Fresh from headlining Primavera and Field Day, and a rousing set at Glastonbury where Devon-born Polly Jean denounced the British government and the recent Brexit decision via a 17th century poem, Britain’s ever-evolving, statement-making songstress has released a surprise new track.
Guilty is a previously unreleased song from the durational performance art piece slash album recording session that was open to the public at Somerset House in January 2016. The month long session resulted in Harvey’s ninth studio album, and her first ever UK number 1, The Hope Six Demolition Project. The strutting, aggressive track asks “Which one is guilty?”, a less than subtle nod to the rapidly self-ejecting government after the Brexit announcement.
The surprise single comes with accompanying artwork by Michelle Henning, depicting a statuette of a double headed dog – a useless mythological dog that couldn’t stop Hercules slaying a field of sheep. Another analogy?
Credits
Text Tom Ivin