Fantastic news from one of the Amp's all-time favorite artists: PJ Harvey will have a new album ready for release on February 14th, 2011. "Let England Shake," the British rocker's ninth studio disc and follow-up to 2009's "A Woman A Man Walked By" with John Parish, was produced by Flood and recorded in a 19th century church in Dorset.
You know who loves recording in churches? Everybody! Is it the airy acoustics, magnanimous atmosphere, slight heresy of bringing the devil's music into God's crib, or the built-in story when journalists call? ("So you made this album in a church! What was that like!?")
John Mellencamp recorded 2010's "No Better Than This" partially in Savannah, Georgia's First African Baptist Church. Arcade Fire famously made 2007's "Neon Bible" in a Montreal church they converted into a studio. Coldplay excitedly told fans they were "Recording in Barcelona, moving from church to church, setting up where we can: in front of the altar, under the pulpit," while working on 2008's "Viva la Vida." Two years later, the U.K.'s Sun reported the band was back in church in a story titled Coldpray (insert slow clap here). Tulsa's Church Studios was indeed once a church -- after its conversion, Tom Petty's Mudcrutch, J.J. Cale, and Phoebe Snow laid down tracks there. Even Swedish metal outfit Opeth found their way to a house of worship to record organ part for "Watershed."
Here's a great way to get psyched for PJ's church LP -- watch her perform "The Devil" live in 2008:
[Photo: Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images]