Review: PJ Harvey, Wolverhampton

This historic former car factory is less of a venue, more of an open space; with girders, concrete floor and low lighting, it is almost as if the workers have just left for the day and taken all their equipment with them.

As she takes to the stage to sing her stories of urban decay, social ills,the horrors of war, political protest and even infanticide (it seems no subject of off-limits for Harvey) it's hard to imagine anywhere better to hear them.

That said, all we really had to was was close our eyes and Harvey, with her incredible vocal range, would have painted that setting with her voice alone.

From the ethereal plaintive tones of River Anacostia and Dollar, Dollar to the earthy bluesy drawl of To Bring You My Love, and everything in between, no two songs are the same.

One consistency is that her voice is always haunting and hypnotic. As she takes you from the 'drug town zombies' of America to England's 'grey, damp filthiness of ages' you are with her every step of the way.

At the risk of sounding like an X Factor judge, the audience believes every word.

From the moment Harvey and her band marched on stage to the sound of drums, the crowd was enthralled; drawn in by her magnetic performance, it was hard to take your eyes off her.

The concert was centred mostly around songs from Harvey's most recent album, the Hope Six Demolition Project.

To be honest this album was a bit of a slow burner for me, compared to previous offerings, but hearing the songs performed live seemed to give them a new dimension. Dollar, Dollar was a song that passed me by on the album really, but having now seen it live and listened to it again it has a new resonance.

Interspersed with the newer material were a few old favourites. From her earlier Let England Shake there was The Glorious Land and later as an encore the beautiful Last Living Rose.

Buts the highlight for many was when she went right back to 50ft Queenie, with a sudden explosion of energy that saw the crowd really come to life.

The band provided an intricate, layered wall of sound, from the unrelenting drums to some fantastic saxophone playing, but it is Harvey's voice that is the stand-out instrument, soaring above the musicians as clear as a bell.

By Sally-Anne Youll