Icon: PJ Harvey

In my world PJ Harvey is the greatest musician alive. She's not afraid to experiment and take risks with her work and she always has a new look for each record. Here I'm writing about her early work. Those records were Dry (1992), Rid of Me (1993) and 4 Track Demo's (1993). During this era the world became familiar with the English girl from a farm in Yeovil who purrs, growls and moans over some of the rawest rock n' roll I've ever listened to. She is unafraid of telling attention grabbing stories and singing with a throat thick with tears. Oftentimes the sexual songs are pieces of social commentary (a la Fight Club). When I was captivated by her work in middle school I'd never heard someone sing with such raw, emotional intensity. PJ Harvey works it out from the gut. Her voice reverberates with anger and at times, deep sadness. I must quote Brian Molko here saying that she isn't afraid to make you feel like someone is bleeding on you. I also noticed the simplicity of her look during this era. She announced herself to the world in a way that drew attention to her work. She's been quoted saying that she was very serious during this time in which she preffered to wear black (most of the time) and styled her hair simply with the added quirkiness of a single earing. This look makes you hone in on her enormous eyes and elegant lips. Although she wore basically the same thing all the time she always looked like a rocker.

Tonight I came home frustrated and I went to my tape deck and turned on Rid of Me. I proceeded to pace around the room singing her songs with every ounce of passion in me.

Dress

Missed

Rid of Me