Dry

FINALLY A WOMAN

Angular, raucous, righteous, feminist, and fully-formed straight out of the gate. A great first listen, and one of many to come I think.

My favorite part about this project is discovering artists and records like this. PJ Harvey has been a familiar name for a long time now, but I had no idea she sounded LIKE THIS? It's raw and gritty yet still polished, it's quintessentially angsty, and it's all around awesome. It reminded me that no matter how old I get or what I go through in life, I will always be that angsty, emo teenager who loves listening to angry music. It really never just was a phase mom, this is who I really am!!!!

I’m a big PJ Harvey fan but I don’t think I’d listened to this album for a few years years. Still sounds brilliant. There’s a rawness about her voice that makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up on songs like Sheela-na-gig. It’s hard to judge it on its own, without taking into account the body of work that came after this (and several even better albums) but it’s got to be a solid four plus stars for me.

Just woke up from drinking way too much at a christmas dinner with work. This is exactly how I feel Could be a 1 but for the relation a 2 A boring record Whatever 1

My first listen to PJ Harvey was a month or two ago - the 2000 album Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea. So now I get to jump back 8 years to her debut album. I loved that last album, but had to warm up to it. This time I had no such issue. I was immediately into it. The opening track "Oh My Lover" has that early 90s shamble to it and is followed up with the peppier "O Stella" that I really loved. "Dress" really hits hard. It's a great song that turns a dress into a weapon. 'You purdy thang, my man says, but I bought you beautiful dresses' and 'Filthy tight the dress is filthy'. Wow. Spectacular song. This album puts a spotlight on relationships between men and women and has a raw energy that makes the lyrics all the more compelling. The music is great, the observations pointed and complicated. I like this even more that Songs Of The City... and I loved that album! This stands up to the best of what was going on in music in the early 90s. It's almost a crime that PJ Harvey didn't enter my consciousness then (male-dominated radio management anyone?!), but I'm very very glad this oversight has been corrected. Favorite tracks: O Stell, Dress, Happy and Bleeding, Sheela-Na-Gig, Plants and Rags, Fountain

PJ Harvey’s debut album does not sound like a typical debut album. She comes across as confident and in control of her artistic vision. The music is textured and utilizes changes in dynamic very well. The sound is mature and stands out amongst the mountain of alternative music that came out in the early 90s.

This is really good. This album is apparently one of the handful of albums Kurt Cobain said one time he really liked and then music critics fell over themselves to say “I liked it before it was cool!” (see also: Butthole Surfers, Mudhoney, Meat Puppets, etc.) But I really like this sound. Favourite track: “Victory”

I really love this raw, Emotional exertion. High up there so far in the list.

Pj and Duncan are better

PJ Harvey, rock trio and PJ Harvey, rock goddess, barreled through the senses with reckless abandon on this epochal debut. Thirty years on and this is still a searing, full on showcase for who would become one of the more chameleonic and captivating musicians of her era. No wonder why she thought this would be her only album and dared to go all out. May I say that the gambit worked pretty damn well.

Oh man, I am so happy to see this album on the list. I would have expected To Bring You My Love, her breakthrough third album, to be on the list (and it may still be). But for me, her debut album Dry will always be the quintessential PJ Harvey album. It's raw and unpolished, emotional, weird, at times dark and dissonant. She has a unique, uncompromising vision as an artist, and this album showcases that vision in all its glory. 5 stars.

I like her demeanor, but it could have been channeled better.

I know she’s apparently very “authenthic” indie rock and cool etc but musically doesn’t do much for me

Seemed like it was gonna be good and then just... disappointment

I really enjoyed that I don’t know if it was just me tho but that mixing sucked I listened to it on Apple Music and I could barely hear the songs, so weird but yeah, the songs themselves were pretty cool, and I LOVED the weird time signatures they used I couldn’t pick up all of them, but I’m pretty sure I Hair is 6/4? and Water is a 10/8? I probably got those wrong but I still appreciate the songs nonetheless favorite track was probably Plants and Rags, that whole Velvet-Underground-if-they-were-90’s type shit was just 🤌 yeah, definitely a 10/10, I just wished they made like a 2022 Remaster or something to fix how it sounds still, I enjoyed the hell out of that

This album is exhilarating and beautiful. The songs drop like boulders from the sky. For a debut album it surely is acut above. At the time I remember thinking "Oh this sounds interesting". 30 years on this record is still startling and it would be easy to say if this was being released right now it would be still as fresh as the day it was pressed.

Solid album. Not my typical wheelhouse genre but really enjoyable listen. PJ shows off some range musically, uses her voice well and the music is interesting…

Joe & a few others songs peeked my interest but overall PJ left me empty on her debut.

I LOVE THIS ALBUM

Much like when we listened to Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea, it took me a few tracks to find my footing with PJ Harvey's Dry, but once I did, I was a goner. I love this album, especially Dress, Victory, Hair, and Plants and Rags and especially-especially Sheela-Na-Gig and Happy and Bleeding. Swoon!

This was a delightful find! I really like her raw style. I had to go listen to another one of her albums right away.

LOVED this one wish I could give her six stars

Forgot I had this. Absolutely excellent

Absolutely loved it. Moved from this particular album to some more of her recent stuff, though.

Raw and honest. Loved it.

Very good surprise!

The queen of indie and everything cool.

This reminded me of the time mum was screaming-angry in the car at Braehead and PJ Harvey was playing in the background

Raw and full of nerve. PJ Harvey has the kind of voice to send prickles up the neck at its full power, defiant and aching.

Bah.

Dry as fuck, except Sheela-na-gig

I can’t think of a better debut in that decade. I miss “PJ Harvey” the power trio, though I have a lot of love for what followed. I saw them in big old Manchester Academy a couple of years later perhaps on the “Rid of Me” tour and they were magic.

Happy to get this one! Gather round, kids, it's time for your indie grandpa to wax nostalgic once more: I was fortunate to meet PJ at the Rough Trade shop in Neal's Yard one balmy Saturday afternoon, before "Dress" was released, just hanging out. She was so cool and compelling that my group of grebo-adjacents were inspired to sell our long-coveted tickets for Carter USM outside the Brixton Academy that evening, dashing up the Northern Line to catch her destroying the sweaty backroom of the Camden Falcon instead. My memory is hazy, but I think she played all of this, basically in sequence, perhaps ending with "Sheela-Na-Gig". Fucking incredible, occasionally I do pick a winner! This album is, necessarily, quite dear to me. For a brief moment, PJ was the Camden Lurch Patti Smith and we were "just kids" hanging around CBGBs/The Sausage Machine angling for a grasp of fame. I didn't quite see her at the White Horse (although did catch Suede there, as regular readers may recall), but I do like to think *I was there* in a mildly-gratuitous, sentimental-old-man way.

PJ Harvey is one of my favourite artists, this isn’t my favourite album of hers but it’s still pretty much flawless. Fav tracks: Sheela-na-gig, Plants and Rags, Water, O Stella, Dress Least fav tracks: None, they’re all good.

Just phenominal alt rock. Love it.

3rd time listening. This was already my 2nd favorite album, but I don’t have a lot to say about it. Almost every song works for me. The only songs I don’t care for are “Hair” and “Joe”. This is my favorite PJ Harvey album, and she’s my favorite musical artist. Favorite song: “Plants and Rags”.

Pure raw grunge

Wow! What an album!

Really liked this. Raw and full of emotion while being amazingly catchy. An interesting thing I read on PJ Harvey's Wikipedia page was about how Dry was Kurt Cobain's 16th favourite album of all time, I can totally hear some parallels between this and Nirvana. Definitely will revisit this album.

Great album, one of PJ’s best

Not your typical “rock” and I’m here for it. PJ put you on a roller coaster and you didn’t know what the next turn was. I’m actually obsessed with her voice, it’s so raspy and lays extremely well with the power chords that hit like boulders. The way she takes a strike at gender politics in 1992 is beautiful. There is so much I wanna say about this album but idrk how to put it into words and that’s almost how the entire album is. It makes you feel something but you don’t know what or why you’re feeling this. At the end of the day, it’s PJ Harvey, a legend. 9.2/10, I loved this!

Sublime and classic.

Are there any award ceremonies that aren't an unloved farce? Will Smith slapping Chris Rock has been the only occasion when anyone has cared about the Oscars in at least 20 years. The most famous Nobel laureate for literature in recent times is Bob Dylan, and he couldn't be bothered to show up to collect it. And music awards are perhaps the most risible. Yes, we all cheered when Jarvis Cocker waved his arse in protest at Michael Jackson impersonating Christ at the Brits, but remember that the organisers thought Michael Jackson impersonating Christ was a good idea. The group that has won the most Grammies? U2, the most milquetoast, most conservative, least interesting, least deserving choice possible. And don't we all know these payola-provided ceremonies are solely to buttress the already eclipse-inducing egos of the tapeworms of the music industry, those who spend their working lives drafting contracts designed to leave the artists owing them money after they made the corporation enough dosh to buy Lithuania? I mention this because PJ Harvey has the apparent honour of being the only act to win the Mercury Prize twice. For those who don't know (nobody cares, as everyone knows), the Mercury Prize is an annual award to choose the best album from Britain and Ireland. In fairness, the Mercury Prize has managed some hits along with the misses: Screamadelica, Dummy, Different Class and the debuts of Suede, Franz Ferdinand and the Arctic Monkeys all seem solid in retrospect, but without looking up, can you name who won with the albums Elegant Slumming, A Little Deeper, Speech Therapy or An Awesome Wave? Indeed, the Mercury curse is the name given to the observed phenomenon that a Mercury Prize has sounded the death knell for plenty an act. Anyone remember the Klaxons? Anyone care? So we can't really infer the quality of PJ Harvey's work by way of her industry accolades. Mind, we can infer the quality of PJ Harvey's work by way of the exceptionally consistent quality of her albums. Yes, I have dithered for a bit, but just saying she's excellent doesn't really boost the word count, does it? Expanding the praise, PJ Harvey has real claim to be the best female singer-songwriter of the 90s. Dry, her debut album, has her kicking down the door, demanding with sheer talent that the world take notice. One can discern influences from blues, folk, punk and post-punk, but PJ Harvey clearly operates in her own genre, follows her own muse. This glorious independence rattles throughout the album, and it's an independence that she has never sacrificed. Anyway, note the year 1992. 1992 was also the year that grunge exploded. Sorry America, it was this album that properly sounded electrifying, punky, uncompromising, honest and raw. Bit more than Ugly Kid Joe, know what I mean?

Love the vibe

Packed with emotion, melancholic, but still interesting and melodic. I will definitely listen to it again.

Two PJs in one day! This one was great, grunge with a distinctly British and feminine twist. Absolute legend.

Still amazing.

Great PJH album, songs are as strong as ever -perhaps Rid of Me is even better, but this is obviously 5-stars.

Even better than I remembered. Love the odd time signatures, love the live feel, love PJ's vocals. Everything.

she's so fucking good

Great album. I really like PJ Harvey as a rock star, because her voice really suits it. I especially love the dress song, that one's badass

1992 - Alternative rock; indie rock; blues rock;

This was an easy assignment. Can't believe it's thirty years old already. Still a rocking hurricane wind tunnel, with no doubt or hesitation. How Polly came off the blocks this incandescent is still astonishing.

Very good, high tempo rock that puts you in a good mood.

like sharon van etton

Lovely lovely PJ, such a good raw album

Love this, very raw

Early mars Volta

Sanfte Stimme, rockig, sehr gut.

The legendary PJ Harvey, a femal powerhouse when it comes to Alternative Rock has always had a pretty consistent discography and of course that had to start somewhere. Her debut album merges the Alternative Rock, that she will mainly create in her career, with elements of Punk Blues and Grunge. So this album is pretty much a younger and female version of Nick Cave around the same time. And as someone who absolutely loves Nick, I also really like this album. The songs are a little bit inconsistent at times but those that are incredible are just masterpieces. The albums starts with the passionate and anxious 'Oh My Lover' which is full of aching love as well as some really nice sludgy guitars that build up until the drums and the rest of the instruments kick in to drive the song even further into a massive tension build up. The songwriting and the lyrics as well as the performance of either is absolutely incredible and if it wasn't for a couple of "pauses" that interupt the song a little bit, this would've been a perfect song. But still, it is an emotional height to start an album with and is absolutely incredible. The Grunge influences comes through a lot on 'O Stella' which keeps the album going with some really nice and rhythmic melodies that are absolute bangers. Sadly, the songwriting closes them off a little too early which does result in the overall enjoyment being harmed a little bit but I think the song is still very enjoyable and simply a great track. The Dance energy is kept and worked out much cleaner on 'Dress', the albums first real masterpiece. It's simply incredible with how the song builds up over the span of just a couple of moments and neatlessly goes into the chorus which is just phenomenal. The bridge where she genuinely sounds a bit like Yoko Ono is so funny and after it the energy does not go away. It's full of incredible moments and one of my favourite Alt-Rock songs ever. It is simply perfect and was the first of two songs that made me fall in love with her music the first time I heard it. I love it!!! 'Victory' gets even more Grunge and actually has a lot of similarities with In Utero in terms of noisy production. I personally think that that aspect does harm it a little bit because it feels very unfocused and out of touch with itself. The great moments that it has do not fit with each other and although I like it, I don't love it because it feels pretty inconsistent and also incoherent. It cannot push itself further than a really good song. The influences of Raga Rock on 'Happy and Bleeding' are pretty unexpected but they fit with her style. The typical droning of the Ragas do feel similar to some of the noisier stuff but sadly the song fails to build up enough tension to be remotely interesting. It does not fit within itself and the songwriting just doesn't help. The song is good but definitely not great. The second half of the album starts with my favourite PJ Harvey song ever. 'Sheela-Na-Gig' is not just energetic and has an incredible hook but it's just so fun to sing and groove along. It's such a perfect blend of Post-Hardcore Punk and Grunge and even I as a man sing the lyrics with all my heart. Simply a masterpiece and I am not going to debate on that. 'Hair' does tune things back in terms of energy and noise but it still shows itself as an ambitious and energetic track. This time the Post-Punk ideas come a little bit through but sadly the song itself isn't strong enough to captivate any of what there might be to catch on. It feels pale and worn out, basic and half finished but it also does not have enough build up to make the chorus worth. The song is okay but sadly nothing more. It gets even more Post-Punk with 'Joe' which builds upon the fast and repeating guitar but again, it isn't enough to make the song thrive fully. It's got some nice moments but it mainly sounds like an unfinished mess without anywhere that it is going. Again, I like it a bit but when I compare it to some of the stronger songs on the album, it does feel a little left over. The next song 'Plants and Rags' does a complete turnover in terms of genre and sound. It combines Folk Rock and Singer-Songwriter aspects with some lofi Slacker Rock and weird production choices in the sound of Avant-Folk. It is a weird song but it surprisingly works. It's not perfect but it's not too far away. I really like it for it's weirdness and this time, the instrumental chorus and the build-up actually works. It's a great song but also with a lot of room for improvement. 'Fountain' comes along and removes the Folk and replaces it with different Punk ideas throughout. It's again one of the songs which try too much but forget the most basic thing of actually taking enough time to build a good amount of tension before releasing. This makes the song feel one-dimensional even if some moments are pretty good on their own. It's okay... The album closes with 'Water' which does take some time to actually start but once it does, it gets things going. The tension is much nice here although I still think it releases a little bit too early. But the overall songwriting and performances as well as the chorus are enough for me to think that this is genuinely a pretty good song. Not the best way to close the album but definitely not the worst. favourites: Sheela-Na-Gig, Dress, Oh My Lover, Plants and Rags least favourites: Hair, Joe, Happy and Bleeding, Fountain Rating: strong 7 to light 8 https://rateyourmusic.com/~Emil_ph for more ratings, reviews and takes

Surprisingly good album. Had it as a kid but didnt love it, I feel Im older and wiser and can understand its excellence better now. Great in every sense.

This is a pretty solid album. I like the lo fi production, I like the nuanced song writing choices. It has an earnestness and fire that was emblematic of the music scene back then but seems to be in short supply in the 2020s.

Wow – “Dry” from PJ Harvey was absolutely awesome! Knew of her, but not familiar with her work at all… May have heard a song or two back in the day, but would not have been able to tell you it was her – so I came to this album as a “blank slate” – which is always cool… I thought the album was absolutely spectacular from start-to-finish – as this was really AFG, or “Angry Female Grunge” if you ask me – which I am just fine with! One of the most creative albums I’ve listened to in quite a while, as PJ is genuine, original, and incredibly talented… I know a lot has been made of the female angst in her lyrics, but I’m good with that… If she’s able to pull that angst out of her, and capture it in a constructive way – which perfectly matches the music – well then she’s absolutely done her job as an artist… The quality of the recording is excellent, and the diversity of sound and instrumentation – which contributed to the range of sound throughout the album was exceptionally well-done… You had the raw driving guitar in “Joe”, contrasted by the intricate violin and cello arrangements on “Plants & Rags” – which is a great example of that… The album is edgy, and musical dissonance has been expertly integrated throughout every track on the album… Best tracks IMO are – “Happy & Bleeding” – 5-stars out of 7… “Hair” – 5-stars out of 7… “Joe” – 6-stars out of 7… “Plants & Rags” – 4-stars out of 7… This was a real surprise from my perspective, and doubt I ever would have listened with out the 1,001… In slotting this in with all the other albums, I’d probably give it a 4.25 if I could, but definitely clocks-in as a solid 4 for sure, and I highly recommend this one for sure!

Pure unadulterated rawness here, usual artists take time to grow into who they want to be.... Not Polly, she's kicking arse right out the gate.

Again, nice rocky style. Original, but a bit hard for me in this moment

Nice

Very enjoyable. Raw and unfocused, but in a good way.

Very good!

great female vocals. gritty rock sound.

Pretty interesting

This one will need another listen. I like what I heard, but it seems Life it needs to attention to appreciate it fully.

Dress, Victory

Powerful, primal, in your face rock. Sheela-Na-Gig is just the most focal point of this amazing album. 4.5.

Polly Jean is someone I need to spend a lot more time with. This is good!

Some good tunes

I came on PJ Harvey latish by way of Rid of Me and worked back to this, boy I listened to these a lot in the mid 90s. Vocals are a little inconsistent here but the fundamental structure is there.

Really enjoyed. Dark and brooding stuff

I'm enjoying this more than I expected. I think I'd like to make music like this but very much different keys and more electronix

Amazing voice, raspy and rocks out.

Excellent debut from PJ - better than the last one

I like this. in top half of albums listened to so far

Nice 90s grunge-y vibe! Will need to listen a bit more!

it is, and sounds very much appropriate to, a debut studio album. raw energy, gorgeously creative.

PJ Harvey is a wonderful human

Much better than I remembered

nice

Ton of fun. Love the guitar tone so much

very good

Excellent grunge inspired album that inspired many new female artists. The music matches the title of the album, dry yet heartfelt and well-executed with some great standout tracks like "Joe", the chaotic "Plants and Rags" and the in-your-face lyrics of "Dress". Definitely deserving to be on the 1001 list, mostly for the fact that it is one of the best female "grunge-raw" style albums out there.

PJ harvey does not miss

Very good. Powerful lyrics, great punk aesthetics, love the basslines.

Better as it ages. Nick Cave-esque

No my favorite PJ Harvey album. But it did remind me how much I love and miss that gritty, dirty 90s sound.

A little too indie for me but I liked it more than other stuff, & PJ (to the extent of my knowledge) did this relatively early. A lot of the songs are about men (some are good, some are eh). The second half of the album is when it gets good. BT - Oh My Lover - Plants and Rags - Fountain - Water -

Eh, idk, it wasn't bad but it was fine.

Cringe era , repetitive rock

Первый трек задаёт балдёжный настрой. И ещё какие-то. На какие именно - хз. Ладно, Sheela-na-gig какая-нибудь. Просто разбирать по трекам не хочется, они душить начинают. От прослушивания тупо устаёшь. Я в начале подумал, что из-за некой комплексности без подготовки возникает подобная реакция. Но нет, прослушал раз 5-7, это действительно во многом душная музыка. Так что был бы рад поставить 4, ибо музла то хорошего завозят, если бы не уставал. Был бы балдёж-нормас - ещё лан, но балдёж-усталь - уже не.

неплохо так то, ее вокал на фоне тяжелой гитарки звучит норм, правда не там где вой начинается, первый трек самый лучший вроде

Edgy und grungy, spricht mich aber nicht wirklich an, wat teils ein bisschen monoton