A Perfect Day Elise Explained

A Perfect Day Elise
Cover:	PJ_Harvey_-_A_Perfect_Day_Elise.jpeg
Type:	single
Artist:	PJ Harvey
Album:	Is This Desire?
Released:	September 1998^[1]
Genre:	Alternative rock avant-garde^[2]
Label:	Island
Producer:	Flood, Steve Osborne, PJ Harvey
Prev Title:	That Was My Veil
Prev Year:	1995
Next Title:	The Wind
Next Year:	1999

"A Perfect Day Elise" is a song by English alternative rock musician PJ Harvey. Written solely by Harvey, the song was released as the lead single from her fourth studio album, Is This Desire? (1998), in September 1998 through Island Records. The song became Harvey's highest charting single in the United Kingdom, peaking at number 25.^[3] An accompanying music video for the song, directed by Harvey's frequent collaborator Maria Mochnacz, was released in 1998.^[4]

Background and reception

Similar to the other songs on Is This Desire?, "A Perfect Day Elise" narrates individual portrait of a female protagonist, named "Elise" in the song.^[5] According to the authors of Disruptive Divas: Feminism, Identity and Popular Music, Lori Burns and Melisse Lafrance, Harvey's vocals are recorded "with the effect that she is enclosed, while her voice is also layered with an octave doubling."^[6]

On his review for Is This Desire?, James Oldham of NME wrote that the song "will provide you with some idea of what's to come, but even its rumbling momentum and overloaded percussion is no preparation for the brutality of some of the material here."^[7] on his review for The New York Times, Robert Christgau described the song as "the uptempo single" off the album; nevertheless he also stated that the song "rocks to nowhere".^[8] Paul Verna of Billboard compared the song to other contemporary U2 tracks that were also produced by Flood.^[9]

Track listing

UK CD single (CID 718)

1. "A Perfect Day Elise" – 3:12
2. "The Northwood" – 1:57
3. "Sweeter Than Anything" – 3:11

UK CD single (CIDX 718)

1. "A Perfect Day Elise" – 3:12
2. "The Bay" – 3:14
3. "Instrumental #3" – 1:02

UK 7"

1. "A Perfect Day Elise" – 3:08
2. "Sweeter Than Anything" – 3:11
3. "Instrumental #3" – 1:03

US promo CD

1. "A Perfect Day Elise (Single Version)" – 3:03
2. "A Perfect Day Elise (Research Hook)" – 0:10

Charts

Chart (1998)	Peak position
Australian ARIA Singles Chart^[10]	83
French Singles Charts^[11]	70
UK Singles Chart^[12]	25
US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks^[13]	33

External links

• • PJ Harvey - "A Perfect Day Elise" official music video

Notes and References

1. Web site: Billboard . 12 September 1998 .
2. Web site: PJ Harvey : Is This Desire? . . 22 August 1998 . 9 May 2014 . Oldham, James.
3. Book: Rock Chicks: The Hottest Female Rockers from the 1960s to Now . Rockpool Publishing . Stieven Taylor, Alison . 2010 . 978-1921295980 . registration .
4. Web site: PJ Harvey promotional videos . jphuntley.co.uk . 9 May 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20171017235423/http://www.jphuntley.co.uk/pjh/FullPages/fullvideo.htm . 17 October 2017 . dead .
5. Book: Cinderella's Big Score: Women of the Punk and Indie Underground . Seal Press . Raha, Maria . Maria Raha . 2005 . 201 . 1580051162.
6. Book: Disruptive Divas: Feminism, Identity and Popular Music . Routledge . Burns, Lori and Melisse Lafrance . 2013 . 177, 188 . 978-1135698744.
7. Web site: PJ Harvey : Is This Desire? . . 22 August 1998 . 9 May 2014 . Oldham, James.
8. Web site: Pop/Jazz; Back With a Bang After Three Quiet Years . . 27 September 1998 . 9 May 2014 . Christgau, Robert . Robert Christgau .
9. PJ Harvey - Is This Desire? . Verna, Paul . . October 1998 . 110 . 43 . 20.
10. Book: Ryan, Gavin. Australia's Music Charts 1988-2010. 2011. Moonlight Publishing. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia.
11. Web site: PJ Harvey singles on French charts. SNEP. 9 May 2014.
12. Web site: PJ Harvey Artist Official Charts. The Official Charts Company. 4 July 2012.
13. [{{BillboardURLbyName|artist=pj harvey|chart=Alternative Songs}} PJ Harvey Album & Song Chart History {{pipe}} Billboard.com]. Billboard. 4 July 2012.