Oh man, The Hope Six Demolition Project might be PJ Harvey’s worst album. Maybe excuse the “might,” possibly, (probably). It might as well be definite considering her prior record of consistently always delivering something of interest with her eclectic tastes and many ways of posturing herself. To begin with, the lyrics here are particularly bad. PJ Harvey’s passive observation approach takes her out of her forte.

Rarely a clever phrase or metaphor, the once literate PJ Harvey is flatly describing things she thinks should be of concern like a middle schooler’s spring break paper on the subject of “What Are Some Ways Our Town Could Be Improved?” Without a unique voice on these observations they’re entirely passé and Harvey’s progressive project becomes mostly reaffirmation of the status quo.

The occasionally embarrassing lines were the first thing I noticed despite being the last thing I cared about, but the music is certainly maybe her absolute worst as well. The arrangements are antithetical to Let England Shake, lacking sensitive space, breadth, and idiosyncratic rhythms. Nearly every song is a cacophonic marching stomp-n-strum with every other instrument marching along obscured by something in front of them, and the token listless backing vocals becomes a flavor no better than store brand hot sauce.

This formula works best on “The Orange Monkey,” where the sullen main vocals and female siren-call in the background make it sound like a pretty good sea shanty. Regardless of intention, it becomes the most gripping hook here. The passion behind The Hope Six Demolition Project, if it was there in the first place, does not come through.