What a woman. It’s just struck me that she’s changed massively in musical style over the years. I’m immersed in early record ‘Rid Of Me’ right now, and it’s one of my favorites, simply because it’s raw, intense, emotional, sexual, unedited, and it makes so much fucking noise. Straight from the quiet-loud dynamic of title track and opener ‘Rid Of Me’ right through to the rattling ending of ‘Ecstasy’, PJ drives us over the edge again and again with an arsenal of noisy, controversial, impure songs.
So then after ‘Rid Of Me’ comes what might be her magnum opus, ‘To Bring You My Love’, a deep, emotionally charged record that is a lot more melodic and daring than the rather enjoyably one-dimensional Rid Of Me. It may be the different producer, but it really brings out another side of PJ; maybe somewhat darker, more depressing, yet even more captivating. Musically the album doesn’t even approach the relentless sea of noise that was showcased on Rid Of Me, and it’s a lot easier to appreciate because of that. It has a nice epic sound to it, and the lyrics are incredible… this album’s difficult to describe, but let me just say that you must listen to this record. It demands to be heard. Along with Radiohead’s ‘The Bends’ and Blur’s ‘The Great Escape’ it might be the greatest album released in 1995.
‘Is This Desire?’ throws PJ into further experimental territories. Rocky guitars aren’t really the focus of this record. Is This Desire? is far more concerned with conjuring atmosphere and tone than anything else, and it utilizes a far wider spectrum of instruments to do so. There’s a lot of keyboards and bass on this record, and her vocals are increasingly ethereal, and her lyrics increasingly indistinct.
‘Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea’ may well be her most accessible album to date, as for the most part it relies on memorable melodies and hooks to grab the listener’s attention. It’s a borderline pop album, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it lacks depth – the lyrics are some of PJ’s most touching to date and her vocals are on top form. There’s also some brilliant guest performances on this record, most notably from Thom Yorke, who duets with her on the astonishing ‘This Mess We’re In’ and provides backing vocals for two other tracks (‘One Line’ and ‘Beautiful Feeling’) adding another layer to each song.
‘Uh Huh Her’ is a return to a more raw, honest PJ Harvey, and it works astonishingly well. Some of the songs are astoundingly beautiful, and most of this is attributed to the fact that PJ worked on this album independently and played almost every instrument except drums, resulting in a very personal, memorable record.
Last year’s oppressive, bleak release ‘White Chalk’, however, is probably her biggest stylistic change yet. There are hardly any guitars, if any, to be found – instead, PJ turns to the piano as her main instrument, and her lyrics are by far the most depressing, hopeless, and melancholy that she has ever penned. The result is a very difficult album to get through, as it’s extremely introverted and dreary – yet it is still a masterpiece, precisely because it’s so grim and ethereal.
So how exactly did Miss PJ transform from the energetic fireball that I’m hearing right now on the infernal ‘Yuri-G’, from ‘Rid Of Me’, to the crestfallen, disheartened piano-playing princess that wrote White Chalk?
Who knows, but the transformation is possibly one of the most memorable evolutions in the history of music; not only because it showcases so many different sides of one artist, but because that artist has remained remarkably consistent and true to what she does.
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