Dry

A solid debut, just the right amount of raw but plenty of the seeds that she would develop out into more robust work. A great record in its own right, but grading slightly on a curve because I prefer several other PJ Harvey albums.

I can’t figure this artist out. I want to like her. But just not sure I do. Then one or two songs will really resonate. Then a few won’t. Going with a generous 3, because I want to revisit and know I won’t revisit anyone I dated lower.

Idk what PJ was cookin in the early 90s, but I love it and can’t believe I’m just hearing it now. Not as good as Rid of Me but still very into it

Good but I wouldn’t go back to it. Not my thing.

It would be a 5-star rating, if I wouldn't know that there would even better PJ albums to come.

Can't believe I've never heard of this woman. This was a very good album and I'm excited to see more from her on this journey.

I enjoyed the raw energy of this album, but little beyond that. I can understand how PJ Harvey became lauded for her work, but that still feels some way off at the stage this album was made.

I knew I’d hate this. Absolute dirge.

I've never listened to PJ Harvey, despite thinking I'd probably kinda like her. And it turns out, I do in fact kinda like her. It wasn't the most promising of starts, as I didn't really like Oh My Lover or O Stella but I really liked Dress, Victory (I liked the whole slide guitar thing that was happening) and Sheela-na-gig. I don't think this reaches the heady heights of a 4, but if I had half marks this would definitely be getting 3.5. 3/5

I remember when this one came out. Heard it a bunch at work. Never disliked it, but never really got into it either. Listening again, no change. It's a good album, but doesn't get me going much.

I know the name PJ Harvey, but apparently I don't know PJ Harvey. As much as I am tired of 90s albums on this list, I enjoyed this more than I thought I would. It's that raw early 90s sound that I enjoyed. It does tend to wear on by the end, and now that I see she has not just one but FOUR albums on this list!? I cant imagine this style improves that much with age.

Ben bon mais elle a des meilleurs albums qui ont suivi. Le son du drum est pas tout à fait à la hauteur de l'intensité du jeu/des tounes. 3.49 étoiles

Not all the songs are great. But this is a great album, the sound building to a great climax. 4/5

Not a fan of her early music albums.

Gostei da vibe, pena que não tem no Spotify.

Heard before?:❌️ Will listen again?:✔️ Wow I knew PJ Harvey was great (mainly from Is this Desire? and Stories from the city, stories from the sea) but I didn't expect I would fall in love with this album as much as I did. It's so gritty and musically interesting

Really nice surprise. Feels much like an unknown or forgotten standout of grungy post hardcore.

It was a really good album. It kind of sounds a bit like Experimental Rock. It's one of Kurt Cobain's favorites and I can understand why. It was really enjoyable!

She’s so cool

Not for me. just kind of bleh...

Very good.

Pretty good. Surprised she has 3 (or more?) albums on the list but I’ve liked all of them for the most part.

What kind of person enjoys this?

A really strong debut from PJ Harvey here, it's gloomy and has some great sludgy guitar. Harvey isn't sugarcoating anything here, straightforward and clever lyrics. Very 90's album here in all the best ways. The standouts for me were O Stella, Sheela-Na-Gig and Water. PJ Harvey is cool and this album is also cool. 4 stars

6.5/10

PJ Harvey is one of the coolest persons alive. If not at the level of her later output, this album demonstrates how, at 23 yo, she already was a great songwriter and performer (her vocals and guitars are just amazing). What an assertive debut!

Again, she should really be better known in the US. So many of these tracks would have fit perfectly on the radio back in the 90’s.

Just ok.

I’m going to give this a 5. It was my first time listening to it but I was very struck by it. I remember PJ Harvey being in the NME a lot at the time, but I never got into the music then. I thought it was too cool for me. Finally listening to it now, I like it! Maybe it’s a 4.5 because I couple of tracks weren’t perfect for me. But whatever. Now, I’m too cool to care!

Striking.

I do really like pj harvey

Background music

Am I supposed to like this as much as I did? I surprised myself. On the day our chick bands bracket starts, this is the album of the day. I would include this band next time. It’s gritty and dirty sounding. Reminds me of The Toadies whom I love.

Great album. Raw and mean, not never loses sight of great melodies

Another PJ Harvey album? Oh no, my steak is too juicy, my lobster too buttery. I can't believe I've never explored this artist before. Brilliant album.

Signs of things to come

Dj харя

Not feeling this one, it’s pretty boring actually due to the fact it’s really poorly mixed and lacks the sonic quality to grab my ear. The mix is just as important as the songs themselves. FT: Plants and Rags Rating: 2/5

Eh, it was alright

One of those records that I know I’m going to give 5 stars to before listening to them. This was one of my favorite records when it came out. Hearing the whole thing again for the first time in a while, I’m catching things that I’d forgotten about recently by just hearing the big singles “Sheela-Na-Gig” and “Dress” on the radio. The tracks “Happy and Bleeding,” "Joe," and “Plants and Rags” particularly stood out today, both of which have some very interesting strings and guitars happening along with the intense vocals and lyrics. But the whole thing is great - heavy, truthful, angry, strong.

It was an interesting juxtaposition to listen to Lorde and PJ Harvey back-to-back. The albums have a similar voice, in many ways, but they are definitely "of different eras." I am, of course, partial to the 90s era. I am also partial to real instruments. But I do respect Lorde for kinda "doing the PJ Harvey thing" even if it's in a very 2010s-female-pop-star sort of way. I was not ready for PJ Harvey in the early 90s. This album sits better now, on my more mature ears.

I like this album immensely, but on my ranking of PJ Harbvey albums it comes in 4th behind Rid of Me, Uh Huh Her, and To Bring You My Love. I think maybe it's a little lo-fi or something for my tastes. Still a 4, tho!

I liked this pretty well. It might deserve 4 stars but I'm on the fence.

I'm rounding up here partly because I think PJ Harvey is cool. The songs are not my favorites of hers; a little dissonant for my taste. Much like a lot of Sleater-Kinney, who I also like but think I should like more than I do. Still, there are some very cool riffs and it's all listenable.

4/5 - Needs a remaster/remix, but pretty great overall for a debut. Dress was my favorite.

Meh. I like this artist. I have some of her other stuff. This was not her best

Really solid, really enjoyed this Best Song: Sheela-Na-Gig Rating: 7/10 Stars: 4/10

Eww. Gross album cover. And the record was pretty lame. I think it tried to have some attitude I just didn’t feel it. My scoring is so off. I giving records that are pretty lame three stars. I needed to give way more one star ratings.

stærkt debut album jeg elsker virkelig PJ harvey, massere af forskellige stilgenre føler jeg hvor alternativ rock selvfølgelig er den overodnede. Men der er mange grungede nummer og massere af distortion og det er jeg solgt på

Nothing really stood out about this one. I thought it was just alright.

This album is gritty and loud and just fucking rules, I will not be convinced otherwise. One hell of an artistic debut. Speaking as a drummer, there are some absolutely brilliant parts in this thing. "Hair" is a monster of a track, followed up by the insanity of "Joe" are you kidding me? So good.

Better than Coldplay

i liked stories from the city, stories from the sea more when we got it. but this is an incredibly tight record and does a lot of really interesting stuff, i especially liked plants and rags for the contrast it brought in

I always let this one get overshadowed by the next several for some reason, but it's a really really strong debut album and it has amazing and interesting songwriting just like the rest of them.

Once the first track started, I thought that I was not going to enjoy the rest of the record. The rest of the record was remarkable. Favourite Track(s): Dress, Victory, Sheela-na-gig, Joe, Plants and Rags, Fountain, Water Least Favourite Track(s): Oh My Lover

Knaller van een debuutalbum, met sheela-na-gig als absolute uitschieter

Lekker grungy en vol kleur. PJ Harvey is zo onwijs cool.

This was sick! Never heard of this artist, but really felt like a massive addition to some of my favorite early 90s bands (Blind Melon, Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins, etc.) Really original, too, as opposed to a lot of others of that era. So cool!

Ehhhhh harsh again! I just can’t take it. In another life/time maybe I’d like it. But right now, wouldn’t seek out listening to this again. I like a melody. Sue me.

Liked this one. She is a really good song writer and the music has a great raw energy to it. 3.5/5 Probably will listen again

A perfectly ok album, enjoyed the music but I don’t think this is particularly memorable.

Aweso.e debut record

I was going to not rate this 5 stars because it's not one of my favourite PJ albums (I absolutely love To Bring You My Love, Is This Desire, Uh Huh Her, and Stories... this 10-year run was just amazing), but upon listening to it yet again, isolated from her other albums, this album fucking rocks. It's raw, it's emotional, it's full of heavy riffs and bass lines, it has songs like Dress and Sheela-Na-Gig, it's so much better than some other stuff here, I will not be stingy.

Beetje harde noot om te kraken, maar wel mooie singer-songwriter rock

PJ is great—I love her voice and tension! ★★★★

just wasnt really vibing and have never heard of pj harvey before tbh, saved 0/11

This rocks. Well-produced and great drumming too

First time listening to this album it didn't improve my mood. Scored it 0. Based on a group members 4 star rating I gave it another listen a couple days later. Was in a better frame of mind and could appreciate instruments, vocals, percussion, lyrics. Who knew? 3 stars

Holy tuff

Such a good album!

She's so cool. I would like to be Mr. Harry Harvey. Crazy amount of texture from the sparse arrangements and so much energy. Love the vocal mixing - super low mixed basically no processing very little double tracking - super dry in a way that's really grating and awesome. Such good dynamics too songs really build and she's such a good screamer.

The title really says it all doesn’t it There are a couple of decent songs in here, and honestly the instrumentation is pretty solid. Lyrics and theming were nice; it felt very personal and raw Unfortunately this is just not my stuff, I don’t care for her voice at all; I really don’t like that singing style that showed up a bunch in that 90s alternative wave. Think the album as a whole was kinda disconnected and I really don’t think there was a single moment where I really vibed with it. Yknow I’m really trying to come up with more realized reasons why I didn’t like this one but I can’t think of anything, it just kinda dissatisfied me

Dry? yeah its dry

PJ Harvey is one of those artists that I grew up being told they matter but I haven't met a single person in real life who likes her. I really don't get the rating on this one. Dry is downcast, grungy, alternative rock with a touch of riot grrrl energy in there. It feels super dated and not in a charming way. It's just classic 90s wailing in pain music that is super dramatic but doesn't feel earned at all. There are just no emotional peaks or real emotions to connect with which is so strange when you consider how the record presents itself. Dry wants to be wild and raw and convey a simmering anger just below the surface but this is just flannel-wearing coffee shop music with cellos and off-kilter drums. Contrast the emotions put forth here vs Doolittle or Nevermind or any punk/emo record and Dry starts looking really silly and pretentious. The problem is that all her “rage” seems really simplified and misplaced in 2026. I don't know, maybe if you like Alanis Morissette or Fionna Apple then you can be into this drum-circle, beret wearing, 90's album but for me, it was melodically uninteresting, overwrought, self-serious, and shallow. Not weird enough to be interesting, not vulnerable enough to be emotional, not hooky enough to catchy.

Kinda reminds me of what Fiona Apple would sound like if she went heavier. Very unique and lyrically eclectic? I might be using that word wrong, but you get the gist. I enjoyed it quite a bit. "Dress" and "Sheela-na-gig" will both make the playlist here.

I didn't care much for this upon first listen - it seemed a bit one-note, and I felt the mix wasn't great - it seemed to be lacking bass and her vocals seemed buried. Upon 2nd listen, my opinion softened somewhat. I cranked it up and got into the songs more. It's more varied than I felt at first, and the mix isn't that bad. And what a great debut. I was debating 2 vs 3 stars, and later was debating 3 vs 4, so I'll give it a 3.

01) Oh My Lover - 8,0 02) O Stella - 7,5 03) Dress - 8,5 04) Victory - 7,5 05) Happy and Bleeding - 7,5 06) Sheela-Na-Gig - 8,0 07) Hair - 7,5 08) Joe - 7,0 09) Plants and Rags - 7,0 10) Fountain - 7,0 11) Water - 7,0 TOTAL: 7,50 (75/100)

Now this is some really great alternative rock! A little bluesy, a little grungey, with plenty of bite and ferocity at whoever pissed off PJ Harvey and/or broke her heart. Considering her later relationship and occasional musical collaborations with Nick Cave, this makes total sense to me. A solid 9/10.

Fine. Decent. Probably don’t need four of her albums. I did like her voice on here, but the album was mixed so weirdly that I couldn’t hear it half the time.

These sweet, menacing bass and guitar lines are like a perfect match to PJ Harvey's singing! Consistently rocked out to this. Standouts: Oh My Lover • Dress • Victory • Hair

PJ Harvey never lets me down. This was on track for a 5 for sure but felt like it lost its way and the end and started to phase by me a little bit. I had never heard this album of hers before but it got me really excited for more of her work to make an appearance.

This one has one of her best tracks on it, “Dress”. I liked Stories from the city better. I think I’ve had all the PJ I need, I’m good.

This being our 4th PJ Harvey album probably affects my review. It falls into the same puzzling results of this exercise as Sonic Youth who also have 4 albums included. Do we really need 4 efforts here from Polly Jean? No. But this one probably deserves inclusion. A really strong album that comes across much more confidently than most debuts. I like the raw edge throughout and the occasional time signature differences helped too which made for a better listen. I didn’t quite like it as much as “Stories From the City…”, and some questionable production and mastering choices notch it down for me.

Four PJ Harvey albums is quite surprising. Looking at my past reviews, I did not like Let England Shake. Other 2 I was okay with. This one seems to fall in that same middle road. Like it but didn’t love it. 2.75 In fairness maybe I need to revisit let England shake bc that was like our 7th album so maybe my tastes and scale have shifted.

Wasn't thrilled to see a fourth album from PJ Harvey, but ended up liking it. Had a raw feeling that I dug. Rating a little below Stories from the City... because I think I liked that one a little more (though I shall not revisit to confirm). 3.25/5

I liked this one more than Rid of Me for sure

My first time listening to PJ Harvey. I enjoyed it as it tied the grungy sound of the 90s that I like with a strong contralto woman leading the charge instead of some bumbling male heroin addicts. Interesting how she's from a rural part of England and has that pacific northwest music vibe to this album. Looking forward to her other albums on this list

Imala sam neku skroz drugu ideju o tome kakva je njena muzika do neki dan i iskreno ovo mi se više sviđa nego to što bih očekivala da nisam neki dan slučajno čula jednu pjesmu. Mislila sam bit će nešto smoreno. Nije mi najdraža iznervirana muzičarka ali nije ni loša.

Difícil ser imparcial con una artista que ya conozco de antemano, por suerte este disco fue la primera vez que lo escuchaba. PJ Harvey es un tren sin frenos de emociones, y te lleva puesto; es agresiva, triste y sensual, te enamora y entra en tu alma sin pedirte permiso con una personalidad arrolladora. Me encantó el álbum, no es perfecto porque hay momentos en donde siento que el disco se estanca pero luego de estos puntos bajos y temas de producción (que no se si es por lo difícil de encontrar el álbum ya que no está en ninguna plataforma), el disco es impecable, recomendadismo. PD: mi única queja es que no está en ninguna plataforma de streaming, subanlo con buena calidad por favor!!!

Not really a fan.

RATING: 9.5/10 HIGHLIGHT: Dress LOWLIGHT: Fountain

Ik voel PJ harvey gewoon niet helemaal. Muzikaal is het vaak gewoon een beetje hard en rockig en ik merk dat de lyrics niet genoeg op de voorgrond zitten om daar echt op te letten. Ze zingt wel goed, dat is wel fijn! Ook lijkt de mixing van dit album niet helemaal goed? De zang is gewoon nauwelijks te verstaan, zeker niet met de drums en scheurende gitaren die wel heel dik op de voorgrond liggen... De band is ijzersterk(vooral de bas!!), de zang is prima, maar dit alles trekt me echt totaaaaal niet. Het is voor mij een soort brij van harde scheurende gitaren waar dan iemand overheen probeert te zingen. Ik zeg probeert omdat de instrumenten gewoon te hard gemixt lijken waardoor het lijkt of er gezongen word van de andere kant van de kamer. Denk dat dit album een 2 sterren word, ook ondanks dat het niet mijn genre is haalde ik een stuk meer uit de andere PJ Harvey albums op deze lijst. Wel dikke shoutout naar wie er bas speelt, want de baslijnen zijn lekker dik. FAVO: Sheela-na-gig

A lot of this ran together for me, it was fine... But I don't think I'll revisit any of it.

Oh my god i loved it

I legitimately hate the way this album sounds and think it desperately needs a remaster. Otherwise the songs are pretty cool.

*This is the second PJ Harvey album I've listened to on this list and this one, her debut, is much better to me than the other one. *I would still pick to listen to Jagged Little Pill over this

A bit dry, yes.

I see how this started a whole new sub genre of music.

Glad to have Harvey’s debut album after getting an assortment of her future work. It’s fun to hear where she started and compare it to where she went. What I found is that she’s always had an ear for interesting (but never fussy) production, unvarnished and smart lyricism, and an unmistakable voice. Confidence oozes out of every note. She was not fucking around. What a great debut. Holy shit was she sprinting right out of the gate. Can I get a “hell yeah”. She seems so cool. I want to be her when I grow up. It feels weird to say that I liked this one the most, because I think she objectively just kept getting better, but I can’t help it. This knocks too hard.

Maybe it's the messy overdriven guitar tone, maybe the straining, earnest vocal, or maybe the articulation of an unmistakeable juncture in feminism, but, oh!, the absolute 1992 of all this. (And yet, Dress could absolutely be a hit for Sharon Van Etten, Julien Baker or even Olivia Rodrigo if it came out today, no?) More of this, please, arbitrary gods of the 1001 Albums Generator!

You can see here, early doors, how good an artist she was going to be.

10/10!!!

3.75

5/10

I kinda liked it a lot Will I listen to again: 100%

Some really quiet bits and then some really loud bits. Quite repetitive but like the rawness. 3/5

Gritty and minimal. I like it. Liked Songs Added: Happy And Bleeding Sheela-Na-Gig

90s PJ Harvey is even better than the 2000s. I only have one more PJ album after this. BOO!! I gravitate more towards this kind of feminine rock than, say Britney or what not. Give me this hard, intelligent woman over the teeny bopper bullshit. More PJ 4

I’ve struggled with PJ Harvey over the years but i’ve never quite given her an honest shake til now. I didn’t LOVE it but i definitely want to know more now!

Just fantastic. Blues and garage rock bangers with Harvey showing off her vocal prowess.

sort of rock, not super interesting, each song is blending together,

Det er pisse godt det her! Det er råt og sejt! Meget mere PJ til mig fra nu af!

Polly Jean Harveys skramlede, intense rock masserer mig helt perfekt.

Not my thing

This didn’t do much for me. The songs were typical 90’s angst and all sounded the same.

Strong Rock & Roll with a whole lot of whining happening behind it. The lyrics are gimmicky and superficial with no real depth to anything PJ is saying. The best part of the album is the instrumentals.

This is a pretty epic debut. Sheela-na-gig is the standout here - it’s liquid fire - but most of the other tracks are confident, creative and unyielding. After a slow start, this is a tremendous album, a foundation that helped shape almost every powerful female voice that I have grown to appreciate and respect over the 30 years since this album’s release.

Never dug too deep into PJ Harvey, this was my first listen to her other than her one hit song. Band has a great crunchy grunge sound, love me some 90s grunge. PJs delivery has a little bit of a Patti Smith vibe which completely rocks. Enjoyed this quite a bit glad to discover this.

I was like, come on. I’ve really enjoyed some of PJ Harvey’s other, later albums on this list, what could her debut have to offer? Turns out, a lot. The songs on this thing kick so much ass. I guess I’ve been won over to being a full blown fan. The palpable attitude, rage, disdain, passion, even winking slyness at times - she is so goddamn expressive. Another must-listen from PJ. #365

It’s no surprise to me this is one of Kurt Cobains favorite albums. You can hear it in its instrumentation and DIY sensibilities. Maybe I don’t like it as much as he does, but I will say it’s a commendable 90’s indie album.

i fuck with what she's doing well enough in theory but why the fuck does this have the sound balancing of a sonic adventure 2 battle soundtrack?? speak up girl!!!! fav: hair

Grungy little 90s alt-rock record. Nothing that really grabs me from this record and it all kind of bleeds together. It's not scathing to listen to, but just kind of bland and routine. Maybe I could get into it more after another listen or two.

Strongest PJ album I had so far. Feeling high 3* and if I ever return to this album I might upgrade. 3/5

loved this one

It's good. But I'm absolutely not the target for this album.

This shit is so good man. How in the world was this her debut? So full of angst in a very polished, endlessly listenable kind of way. Having not listened to any of the rest of her discography, I have nothing to compare this to -- which is probably good, because I feel no shame in giving this a 5. The only thing that could make this better is if I were a woman, and that's on me.

The music was fine, kind of reminds me of Fiona Apple. But….. I reeeeally don’t like looking at the album cover

Better than some of the other PJ Harvey records.

Loved this!

Hhhhrrrrnnnggggghhhhhhh

Decent debut actually. Raw lime we know her but also diverse and engaging

Solid PJ Harvey album.

Ok so much like my last Pj Harvey review I can’t help but acknowledge that I didn’t like it nearly as much as I liked “stories from the city, stories from the sea”. That album is just completely fucking perfect and totally up my alley when it comes to personal tastes. But this album was much better than “Rid of me” (despite having a worse cover photo). The best songs were “O Stella”, “victory”, “sheila na gig”, “Joe”, “water”, and “plants and rags”. She’s got a great vocal delivery that feels completely unique, not to mention her songs feel so emotional and heavy. Especially during songs that have really interesting and creative orchestral parts like “plants and rags” which is definitely my favorite song on this album. In fact until I got to that song I thought this album was in the same 3 range as “rid of me”. Not bad but not great, that specific song is what really made this album special to me, it actually elevated all the other songs with its presence. Seriously even if you don’t like her just check out that one song, it’s great!

Better than I expected

Was alright, not my fav pj harvey

Baby one more time IS the ultimate hit

Honnêtement presqu'un sans faute. Si j'ai clairement un coup de coeur pour Joe, Dress et Victory, et trois autres chansons qui ne m'ont pas plus plu que ça, c'est un album que je réécouterai tout en entier sans problème!

Seminal, grunge cello.

chanteuse fait que de crier. Bon instrumental mais trop intense pour moi... 2

No conecté

Fav song: Sheela-na-gig

pretty decent actually

medium

Appears on Kurt Cobain's handwritten "top 50," chronologically the last album on the list. I jotted down some of my favorite tracks but, really, the album sounds consistently great throughout. This is our listening group's fourth and final PJ Harvey album. Maybe she's a little overrepresented (maybe not), but I've enjoyed every album and I'll miss hearing from her over the remaining couple years of this project.

Polly Jean Harvey is a very controversial artist. First of all, I don't know a single person who has a negative attitude toward her music — either people call her "Legend" or they simply don't understand her work. As I've already said at SFTSx2 review, I'm one of the latter. I liked PJ's debut album much more than the 2000 album — it's much rawer, a little wild in some ways, but not aggressive. It all sounds rather grungey (and of course, it was hard to do otherwise in the 90s), but it's also melodic. True, the second half sags in places — the cello appears prominently there, making the songs seem sharply played on out-of-tune instruments. And yet, the record constantly feels like something's missing! It's exactly the same situation as with the artist herself — I can't say anything bad about her, but I feel like she's just a little bit missing for the album to be truly outstanding. But I don't understand what's missing.

I really love the lyrics and instrumentation on this LP with most of the songs having pieces I really enjoy. The voice of PJ Harvey is also what I think will bring me back to this album the most. The starting track oh my lover is a great example of this and is one of my favorite openers I have heard due to this project. Some of the songs do fall flat for me personally but as a whole a very solid album. Fav tracks: oh my lover, dress, happy and bleeding, shee-la-gig, and plants and rags

Oh yeah I fucked with this heavy! Immediately on the wavelength of this much more than the other PJ Harvey albums I’ve gotten (one of which I got just last week). This is so raw, and 90s indie rock. Right up my alley. You can hear so much Riot Grrl in this. First couple Sleator Kinney albums are just trying to sound like this essentially. Liked that it was so raw and intense without losing big, catchy choruses and nice harmonies too. Really really dug this.

Really enjoyed this, almost as much as Rid Of Me.

An interesting debut album by this trio. Edgier then her following albums and not as lyrical but I liked it better.

I think this is good but not great. I wanted her voice to maybe be…worse? I dunno it just kinda hung in the background

6/10

The fourth PJ Harvey album I have had on this list. Something about her clear voice and vocals sounds super-90s to me, but beyond that I can't really form an opinion. This is fine, but I think I can definitively say that I don't like PJ Harvey. I don't dislike her, but I don't like her. I liked the noisier, folk-rocky Dress. Plants and Rags had its moments of interest also, but overall I found the strings too discordant to enjoy, even if these are deliberate.

How was PJ Harvey not a bigger name back in the day? This was amazing. I had always heard the name but never heard any of their music until now. I always thought they were electronica for some reason so I was pleasantly surprised with this album.

My second PJ after Let England Shake and the vibes on this one are very different. Great bass and guitars throughout and the vocals are fantastic. Lots of highlights including O Stella, Dress and my favourite Sheela-na-gig. MORE PJ PLEASE

Decent

Great

Don’t enjoy her voice

Malo, encontré poco.

My 3rd PJ Harvey album on this journey and probably my favourite of the 3. Raw, angst but still polished. Good stuff. 👍

Awesome!

hated it

A nice rock n roll album this one, I enjoy the loose guitar and catchy riffs. PJ Harvey is a mainstay on some queens of the stone age songs too, it's got that desert vibe

1. lover - 2 2. ztella - 1 3. drezz - 1 4. victory - 1 5. happy - 2 6. zheela - 1 7. hair - 1 8. joe - 2 9. plantz - 2 10. fountain - 1 11. uuater - 1

Reminds me of the bangles.

I’m tempted to dismiss this album as a bunch of angry women, but I assume that plays right into the reason this band played the music that they played. Hard to tell. But by and large, not for me…

I think this was a female view of 90s angst. It doesn't feel like it speaks to me but it definitely had an audience

Mieux que l'innaudible "rid of me"

Banger

I have really liked PJ Harvey since a while ago and this album was no different- great layering and sound

I love her voice it has so much emotion in it Definitely not my favourite by her but I still enjoyed!!

PJ Harvey is proving to be one of my most consistent artists on this. Three albums ans three ratings of 4. This is as brilliantly poetic and powerful as the others, if not more. Tipping towards a 5 at points.

++*: Sheela-Na-Gig ++: Oh My Lover, O Stella, Dress, Victory, Happy and Bleeding, Joe, Plants and Rags, Fountain, Water +: Hair 9,7/10

interested to hear more, inspiration for other female alt vocalists

Faves: O Stella

My opinion of this album is somewhat mixed. I can't say any one song stood out as particularly mind blowing or impressive, but I still kept listening along enjoying the music. PJ Harvey has some strong vocals and her voice is quite unique, which I appreciate. I also enjoyed some of the meaty guitar playing, though part of me wishes there was more of it. It has made me curious about the rest of her discography to see if she improves from what is a solid debut album. I even nodded along to a lot of the songs! If I downright dislike an album, I can barely bring myself to even keep listening, let alone move to it, so that's a plus for Dry.

Not my favourite PJ album, but still very good. Her usual vitriolic delivery is as acerbic as ever

This is one I feel like I haven't had enough time to absorb. It's got an appealing grunge-like sound and starts strong out of the gate. It started to feel samey later in the tracklist and never really hit the heights of the first three songs again. Oh My Lover starts things with an appealing slow crawl, and O Stella picks up the tempo before transitioning abruptly into Dress which keeps up the pace. Vocals remain consistently good as does the instrumentation -- all with enough rough edges to keep the whole thing feeling appropriately raw. This is one of those albums that make me think the best from this artist was yet to come -- and I'm interested to find out more.

I really enjoyed listening to PJ Harvey's debut album. I predict that I'll enjoy her later albums a little more, but you can still hear the raw passion and emotion in her voice here and it's a great listening experience. Favourites: Oh My Lover Dress Hair Joe

no estaba, escuche una rola nomas

Meh. I tried but was pretty bored.

I like it. But nothing stands out.

It's not bad. I prefer her later stuff but you get a great idea as to what she's about with this album. Its well worth a listen and if you enjoy it give a listen to her solo stuff.

I feel like there's a bit much PJ Harvey on the list but it's cool to hear the debut. I'm realizing how much it's a challenge to review her without talking about the mood and attitude it brings. Okay I just reread all my reviews and that's what I've said each time. Yeah I don't think this clicks with me but it's interesting that I keep feel like I'm missing something. The opening track here did work for me more than most of what I've heard from them though. Maybe this time it caught me on a good day.

This started out with a chance that this could be the best PJ Harvey album we had listened to yet and just descended into disinterest. This is fine, I don't get it and there is too much PJ Harvey on this list.

Very enjoyable alt-rock album

I found it funny that one song was inexplicably barely audible

Not bad, probably would have been more impactful if I had listened when I was younger.

Polly did a cracker.

interesting album but prefer her later stuff. Not sure why it had to be on the list

I've never really listened to PJ Harvey, but this was a lot better than I thought it would be. Very raw. I hated the first tone at first until I loved it.

Favorite Song: Sheela-Na-Gig

Almost a 4, I wish there there was a different singer. There's nothing wrong with the vocals though.

Really enjoyed this album, nice grungy riffs, no bad songs

Mixed feelings about this one…I didn’t mind it, but one thing I found rather annoying was how many of the songs started so softly that I could barely hear them, so I would adjust the volume, and a few seconds later get my ears blown out. Anyway, this one is between 2 and 3 stars; I will give it three, in spite of the annoying volume issue.

Have heard of PJ Harvey Had not listened to Dry Had heard one or two songs I really liked this. Great lyrics, fantastic musicianship. I'm not sure if there was much else around at the time like this with a female singer in the UK. I think this definitely belongs in the list

Ohan ok. Aika mitäänsanomaton

Album #96, PJ Harvey, Dry, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Although she’s never really associated with the genre, I personally think her first two albums, Dry and Rid of Me, are two of the finest grunge albums ever made. I don’t really know how you define grunge exactly, whether something consciously slips into the genre or whether it’s just alternative rock, but this, to me, is as grungy as it gets. I adore PJ Harvey. She’s one of my all-time favourite musicians. I love her whole discography, I love how deep of an artist she is, all the different sides of her music. I probably have a crush on her too. She’s just fucking phenomenal. And I absolutely love this period of her career, the heaviness of it all. This was one of Kurt Cobain’s favourite albums as well, it was in that famous top 50 albums list from his journals. And listening to it today, is it just me or can you really hear In Utero in this album? That muddy heaviness, that gnarly timbre to everything. I’d genuinely never made that comparison before, but today it really stood out to me. And considering In Utero is one of the best albums ever made in my opinion, that’s a very welcome comparison. This album is just so heavy and nasty and sinister. It’s full of these catchy choruses that sneak up on you, unique rhythms, filthy slide guitar and this crazy intensity running through the whole thing. But it’s not just PJ Harvey herself that makes this album great. The rhythm section is unbelievable, especially the drums. The drumming on this album is absolutely outrageous. It could so easily have been a lesser album with a different drummer or a different level of intensity behind it, but the drumming completely pushes it into the stratosphere. I’m a drummer myself and years ago I used to play along to albums I loved, but I could never properly play along to this one. I could never work it out or keep up with it. It’s just such an explosive and well produced drum performance. And although I really love Rid of Me, and I love what Steve Albini did with the sound of that record, he’s probably my favourite producer of all time, I actually think Dry sounds even better. It’s not necessarily my favourite PJ Harvey album overall, that’s probably still Is This Desire?, but this honestly might be her best album. And for a debut, she just got so much right immediately. My first five-star album in about fifty albums as well, so this was welcome.

Ei iskenyt. 2/5

Not really a standout for me but not terrible either. Really dug “Dress” but that’s about it.

Mid britpop belike

Je savais qu'il fallait que j'écoute PJ Harvey depuis un moment, c'est maintenant chose faite. Excellent album, et c'est encore plus fou quand on se rend compte que c'est sorti en '92 ! Et moi qui pensais que Hollysiz était originale, bah non, tout vient de là en fait... Playlist pick : O Stella - yohohohoh yohohohoh yohohohoooh yo! yo!

Tight album with a cool grungy feel

First time listening to this. Liked the passion, strength, unique sound of it.

Dark. She sounds like angsty Gwen Stefani. This is a good debut. The volume level this is playing back at is too quiet. She's like the solo lady Pixies. I bet her and Black Francis get along great. Bjork too. Plants And Rags is just fine up to the violin screeching. I would say I am a bigger fan of Grrl Power music than I thought before I started this project. This album isn't great, and kind of sounds like a Pixies knockoff, but it has its moments, like Water.

it was ok but damn the album cover was terrible which made me not really like this album. Kinda forgettable lowkey

Well as my original review was wiped out and apparently offended my own web browser which mass deleted the entire thing, here is the abridged version. Solid debut by PJ who used Patti Smith as her muse and built upon that history of unique female writers such as Laurie Anderson to create her own rock oriented niche that has stood the test of time. This debut is solid, the 2 singles catchy and lyrical wry and interesting and you can see this as the jumping off point for a successful career because the writing is meticulous and PJ has something to say. Not her best record but a solid beginning. 3.5/5

Very cool. Probably what Nirvana think they are.

Grundgy guitars, raw sounding vocals. First few tracks sort of blend together in style. Really like the rawness and spaciousness of “Fountain.”

Fucking raw and sweet.

This was ok. Decent, angsty 90's rock. It was maybe a little too dour for me on a Monday morning, but it sounded kind of cool and definitely of it's time.

boh raga non è roba del mio genere anche se devo essere sincera ho amato la produzione musicale e la voce della cantante principale, molto onirica

I’d heard of PJ Harvey but had never heard one of her songs prior to this. Loved her grit and emotion and voice. And it rocks instrumentally, too. I’m all in.

I like PJ as a principle. This album is a time capsule and was fully like 7 years ahead of its time. But not something that would call me back to revisit it regularly

Best Song: Dress. Fantastic rolling rhythm section. This song has a great sense of momentum behind it. Worst Song: Happy and Bleeding. This song somehow lacked the punchy energy of the others. Overall: My favourite of the PJ Harvey albums I've been shown on this list. This one feels a bit more approachable, but also more punky. There is an endearingly raw streak that runs through it, but I still don't find it particularly memorable. Also, the album really dissolves in a dull way in the latter half.

No me gustó...

Experiência horrível de escutar isso pq não tem disponível em lugar nenhum. Música esquisita. Vsf

DEU PRA OUVIR NÃO ROGERINHO

Deserts.

Just does nothing for me.

Why there are so many PJ Harvey albums?

I like what PJ Harvey does but think I’d need to listen to this album a bit more to be sure of my feelings about it. Having said that I enjoyed it enough to score it a 4

Season: Late Spring Nights Favorite Song: Water

Didn’t listen to all of it but 6/10

I respect the reckless abandon that went into this album. One more listen at a higher volume may be required. 3.

Merde

Starting positively, I did prefer this to Rid Of Me which I gave one star to. It’s not a bad album or anything, it just didn’t interest me in the slightest. I’m three hours removed from finishing it and I remember absolutely nothing about it.

i did not enjoy it, but im not the target audience

PJ Harvey was one of those artists that I always knew the name but never sat down and listened. I understand the hype, the songs are raw and could totally see this crushing for a live show.

PJ's like Alanis Morissette meets Elastica meets Pearl Jam, this was awesome! Best album that has showed up for me on this website.

There’s a pretty common line floating around at the moment on the web that something is “an X of all time”, something that’s just there, completely unremarkable. On a list of albums meant to be the greatest or most influential of all time, this was certainly an album of all time. Dry was just that, very dry, very bland, and very forgettable. I can’t say I was enamoured with the vocalist’s performances or any of the musicians, they were perfectly fine, as was the riffs, Melodies, and lyrics. Everything here was just meh. Perhaps I’m missing something but in such a closed list I felt like this didn’t really deserve its place. Your mileage may vary but for me the mileage was low. Just ultimately okayish in the moment and forgettable as soon as it’s done.

2,5

8/10

Don't have much to say except: niiiice. Here's a five for you, PJ.

Rocking band.

A couple of her albums literally enchant me. This isn't one of them. But it's got some great moves and it reminds me of those others periodically.

Never been a fan, but this one is better than the others.

Wow, I liked this! Unpretentious, noisy, feels a lot realer than the later stuff we heard before.

The vibes of this lady are great - punkish, rebellious, discordant. But it didn’t really connect with me - maybe it was a bit too dry.

Haven’t listened to this album in ages! Better than I remembered. Shocking how powerful this album is for a debut.

Dress Sheela-Na-Gig

Not for me.

I feel like the music is trying to be emotional but is failing. Badly.

Love the sludgy, driving bass to back her raw energy. This I dig a lot. Also, cellos are always great.

Enjoyed this a good amount. It's a bit harder rock than I really go for, but so much of this works really, really well. 3.5 stars, rounding down to meet my policy.

One of the great debuts of the 90s, noisy, angry, and powerful without feeling angsty, Polly Jean came out of the gate swinging. It is pretty insane to watch her artistic journey begin here with her most extreme record (her words, not mine), and ending up basically doing a spoken word folk album. Usually I would suggest starting with a more mainstream album to get into an artist, but her journey is very much worth starting from the beginning.

Yes

I was obsessed with this record. It is still fantastic. The lyrics and the interplay of the three musicians. She was the kind of musician who needed to move on to different arrangements but this was a cracking band.

A fantastic debut from an alt rock British legend.

Never listened. Expectations: Mid - Verdict: Very Good - I've heard lots of good things about PJ Harvey over the years but have never listened to anything. I really like this opener, it reminds me of a grittier, less sleek version of The Cure. A few tracks in and this is absolutely great. Victory is really good, as is Happy And Bleeding. Plants And Rags is awesome. I think this is probably the best new discovery of the project so far, absolutely phenomenal album. I'll have to listen again but I expect this to grow on me as well.

She’s really talented. Fav song is ‘Sheela-na-gig’.

Good album by a great artist. I do think her latest album is one of the best things she has fone

Hell yeah

bass guitar should just sound like that I think. What I love about PJ's vocals is how baroque she sounds. Like her delivery is so operatic. Nice compliment to the 90s guitar thing. the 90s areso awsom. :) but honestly there are times where i was like this would be so more awseom if more raucous. I guess that is what Rid Of Me is for. SLIDE GUITAR SO FUN!!!!!! so many lyrics about the body... i feel so silly!!!!!!!!!!! like i loved bikini kill & sleater-kinney in high school, was like yess this riot grrl stuff is cool but i feel ignorant not knowing that PJ was kind of the frontrunner of the style??? but actually maybe this is not riot grrl??? not everything with Feminism Lyrics is riot grrl, barrett!!!! this is true. not as raucous as riot grrl. so maybe this is why i'd rather just put on The Woods or Dig Me Out. Let's circle back when we inevitably pull one of those albums on this journey we have taken ourselves on. drums on Hair, specifically in the verse, are causing the doubts with regards to this "is this riot grrl?" mental turmoil anguish i'm currently experiencing. Because they are so jazzy!!!! The band is so good here. hashtag let women talk about how much it sucks to be a woman without GRAHGRAHGRAH vocals. more "Subtle." Oh how I love subtlety. That thing that was so awesome about the 90s. Subtlety. I love how I write shit like this and then the next song is "Joe." Which is awesome. ACOUSTIC GUITAR WOW!!!!!! I LOVE WHEN THE 90S ALBUM IS ALL GRAHGRAHGRAH AND THEN THEY DO THE ACOUSTIC GUITAR!!!!!! BALLAD TIME!!!!! WOW!!!! BUT THE INSTRUMENTATIONS YES????? THEY ARE GETTING MORE AND MORE!!!!! AND WOW THAT IS A LOT MORE!!!!! I SHOULD EXPECT THESE THINGS!!!!! TIS THE NINETIES AFTER ALL!!!!!! This is awesome, but by the end of the end of the album, I feel the disconnect between vocals and instrumentation are apparent. Both are awesome, but it's just like, yes these things are awesome but it feels like both are panned hard left and hard right. They don't mesh together for me. This is a hard one to say THIS SUCKS!!!!! BUT WHEN IT IS ON MY EARS I'M LIKE I LIKE THIS!!!!!!! it's an easy one to say I DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH I WANT TO RETURN TO THIS!!!! Hush little baby don't you cry. Albini's gonna come and place a mic.

great stuff!! prefer how heavy Rid Of Me sounds but this is really cool too. love how the drums sound. sheela-na-gig is excellent and the folkiness of plants and rags really caught me off guard

thank you generator (i'm still mad over blunderbuss). the crashout would've been immeasurable if i had to listen to alt j or some shit. now pj harvey? def an artist to listen to B4 you die. --------- (actually related) for me she's never really had any comparison. like i hear her influences. ultimately she's her own thing. there's no one out there making pj harvey type beats (soccer mommy lowk 👁️). anyways. dry. i'd describe it as a straightforward (as "straightforward" as you could describe a pj harvey project) rid of me. lyrics are as cutting (tracks 5-7 {as a formerly repressed depressed SBC attending queer lady} Activated me) as always. guitar work nice and grimy. drums are grungy as needed. it's good rock. not gonna say kurt bit plants and rags but he's clearly inspired. (related but unrelated) i also appreciate her following the maxim of all great british singers: cutting out that fuckass fake fucking accent. 3.5-4.4

Totally MEH. Don't like grunge.

2nd album I've had by Harvey and she just doesn't do much for me. It's ok alternative rock but the music lacks depth, it's repetitive and the guitars plod.

Pretty rad, sorta post-punky gritty casual rocker that has the mystic trait of making my volume settings feel wrong no matter where I put them

didn't like it as much as other of hers

Girl boss punk from a punk girl boss.

While some of the songs start off too quiet for car stereos, the raw power is emotionally captivating.

P.J Harvey's debut album. It's a confident debut album, somewhat raw and sparse in its sound, production and arrangements, especially for the time. Four stars. 1 "Oh My Lover" (4/5) 2 "O Stella" (3/5) 3 "Dress" (5/5) 4 "Victory" (4/5) 5 "Happy and Bleeding" (5/5) 6 "Sheela-Na-Gig" (5/5) 7 "Hair" (4/5) 8 "Joe" (3/5) 9 "Plants and Rags" (5/5) 10 "Fountain" (3/5) 11 "Water" (4/5) Total - 45 Sum - 4.09 297/1001 159/297 albums reviewed were new to me

Harvey just ripping off her own skin to show us what's underneath.. kind of a raw, visceral experience. Focused, channeled frustration in grunge form. Spins: 2 Playlist Additions - Dress - Victory - Happy and Bleeding - Sheela-Na-Gig

Love her. She has such a unique presence and viewpoint. Cracking

122. -1 star for being british

Started my Monday by seeing this enormous herpe on the cover. Not a bad grunge album though.

It’s good to have a woman-led band on the list. We need more. I want to like it more than I actually do. Maybe it takes several listens? After two listens I’m hearing strength but the energy isn’t really grabbing me in anyway. It most certainly isn’t inserting itself in my memory at all.

cool, jaime bien la basse notamment, a voir. . .

4/5. Very raw and sporadic album but had that same vibe similar to nirvana. Part of a genre I love very much and will always love music like this. It did get a little stale at points and potentially missed out on some opportunities, hence the rating (likely because it was her debut album. But still a great album

An amazing raw debut. She really comes out swinging.

I just love the sound of this record. Pure early 90’s goodness. True to the album title, everything is so perfectly dry. Especially the drums, which still manage to sound huge. Rob Ellis is, in many ways, the secret weapon of this album. Equally creative, tasteful, consistent, and powerful. He, Steve Vaughan, and PJ are really just a hell of a power trio. “O Stella” has such a killer punk-blues energy; “Victory” is another barnburner, and PJ’s slide work is next level; “Sheela-Na-Gig” is the ultimate example of “how can only three people make THIS much noise?” In the best way of course. There are highlights abound for me. I love her take on Samson and Delilah on “Hair”, as well as Vaughan’s bass work on it. I also love her guitar playing on “Joe”. I think the acoustic demo-ish feel of “Plants and Rags” is a nice dynamic change of pace for the record, especially with those cool-as-shit strings. However, “Dress” is the shining star of the album. Although I think she progresses as a vocalist and lyricist throughout her discography, she’s firing on all cylinders on this song. Vocals and lyrics aside, she also contributes a hell of a guitar track and some sick violin for good measure. I know there are some albums coming up that I’ll ultimately prefer, but this is a pretty damn solid opening statement from Polly Jean. Solid 4 stars. 4/5

Dismal, as was her previous one. I see there are four PJ Harvey albums on this list. Curious and unjustifiable.

What is happening to me????? I HATED the first pj harvey album we had on here, and I thought the second one was ok. However, I genuinely enjoyed this one.

I like it, but nothing really sticks out to me though. 6/10

Yep, that was something. A couple of good riffs, but boring as hell otherwise. If waking up hungover with the shakes was a record.

9 / 10 - roher, ungeschminkter female-lead Rock - Sehr coole Vibes - sehr abwechslungsreich mit interessanter Orchestrierung, teils mit Streichern, und verschiedene Taktarten Favs: - Dress - Oh My Lover - Hair

“This could be a Soundgarden song”. I can’t wait to listen to Badmotorfinger and think “This could be a PJ Harvey song”. That’s a compliment, by the way.

Whenever I hear PJ Harvey, I say “I quite like this. I should listen to more PJ Harvey”. Then I never do.

It’s not done yet, but this is the worst album I’ve ever listened to

4 stars for album #44 This is actually my second PJ Harvey album in a row. I got stories from the city yesterday and gave that a 3. I think dry sounds more from the heart than the other one and overall this one is a fun listen So yeah 4 stars

I’ve had a long string of bad to mediocre British albums lately, and I’m so relieved this one came along. It was really good. I had heard of PJ Harvey but never knew any of their songs. I liked how raw and gritty it was.

Light 3,5

I fuck with this

i love girls

she's everything

Rock solid

Good mix of stuff from PJ Harvey's debut. The thrashier elements of this are really cool but - and maybe this is sacriliege - I think the more she leaned into hookier stuff, the better her albums became. My issue with Dry is that her more abrasive stuff is outclassed by American riot grrl stuff around the bend. Still quite good, fits well in concert with them but her later albums are my personal favorites.

this was okay, it just didn't fit the vibe rn, but i see hour people would like it. I enjoyed hair and water

This album as as almost as well as you can get perhaps four track demos were a bit roar but this is pure estrogen and feminist dogma distilled she is strong powerful violence and when she really go was crazy she sounds like she has actually lost her mind and is sitting in a padded room somewhere flinging feces at the windows and drawing pentagons with menstrual blood.

This is a dense album for such a small sounding group!

Rv

I'm more familiar with the next album, Rid of Me as I own that one, but this one I think I've streamed a few times in the past. But ya, it's great, nice raw sounds, great emotion in the singing to go along with it.

yaaaaaaaawn

Bei PJ Harvey bleibt bei mir nichts dry.

This is epic. Nosy and chaotic and somehow delicate too.

Great alternative rock stuff. I really love PJ'S voice and I need to listen to more of her stuff. Well produced, good riffs, just a very well made album

I didn’t find much special in this but as a one time listen was a good experience.

Didn't hate it or love it. Was just meh.

Not really great, bored me

Apt title.