Synopsis
PJ Harvey performs "This Is Love" in a stark studio setting, turning the song into a concentrated burst of rock-star attitude. Wearing a white fringed suit and vivid red lipstick, she plays guitar directly to the camera while the lighting shifts around her. Rapid edits, intense close-ups, and vigorous hair-whipping capture the track's physical force. There is no narrative storyline; the video depends on Harvey's commanding presence, playful posing, and unapologetically theatrical performance.
Factoids & Trivia
- "This Is Love" was released as a music video in December 2001, accompanying the single from *Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea*.
- The clip was the third collaboration between PJ Harvey and Sophie Muller, following the videos for "Good Fortune" and "A Place Called Home."
- The concept was deliberately straightforward: Harvey and Muller chose to make a performance video rather than build a separate narrative around the song.
- The video was shot on reversal film stock, a format that offered very little exposure latitude but gave the footage a distinctive, immediate look.
- The changing lighting effects were created in real time during filming rather than added later in post-production.
- Harvey selected the white fringed outfit herself. Muller described its exaggerated posing as intentionally tongue-in-cheek, giving the performance a playful edge beneath its aggressive rock presentation.
- Production was low-budget and took place in a very small studio in Camden, London.
- The song reached number 41 on the UK Singles Chart and received a 2002 Grammy nomination for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance.