{{Use British English|date=May 2015}} {{Use dmy dates|date=July 2020}} {{Infobox album | name = White Chalk | type = studio | artist = PJ Harvey | cover = WC cover.jpg | alt = A woman sitting in an upright position in a white Victorian era dress. To her left, white text reads "PJ Harvey White Chalk." | released = {{Start date|2007|09|24|df=yes}} | recorded = November 2006 – March 2007 | venue = | studio = | genre = Chamber folk | length = {{Duration|m=33|s=57}} | label = Island | producer = * Flood * John Parish * PJ Harvey | prev_title = The Peel Sessions 1991–2004 | prev_year = 2006 | next_title = A Woman a Man Walked By | next_year = 2009 | misc = {{Singles | name = White Chalk | type = studio | single1 = When Under Ether | single1date = 17 September 2007 | single2 = The Piano | single2date = 3 December 2007 | single3 = The Devil | single3date = 18 March 2008 }} }}
'''''White Chalk''''' is the seventh studio album by the English singer-songwriter and musician PJ Harvey, released on 24 September 2007 on Island Records.<ref>{{cite magazine | first = Jonathan | last = Cohen | title = PJ Harvey Goes into The 'White' On New Album | url = https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/1051189/pj-harvey-goes-into-the-white-on-new-album | magazine = Billboard magazine | date = 2 July 2007 | accessdate =3 July 2007 }}</ref>
Work on the album started in 2006, with producer Flood and John Parish, who also worked on her ''To Bring You My Love'' and ''Is This Desire?'' albums. Other collaborators on ''White Chalk'' are Eric Drew Feldman and Jim White from Dirty Three.<ref>[https://www.nme.com/news/pj-harvey/29365 PJ Harvey to return with new album] ''NME.com'' 7 February 2007, Retrieved on 07-07-07</ref>
The first single released from ''White Chalk'' was "When Under Ether" on 17 September 2007 on digital download and 7" vinyl. A second single, "The Piano," was released on 26 November 2007. A third, "The Devil," was released on 7", download, and CD formats in March 2008.
==Style== The previous album, ''Uh Huh Her'', had a raw sound<ref name=h/> but for this record ''White Chalk'', ''Rolling Stone''{{'}}s magazine noted that Harvey "delved further into a Goth-like vibe in the much quieter, haunting, piano-based music".<ref name=h>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/artists/pj-harvey/biography |author=Kem, Marc |title=PJ Harvey Rolling Stone'Biography |magazine=Rolling Stone |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110801004956/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/artists/pj-harvey/biography |accessdate=2012-10-01 |archive-date=1 August 2011 |quote=Harvey returned to a rawer, darker sound on Uh Huh Her (Number 29, 2004) and delved further into a Goth-like vibe in the much quieter, haunting, piano-based music of 2007's White Chalk.}}</ref> For this album she gave up the traditional three-piece guitar/bass/drums sound and recorded a set of songs for piano, despite her lack of expertise on the instrument. In an interview in ''The Wire'' she explained, "the great thing about learning a new instrument from scratch is that it [...] liberates your imagination."<ref name=w/>
Vocally, she sang in a much higher register than usual, at a pitch outside her normal range, and "howled about being possessed by demon lovers and ghosts".<ref name=rs/> Lyrically, Harvey continued with the dark, moody themes typical of much of her music.<ref name=w>{{cite journal |author=Stubbs, D. |title=Return of the Native |journal=The Wire |volume=283 |date=September 2007 |page=34}}</ref>
Harvey elaborated the meaning behind the album's title: "I just like the sound of the words white chalk. It can be millions of years old but erased in a second, and somehow has a timeless quality... The timelessness became more the source of inspiration".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/pj-harvey-103-1342304|work=NME|title=PJ Harvey explains the story behind 'White Chalk'|date= 21 September 2007|accessdate=17 August 2018}}</ref>
==Critical reception== {{Album ratings | MC = 80/100<ref name="meta">{{cite web |url=https://www.metacritic.com/music/white-chalk/pj-harvey/critic-reviews|title=Reviews for White Chalk by PJ Harvey |website=Metacritic |accessdate=31 May 2016}}</ref> | rev1 = AllMusic | rev1score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref name="allmusic">{{cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/white-chalk-mw0000486087 |title=White Chalk – PJ Harvey |website=AllMusic |accessdate=31 May 2016 |last=Phares |first=Heather}}</ref> | rev2 = ''The A.V. Club'' | rev2score = A−<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.avclub.com/articles/pj-harvey-white-chalk,7520/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091125131115/http://www.avclub.com/articles/pj-harvey-white-chalk,7520/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=25 November 2009 |title=P.J. Harvey: White Chalk |work=The A.V. Club |date=2 October 2007 |accessdate=5 October 2011 |last=Phipps |first=Keith}}</ref> | rev3 = ''Entertainment Weekly'' | rev3score = C<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.ew.com/article/2007/09/28/white-chalk |title=White Chalk |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |date=5 October 2007 |accessdate=6 September 2012 |last=Greenblatt |first=Leah}}</ref> | rev4 = ''The Guardian'' | rev4score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2007/sep/21/popandrock.shopping2 |title=PJ Harvey, White Chalk |work=The Guardian |date=21 September 2007 |accessdate=31 May 2016 |last=Macpherson |first=Alex}}</ref> | rev5 = ''Mojo'' | rev5Score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref>{{cite journal |title=PJ Harvey: White Chalk |journal=Mojo |issue=167 |date=October 2007 |page=91}}</ref> | rev6 = ''NME'' | rev6score = 7/10<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://www.nme.com/reviews/8997 |title=PJ Harvey: 'White Chalk' |journal=NME |date=21 September 2007 |accessdate=31 May 2016 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20091219091050/http://www.nme.com/reviews/8997 |archivedate=19 December 2009 |url-status=dead}}</ref> | rev7 = ''Pitchfork'' | rev7score = 6.8/10<ref>{{cite web |url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/10697-white-chalk/ |title=PJ Harvey: White Chalk |work=Pitchfork |date=24 September 2007 |accessdate=31 May 2016 |last=Klein |first=Joshua}}</ref> | rev8 = ''Q'' | rev8Score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref>{{cite journal |title=PJ Harvey: White Chalk |journal=Q |issue=255 |date=October 2007 |page=98}}</ref> | rev9 = ''Rolling Stone'' | rev9score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref name=rs>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/white-chalk-20070920 |title=White Chalk |magazine=Rolling Stone |date=20 September 2007 |accessdate=5 October 2011 |last=Sheffield |first=Rob |author-link=Rob Sheffield}}</ref> | rev10 = ''Spin'' | rev10score = {{Rating|3.5|5}}<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VyT02nDttPYC&pg=PA95 |title=Love Lies Bleeding |journal=Spin |volume=23 |issue=10 |date=October 2007 |accessdate=5 October 2011 |last=Hermes |first=Will |author-link=Will Hermes |page=95}}</ref> }}<!-- Automatically generated by DASHBot--> ''White Chalk'' received critical acclaim and has a score of 80 out of 100 on Metacritic.<ref name="meta"/> ''Uncut'' hailed the album in glowing terms, calling it "an album of lonely beauty and piercing sorrow" before concluding, "''White Chalk'' is P.J. Harvey back at the peak of her considerable powers."<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.uncut.co.uk/music/pj_harvey/reviews/10311 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080719182446/http://www.uncut.co.uk/music/pj_harvey/reviews/10311 |url-status=dead |archive-date=2008-07-19 |title=''White Chalk'' - review |magazine=Uncut |first=Barney |last=Hoskyns |date=October 2007 |accessdate=27 August 2017}}</ref> ''The Observer'' gave the album 5 stars out of 5,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2007/sep/16/shopping.popandrock1 |title=PJ Harvey, White Chalk |newspaper=The Observer |date=15 September 2007 |accessdate=5 October 2011 |last=Mardles |first=Paul}}</ref> while Robert Christgau picked out one song from the album, "When Under Ether", as a "choice cut" ({{Rating-Christgau|cut}}).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/cg/cg2007-11.php |title=Consumer Guide |publisher=MSN Music |date=November 2007 |accessdate=6 September 2012 |last=Christgau |first=Robert |author-link=Robert Christgau}}</ref>
In December 2007, American webzine ''Somewhere Cold'' voted ''White Chalk'' CD of the Year on their ''2007 Somewhere Cold Awards Hall of Fame''.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Lamoreaux|first=Jason T.|date=December 30, 2007|title=2007 Somewhere Cold Awards|url=https://somewherecold.net/2007/12/30/somewherecold-awards-2007/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180412082908/https://somewherecold.net/2007/12/30/somewherecold-awards-2007/|archive-date=April 12, 2018|access-date=September 30, 2020|website=Somewhere Cold}}</ref>
===Accolades=== {|class="wikitable sortable" |- ! Publication ! Accolade ! Year ! Rank ! class="unsortable"|{{abbr|Ref.|Reference}} |- | ''NME'' | 2007 Albums of the Year | 2007 | 13 |<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nme.com/bestalbumsandtracksoftheyear/2007-2-1045343|title=NME's best albums and tracks of 2007|website=NME|date=10 October 2016}}</ref> |- | ''Stylus Magazine'' | Top 50 Albums of 2007 | 2007 |50 |<ref>{{cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=Pop Playground - Top 50 Albums of 2007|url=http://www.stylusmagazine.com/articles/pop_playground/top-50-al0|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191018051603/http://stylusmagazine.com/articles/pop_playground/top-50-albums-of-2007.html|archive-date=18 October 2019|accessdate=19 December 2011|website=Stylus}}</ref> |- |''PopMatters'' |The Best Albums of 2007 |2007 |47 |<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.popmatters.com/pm/feature/the-best-albums-of-2007/P3|title=PopMatters Picks: The Best Music of 2007|magazine=PopMatters|date=2007-12-21|accessdate=2011-01-18}}</ref> |- |''The Wire'' |50 Records of the Year |2007 |45 |<ref>{{Cite magazine |title=2007 Rewind: 50 Records of the Year |date=January 2008 |magazine=The Wire |issue=287 |page=35 |location=London |url=https://reader.exacteditions.com/issues/3240/spread/35 |url-access=subscription |via=Exact Editions}} {{subscription required}}</ref> |}
==Formats== The US release is available on CD and {{frac|33|1|3}} rpm LP. The UK release is available on CD and 45 rpm vinyl record. ''White Chalk'' is also available on iTunes complete with a bonus track, "Wait".
==Track listing== {{Track listing | total_length = 33:57 | all_writing = PJ Harvey. | title1 = The Devil | length1 = 2:55 | title2 = Dear Darkness | length2 = 3:09 | title3 = Grow Grow Grow | length3 = 3:21 | title4 = When Under Ether | length4 = 2:22 | title5 = White Chalk | length5 = 3:06 | title6 = Broken Harp | length6 = 1:57 | title7 = Silence | length7 = 3:05 | title8 = To Talk to You | length8 = 4:00 | title9 = The Piano | length9 = 2:36 | title10 = Before Departure | length10 = 3:45 | title11 = The Mountain | length11 = 3:10 }}
{{Track listing | total_length = 36:14 | headline = iTunes<ref>{{cite web|url=https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/white-chalk-exclusive-edition/id264503329|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101108010100/http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/white-chalk-exclusive-edition/id264503329|url-status=dead|archive-date=8 November 2010|title=iTunes – Music – White Chalk (Exclusive Edition) by PJ Harvey|work=iTunes|publisher=Apple|accessdate=21 June 2012}}</ref> bonus track | title12 = Wait | length12 = 2:17 }}
==Personnel== All personnel credits adapted from the album's liner notes.<ref>{{cite AV media notes|title=White Chalk|others=PJ Harvey|year=2007|type=LP|publisher=Island Records|id=LC 00407}}</ref>
'''Musicians''' *PJ Harvey – vocals, piano, acoustic guitar, bass, keyboards, zither, harmonica, harp, cigfiddle *John Parish – drums, bass guitar, acoustic guitar, banjo, percussion, backing vocals *Eric Drew Feldman – piano, keyboards, optigan, mellotron, minimoog, backing vocals *Jim White – drums, percussion
'''Additional musicians''' *Nico Brown – concertina, backing vocals (on "Before Departure") *Andrew Dickson – backing vocals (on "Before Departure") *Bridget Pearse – backing vocals (on "Before Departure") *Martin Brunsden – backing vocals (on "Before Departure") *Nick Bicât – backing vocals (on "Before Departure")
'''Technical''' *Flood – producer, engineer, mixing *John Parish – producer, mixing *PJ Harvey – producer, mixing, additional engineer *Catherine Marks – assistant engineer *Andrew Savors – assistant engineer *Ali Chant – additional engineer
'''Design''' *Maria Mochnacz – artwork, photography *Rob Crane – artwork
==Charts== {| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;" |+ {{Screen reader-only|Chart performance for ''White Chalk''}} ! scope="col"| Chart (2007) ! scope="col"| Peak<br/>position |- {{album chart|Australia|24|artist=PJ Harvey|album=White Chalk|rowheader=true|access-date=20 June 2012}} |- {{album chart|Austria|66|artist=PJ Harvey|album=White Chalk|rowheader=true|access-date=20 June 2012}} |- {{album chart|Flanders|12|artist=PJ Harvey|album=White Chalk|rowheader=true|access-date=20 June 2012}} |- {{album chart|Wallonia|33|artist=PJ Harvey|album=White Chalk|rowheader=true|access-date=31 January 2026}} |- {{album chart|Denmark|18|artist=PJ Harvey|album=White Chalk|rowheader=true|access-date=4 May 2020}} |- {{album chart|Netherlands|34|artist=PJ Harvey|album=White Chalk|rowheader=true|access-date=20 June 2012}} |- {{album chart|Finland|32|artist=P J Harvey 3|album=White Chalk|rowheader=true|access-date=31 January 2026}} |- {{album chart|France|10|artist=PJ Harvey|album=White Chalk|rowheader=true|access-date=20 June 2012}} |- {{album chart|Germany|54|id=68881|artist=PJ Harvey|album=White Chalk|rowheader=true|access-date=31 January 2026}} |- {{album chart|Ireland|15|year=2007|week=39|rowheader=true|access-date=20 June 2012}} |- {{album chart|Italy|29|artist=PJ Harvey|album=White Chalk|rowheader=true|access-date=31 January 2026}} |- {{album chart|New Zealand|35|artist=PJ Harvey|album=White Chalk|rowheader=true|access-date=30 August 2019}} |- {{album chart|Norway|7|artist=PJ Harvey|album=White Chalk|rowheader=true|access-date=20 June 2012}} |- {{album chart|Portugal|20|artist=PJ Harvey|album=White Chalk|rowheader=true|access-date=20 June 2012}} |- {{album chart|Scotland|21|date=20070930|rowheader=true|access-date=31 January 2026}} |- {{album chart|Spain|55|artist=PJ Harvey|album=White Chalk|rowheader=true|access-date=20 June 2012}} |- {{album chart|Sweden|24|artist=PJ Harvey|album=White Chalk|rowheader=true|access-date=20 June 2012}} |- {{album chart|Switzerland|21|artist=PJ Harvey|album=White Chalk|rowheader=true|access-date=20 June 2012}} |- {{album chart|UK2|11|date=20070930|rowheader=true|access-date=31 January 2026}} |- ! scope="row" | US ''Billboard'' 200<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.billboard.com/music/PJ-Harvey/chart-history/billboard-200 |title=PJ Harvey Chart History (''Billboard'' 200) |magazine=Billboard |access-date=31 January 2026 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180521014951/https://www.billboard.com/music/PJ-Harvey/chart-history/billboard-200 |archive-date=21 May 2018 |url-status=dead}}</ref> | 65 |- ! scope="row"| US Top Alternative Albums (''Billboard'')<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.billboard.com/music/pj-harvey/chart-history/ALT |title=PJ Harvey Chart History (Alternative Albums) |magazine=Billboard |access-date=31 January 2026 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200216183142/https://www.billboard.com/music/pj-harvey/chart-history/ALT |archive-date=16 February 2020 |url-status=dead}}</ref> | 14 |- ! scope="row"| US Top Tastemaker Albums (''Billboard'')<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.billboard.com/music/pj-harvey/chart-history/TAS |title=PJ Harvey Chart History (Tastemakers) |magazine=Billboard |access-date=31 January 2026 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200206024639/https://www.billboard.com/music/pj-harvey/chart-history/TAS |archive-date=6 February 2020 |url-status=dead}}</ref> | 3 |}
==Certifications and sales== {{Certification Table Top|caption={{Screen reader-only|Certifications and sales for ''White Chalk''}}}} {{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|title=White Chalk|artist=PJ Harvey|type=album|award=Silver|relyear=2007|certyear=2008|id=8220-516-2}} {{Certification Table Entry|region=United States|title=White Chalk|artist=PJ Harvey|type=album|nocert=true|salesamount=62,000|salesref=<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=D0b70DQT1HkC&q=pj+harvey+nielsen+soundscan&pg=RA5-PA31|title=License Check|magazine=Billboard|first=Jason|last=Lipshutz|date=26 March 2011}}</ref>}} {{Certification Table Bottom|nosales=true}}
==References== {{Reflist|30em}}
==External links== *[https://web.archive.org/web/20080113102127/http://www.pjharvey.net/player/ Free album sampler] at PJHarvey.net *[http://musicbrainz.org/release/68a8b3b5-b256-4917-8ba0-b74e79bedb44.html ''White Chalk'' at Musicbrainz] *{{Metacritic album}}
{{PJ Harvey}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:2007 albums Category:PJ Harvey albums Category:Albums produced by Flood (producer) Category:Island Records albums Category:Albums produced by John Parish