight’
4. ‘Seem et I’
5. ‘The Nether-edge’
6. ‘Inside the Old Year Dying’
7. ‘All Souls’
8. ‘A Child’s Question, August’
9. ‘I Inside the Old I Dying’
10. ‘August’
11. ‘A Child’s Question, July’
12. ‘A Noiseless Noise’

PJ Harvey first started teasing fans with the prospect of new music last February when she shared a series of photographs of her in the studio and hinted that the new project was in the works.

Later that year, she told Rolling stones that she was “very pleased” with the upcoming project and was looking to release it in 2023.

In the time since her last LP, ‘The Hope Six Demolition Project’, the artist has worked on a number of other projects. These include composing the complete score for All about Eva stage play [2019] and contributes to the soundtrack of the Apple TV+ series Bad sisters.

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