PJ Harvey Releases First Track from London Tide Soundtrack “Holloway”

Based on the Charles Dickens story, Our Mutual Friend, the new musical, London Tide, premiered earlier this year in London, and while reviews and in-depth plot details are fairly scarce at this point, the release of the soundtrack on October 17 might illuminate some details.

The play subverts the setup of the Dickens novel by focusing solely on the plot’s two primary female characters, Bella Wilfer and Lizzie Hexam, and greatly reducing the roles of the male characters in order to bring light to narratives that, in modern times, might be worth a deeper examination. While the musical’s director and book writer might both be men––Ian Rickson and Ben Powers respectively––the songs are predominantly helmed by PJ Harvey, an English singer-songwriter known for her seductively coarse indie rock music. 

With the release of the first track, “Holloway,” we can see how Harvey’s musical stylings work within the world of London Tide, applying the needed mystery and unease for the story, as well as the element of feminine rage that Harvey has given to Bella Wilfer.

The complete tracklist for “London Tide (World Premiere Recording),” according to NME, is as follows:

1. ‘London Song’
2. ‘Embers and Ash’
3. ‘The Burning Boat’
4. ‘Lizzie Alone’
5. ‘Bradley Headstone’
6. ‘Evening’
7. ‘London, My Beautiful’
8. ‘Eugene Alone’
9. ‘The City and the Field’
10. ‘Holloway’
11. ‘Upstream’
12. ‘Deptford Creek’
13. ‘Homecoming’