2009 collaboration from Alt-Rock favorite PJ Harvey and producer/composer John Parish. The album was recorded in Bristol and Dorset, and mixed by Flood. A Woman A Man Walked By has been described by journalist John Harris as 'mischievous, deadly serious, elegant and poetic, and possessed of a brutal power: it is doubtful that you will hear a record as brimming with creative brio and musical invention this year'. A Woman A Man Walked By is the follow up to Harvey and Parish's previous collaboration Dance Hall At Louse Point. An accomplished producer and composer, John has recorded numerous soundtracks and has worked with artists including Eels and Giant Sand as well as Harvey. 10 tracks. Island.

2009-06-23 -- 1/5:: DISAPPOINTMENT
The track number 9 describes perfect this album, Passionless and Pointless.
You can see and listen she is not the same, in her live performances you can see, feel and listen the difference too, Uh Huh Her tour compare to these last two tours are a shadow of what she used to be.
The hard-core fans hate this kind of reviews, but if you compare what she used to do this should have been her first album not her last.
The only salvable is her video and song 'Black Hearted Love'.

2009-06-22 -- 1/5:: Only the first one
This is an arrogant album. Unfortunately I bought it hoping that would be better than White Chalk.
For all the PJ Harvey fans that would be upset for the bad reviews and the 1 stars.
Why are you so upset if several times she said that she does music for herself and she doesn't care about what fans or other people think. As she wants to be experimental and not repeat herself, she should have waited more time after `Uh Huh Her', her last excellent album and kept this and White Chalk in a closet to be listened in private with her wacky and alternative friends.
This CD is a total disappointment except for `Black Hearted Love', the only acceptable song.

2009-06-21 -- 5/5:: delightfully atrocious
It matters very little whether you call this music beautiful or ugly, there is nothing commonplace about it, and I think the album is consistently superb. Particularly the title track is a delightfully atrocious piece of music. For those not yet convinced, the centerfold picture in the CD booklet alone is worth the purchase.

2009-06-13 -- 1/5:: What?
I've just seen them on tv and rushed to the internet to see HOW they got a CD! It was horrendous! She was howling like some odd creature. Very strange....

2009-06-12 -- 4/5:: Lovely
This is the first release I've ever owned with the name 'PJ Harvey' attached to it. While I'd been familiar with her for several years, I had never really bothered to give a true listen. Mostly because:

1) People called her a Patti Smith rip-off
2) People compared her to Ani Difranco, Tori Amos and Alanis Morissette

I love Patti Smith, so I was not eager to support an artist who supposedly mimed her, but upon deeper listening, I must say that Harvey hardly reminds me of Smith. Where does the comparison come from: the fact that they're both dark haired women who occasionally sing aggressively?

As far as the second point, Harvey is thankfully head and shoulders above the other three artists mentioned. Their angsty Lilith Fair ballads are enough to make one sick and it's refreshing to note that, once again, people are off with their comparisons. (No offense to fans of Difranco, Amos or Morissette)

Once I got past the superficial comparisons and listened to the actual music, I was happy to find that this is a truly gorgeous album, which is revealed to be more rewarding with every listen. There's an eerie, wailing guitar that can be heard sporadically throughout the entire album and it's probably the only thing that holds the effort together as one cohesive work.

'April' is the real stand-out track, imo, but the others are not far behind. 4 1/2 out of 5