British songstress PJ Harvey, riding a wave of critical acclaim for her fourth LP, the recently released Is This Desire?, is about to embark on an 11-date tour of North American theaters and clubs.

Turning from the loud guitar-rock that marked her earlier releases, such as her 1992 debut, Dry, and its Steve Albini-produced follow-up, Rid of Me, Harvey's 12-song Is This Desire? debuted at #54 on the Billboard 200 albums chart this week.

The LP gives a nod to the Bristol, England, trip-hop scene with songs such as "My Beautiful Leah" (RealAudio excerpt) and the spooky, piano-laden "The Garden" (RealAudio excerpt).

After opening the tour Oct. 20 at the Show Box in Seattle, Harvey will head down the West Coast for a pair of California shows before branching east for two Midwestern dates and a fistful of East Coast shows.

She plans to seal the deal with a final gig at the Roxy Theatre in Atlanta on Nov. 8.

Among those interested in Harvey's latest direction include her compatriot Elvis Costello, who has been doing some stretching of his own with '60s songwriter Burt Bacharach on their recently released collaboration, Painted From Memory.

Despite feeling that much of current pop-music is recycled, Costello professes to be a fan of Harvey's work.

"Most bands seem to drone around the same rhythmic pattern that has been derived from [the Beatles'] 'I Am the Walrus' or something and it's like a re-creation of something I've already seen before," Costello said. "There are singers that I like, individual singers I like ... I went to get PJ Harvey's new record."

PJ Harvey Tour Dates:

Oct. 20; Seattle, Wash., Show Box

Oct. 22; San Francisco, Calif., Warfield

Oct. 24; Los Angeles, Calif., Wiltern Theatre

Oct. 27; Minneapolis, Minn., First Avenue

Oct. 28; Chicago, Ill., Vic Theatre

Oct. 30; Toronto, Ont., Warehouse

Nov. 1; Philadelphia, Pa., Theatre of Living Arts

Nov. 2; Boston, Mass., Avalon

Nov. 4; New York, N.Y., Hammerstein Ballroom

Nov. 6; Washington, D.C., 9:30 Club

Nov. 8; Atlanta, Ga., Roxy Theatre