PJ Harvey

Born: 1969
Location: Corscombe, England
Genre: Indie Rock, Folk, Punk, Singer-Songwriter
Years Active: 1991 -
Real Name: Polly Jean Harvey
Meaning of the Name:
Way of Working: Originally a three-piece band, later a solo artist working with producers
Associated: Nick Cave, John Parish

Essential Releases

To Bring You
My Love (1995)

Haunting tales of women on the edge.

Stories From the
City, Stories From the
Sea (2000)

Most commercial album. Accessible indie rock recorded in the States.

Let England
Shake (2011)

Dark folk tales. A blood-stained love letter to England.

In the rural scarps and vales of Somerset, England, PJ Harvey was raised on a farm by parents who exposed her to blues, folk, and jazz. Nearby Glastonbury is home to the world famous music festival, but is also known as Avalon, the place where the legendary Excalibur was forged.

Against this cultural backdrop of music and myth Harvey sculpted her archetypical 'devouring feminine' stage persona, challenging the notion of contemporary womanhood with songs of feral, aggressive members of the so-called 'fairer sex'.

For example, 'Sheela-Na-Gig' (1992) takes aim at the sexual politics between men and prostitutes. The lyrics depict a man paying for sex ('put money in your idle hole') who then treats the woman as dirty ('wash your breasts, I don't want to be unclean'). In response, she sings the popular refrain from South Pacific (1949), "gonna wash that man right out of my hair," rejecting his attempt to shame her for an act involving them both.

Combining the sexual image of the Sheela-Na-Gig, an obscene carving found on churches throughout Europe, with an anthem of female empowerment marked Harvey from the outset as a songwriter intent on singing new tales with familiar narratives.

On the murder ballad 'Down By the Water' (1995), she gives the traditional form a feminist slant by depicting a woman drowning her daughter as a symbolic rejection of motherhood. 'C'Mon Billy' (1995), from the same record, shows a woman pleading with an absent father to 'come home to your son.' The music video features an different man tied in ropes as an unwitting replacement. While traditional readings of such behaviour would construe the woman's entrapment as morally wrong, here it is recontextualised as an understandable, albeit dangerous, response to the emotional trauma of single motherhood and child abandonment.

PJ Harvey also challenged the idea of what a woman should be in her presentation. She posed for unglamorous photographs with her unshaven armpits on full display - a direct rejection of how female singers were 'supposed' to look. Later in her career she contrasted this appearance by stepping into the role of 'painted whore', wearing make-up with an exaggerated theatricality: bright red lips, long eyelashes, pale face, blue eye shadow, and pink jumpsuit.

PJ Harvey’s early, uncompromising aesthetic contrasted with her theatrical 'painted whore' look.

As the only artist to win the prestigious Mercury Prize twice, Harvey proved that women can express their dark urges to critical acclaim. Historically, female singers were limited to uplifting or romantic tones and the confrontational punk-blues of Harvey's early work was notably accepted because it was made as the PJ Harvey Trio, alongside her two male colleagues: Rob Ellis (drums) and Steve Vaughan (bass).

Later releases, beginning with her third album To Bring You My Love (1995), saw the singer take centre stage as a solo star. They featured cleaner, more accessible production that hurtled through genres such as singer-songwriter, indie rock (Stories From the City...), folk (Let England Shake), and art rock (The Hope Six Demolition Project). The latter topped the UK charts.

PJ Harvey's challenging, brutal, and fascinating music succeeded critically and commercially, but also played a key role in redefining the female singer-songwriter in the eyes of many.

Skills

*This is a work in progress. Values are subjective.

Emotional Impact

i Does it connect with the heart? What does it make you feel and how much of it?

85

Mental Impact

i Does it connect with the head? Social issues, interesting observations, clever lyrics, similies etc.

80

Originality

i Are they unique? Did they break new ground, use new techniques or create new genres.

80

Artistry

i Using creativity and imagination to present themselves in a unique way. Example, Wu-Tang Clan as Shaolin and Marvel characters etc.

90

Authenticity

i Do they really mean what they say? Is it autobiographical, personal?

55

Live

i Stage presence, working the crowd, performance. Miming, forgetting lyrics reduce this.

90

Production

i Studio techniques. More important for electronic music including hip hop.

70

Musicianship

i Their ability to play individually and as a group. Technical skills. DJing. Freestyling for hip hop.

90

Singing

i Technical attributes.

85

Songwriting

i Storytelling. Cohesive themes. Is the song about something? Stan by Eminem is an example of excellent songwriting.

85

Danceability

i Does it make you move? Do you tap your foot, nod your head or move your whole body?

45

Fun

i Is listening to it a good time? Are the lyrics funny? Depressing themes lowers value.

60

Consistency

i Have they put out good music across their careers. Two good albums and 5 band ones will reduce this value.

85

Range

i Fast, slow, ballads, party jams. Do they go beyond their own genre?

90

Cool

i Laid-back, icy detachment, unflustered.

70

Charisma

i Factors include appearance, force of personality. Elvis making people faint etc.

55

Commercial & Critical Success

Awards >>>

• Brit Award Nominee x8
• Grammy Award Nominee x8
• Mercury Prize WINNER! 2001 - Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea
• Mercury Prize WINNER! 2011 - Let England Shake

Certifications >>>

• Dry: Silver in the UK
• Rid of Me: Silver in the UK
• To Bring You My Love: Gold in the UK
• Is This Desire?: Gold in France; Silver in the UK
• Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea: Plainum in the UK & Australia; Gold in France
• Uh Hu Her: Silver in the UK
• White Chalk: Silver in the UK
• Let England Shake: Gold in the UK

Charts >>>

• Rid of Me: 3rd in the UK
• Is This Desire?: 9th in France
• Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea: 7th in France
• Let England Shake: 6th in Australia, France; 8th in the UK
• The Hope Six Demolition Project: 1st in the UK; 5th in France; 7th in Australia
• I Inside the Old Year Dying: 5th in the UK; 7th in Germany; 8th in France

Critics >>>

• BBC Music: Let England Shake - Best Albums of 2011: 1st
• Los Angeles Times: Let England Shake - Best Albums of 2011: 1st
• Melody Maker: Dry - 100 Greatest Albums of All Time (2000): 79th
• NME: Dry - Top 100 Greatest Albums of All Time (2007): 71st
• NME: Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea - The Top 100 Greatest Albums of the Decade (2009): 6th
• People: To Bring You My Love - Album of the Year 1995: 1st
• Rolling Stone: To Bring You My Love - Album of the Year 1995: 1st
• Rolling Stone: Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea - 100 Best Albums of the 2000s: 35th
• Spin: To Bring You My Love - 90 Best Albums of the '90s: 3rd
• The Guardian: Let England Shake - Best Albums of 2011: 1st
• The Quietus: Let England Shake - Best Albums of 2011: 1st
• Uncut: Let England Shake - Best Albums of 2011: 1st

Similar Acts

• Cat Power
• Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds
• Tom Waits
• Patti Smith
• Jeff Buckley
• Aldous Harding

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