A Woman A Man Walked By is the second album co-written and jointly performed by Polly Jean Harvey and John Parish, and comes over 12 years after 1996's Dance Hall At Louse Point. It was initially recorded at Parish and Harvey's homes and later, at a studio in Bristol where it was assisted by the contributions of three other musicians. Some of it is quiet, considered and reflective; at other moments, it verges on the deranged. By turns, it is mischievous, deadly serious, elegant and poetic, and possessed of a brutal power. It is doubtful that you will hear a record as brimming with creative brio and musical invention this year.