Pitchfork

After 1994's Rid of Me, wasn't it all downhill? Granted, To Bring You My Love was critically acclaimed, and maybe even Harvey's best-selling record, but in the humble opinion of this editaur, her first two records were where it's at. As bands like Dinosaur Jr. and Morphine have shown us, though, the same old routine becomes tiring if not given a new twist.

Louse Point explores an even weirder side of Harvey than her previous efforts: the storyteller. And it's still pretty weak. With the creepiness of songs like "Urn with Dead Flowers in a Drained Pool" and a cover of the Leiber-Stoller oddity, "Is That All There Is," Harvey and guitarist John Parish enter a land of Lynchian eerieness that at times is downright spookifying. Sure, it's missing that trademark fiery insanity and naked aggression we're so used to from Harvey, but it's a newer, more mysterious shade of her personality and her darkest side yet. Which beats the piss out of that glam vamp shit she's pulling these days.