Prettiest Mess You’ve Ever Seen

PJ Harvey “Angelene”

Polly Jean Harvey excels at writing character sketch songs but tends to shy away from implying a full narrative. “Angelene” in particular feels more like an informal portrait, like the musical equivalent of a raw candid Nan Goldin photograph. The lyrics are written in blunt, direct language from Angelene’s perspective – she’s a sex worker, she’s jaded, she imagines escape in the broad abstraction of a place two thousand miles away. The vagueness of her idea of a better life adds a lot of pathos to a song with a lot already built in, she seems so worn down by her low expectations and unsatisfying experiences that it’s dulled her imagination and limited her hopes. The music sounds grey and desolate, Harvey sings the verses with a weathered tone and the choruses like wind blowing on a cold beach. The song cycles back to the opening line at the end and trails off, ending ambiguously but also giving you some reason to believe poor Angelene is never getting two thousand miles away.

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