Dry

Foothold did the layout but the image making by Maria Mochnacz is genius. In her words “It is a colour photocopy. No negative, cost about 10p, the first shop we went to wouldn’t let Polly put her face on the photocopier and said it wouldn’t work because she would move a little between scans —-but that was what I wanted, a bit of raw smudgedness, so we went to central library in Bristol and did it there.” This was an early version of a type of image making that Katerina Jebb has mastered and developed into an art form. Music is just as raw and vital as when I first heard it. Well done all of you for creating stuff that’s so good.

Review posted 21/10/26 aaand we are caught up. I don't think my time away would have massively changed the opinions on this album, like it did some of the others though. If I had heard this in 2024 I would've loved it, however. This album is pretty raw and grungey, and I'm not sure why but the presentation gives me a real energy of Bush, the grunge band, and Bjork. Both of said artists didn't realise their debuts until after this one however, so on some level that comparison is absolutely praise. The downside of that is, as I said, I was a big fan of Bush in 2024, before re-diving properly back into grunge and quickly phasing out Bush for more intensive things. That's why, as far as this album goes, I think it's a solid listen and an otherwise good time but it doesn't dedicate itself enough to a really winner. Purely just a view of my tastes changing and reshaping, but in 1992 we also got Core by STP and it had been a year since Ten by Pearl Jam. I think, even as far as alternative rock goes, this album is drowned out by the immense amount of amazing work being produced around it. I do like the edge this album has though, it's very raw in presentation and production and that sounds good and I think for other people that could do a lot but as of right now on this listen it's just not what I'd want from 90s alt rock with a grunge twang. I just wish it leaned into the genre more. Best song(s): Sheela-na-gig Worst Song(s): N/A Rank compared to everything else so far: 65/77 (below Among the Living above Better Living Through Chemistry)

I don't think I've heard this PJ album before. I liked it. 4/5

Really loved this actually.

2.5

Turns out I dislike whatever PJ Harvey album I got first on this list more than I dislike PJ Harvey as an artist. This one was much better. I like the almost Grunge kind of undertone that the whole record has. There were some songs that were definitely lacking energy where it should have more that I wasn't too big of a fan of, but this one had a lot of great songs on it. I was especially a big fan of the opening few songs. It was also pretty neat to learn what a Sheela-Na-Gig is. I haven't seen a representation of a woman look that goofy since the Venus Statue that everyone posts on Reddit twice per day.

Angry guitars, jazzy drums, negative space and a voice that effortlessly shifts from a claustrophobic whisper to a feral howl. Fuzz-free counterpoint to grunge

As advertised. Despite how hard this sucked, it still left me bone dry.

Like the last album from PJ this missed again for me. It just feels forced, and unnatural.

This is simply a good album. The whole record just had the problem of good ideas but underwhelming execution. Either riffs were repeated too many times or the pacing was just a little off, but it was still a pleasant listen. The bass on some tracks was awesome, as well as some of the guitar arrangements. Not essential by any means, but still a nice listen. PJ loves to add some odd signatures too which is always appreciated in my household as well as a cool use of polyrhythms on the track 'Dress'. Great production as well. High 3.

I dislike PJ Harvey but this album is an exception. I didn’t love it, but it was solid listening.

Yay☺️

What an incredible debut. When I first heard Sheela-Na-Gig back in the day, I was smitten with PJ Harvey.

Generally fine, but I feel like it was lacking something. If I knew what, I would probably be a musician.

Good riffs and intense lyrics. It's a strong outing from PJ Harvey and contains some memorable tracks. My favorite of the bunch is probably Sheela-na-Gig. I like some later PJ Harvey work a bit more, but this first album is definitely good.

dry like sweet candied apricots

Didn't do much for me, the girlfriend liked it though.

It was a decent album, but it didn't blow me away.

I've tried PJ before and had no success. This time, I really enjoyed it. Only a few tracks stuck out but overall it was a good record. 4/5

I'm a sucker for a female vocalist - be it solo, duo or in a band. Not sure if PJ Harvey is just a solo artist or a band and the music wasn't good enough to make me want to find out. I like it just fine, but it seemed like an album that I could hear passing by a garage band of 16 year olds who had been playing together for a year and writing their own songs. Didn't mind it, but no reason to come back to this one. 3 stars

Singer songwriter in a 90s alt rock mould. Less angsty than Alanis Morisette.

This is an interesting one to be honest. My opinion on this album shifted not even from song to song, but even during the songs. The sound goes from something I like to something I find mildly annoying very quickly. I have to give it a 3.4/5. It's more than a 3, but it's not a 4 (which would be albums that I definitely want to remember to listen to again, soon.).

Favourite Songs: Dress Victory Sheela-na-gig

This is a great album - I'm starting to realise I've slept on PJ Harvey too long. This is grungy in all the ways I love, but also very bluesy with some really nice slide guitar in places. There are also nice sprinklings of cello and double bass here and there. Great lyrics with a feminist lean as well, something that's kind of lacking around here! I definitely need to go and listen to her other albums.

Meh song arrangements. Wish her vocals were mixed better. Not something I am likely to revisit. The only track I genuinely enjoyed was "Plants and Rags", for the song arrangement, but thought it could have been mixed better. Too much PJ Harvey on this list. You cannot convince me that she deserves 4 spaces on this list. 1, maybe 2 at most. 4 is just British bias. Free up 2 of those slots for other Lilith Fair artists that did meaningful work in the 1990s.

Liked this better than Let England Shake, which I rounded up to 4, so this one is a solid 4.

I just do not like PJ Harvey. No reason, can't explain, but none of her songs sound good to me.

8/10 Superb - positive of this activity has been my reassessment of PJ Harvey.

Some good rock instrumentals throughout however, moody dramatic woman singing in an annoying voice is not my genre. Still not as bad as bjork tho

Solid instrumentals however another album where the singing ruins it for me in my opinion.

Not my jam

Muy corto. Igual me encanta ella

I like this more than rid of me but probably not as much as let England shake. Started off a little slow but won me over

Does there really need to be this many PJ Harvey albums on this project?

I had never heard of this artist, and I gotta say I liked it. Sounds like Brit-pixies, which i guess is more enjoyable than britpop.

There is no cooler person than PJ and I doubt there will ever be.

raw, angry, guitar heavy, from the 90s. All good things to me.

This has a unique sound to it. It mixes some alt and grunge and... well, it's a lot of things. At times, it sounds almost derivative of what was "going on" at the time (early 90's... grunge and alt-rock) and at other times, it sound very unique. Her lyrics are interesting and have a certain... I dunno, "message" or "feminism" to them but are just obscure enough to not be preachy. I read that she felt she had "one shot" at making a record and wanted to make it count. If she really did, this gave her more shots, so it did that job well. It's a good enough record and I enjoyed it just fine.

While this is the album I knew PJ could make, it’s still not enough.

Truth in advertising.

"Im sorry that's never happened to me before". A sentence Polly Jean Harvey will never have heard from a man, unless from a guitarist for flubbing a note. Despite this, I am quite sure I would be a gibbering wreck if I ever found myself standing in front of this women, even now, 30 years after she first made a huge impression on my adolescent, hormone-driven brain. I knew Sheela-na-gig and Dress already but not really familiar with the rest of it, but it's fantastic and incredibly self-assured for a debut. I think she probably topped it with To Bring You My Love but in its -puzzling- absence from the list this is refreshing enough to earn a 5.

Girl power

Dit album heeft momenten dat ik het echt tering vet vind. Alleen lijkt het erop dat PJ af en toe d'r creatieve, alternatieve geest iets teveel wil laten grazen. Niet denigrerend bedoeld, maar als ze gewoon liedjes maakt is ze op haar best wat mij betreft. Een lekker gitaartje erbij, een prima stem. Dan hoef je het van mij verder allemaal niet te gek te maken. Die tweede track doet bijvoorbeeld een beetje denken aan Guano Apes. Ik vind dit een heel prima album van onze PJ. Na 2x een 3 voor tante PJ ga ik een keer een 4 geven.

some of it blended but I did like it. Highlights: Dress (fav) Sheela na gig Victory Plants and Rags

A woman! Unfortunately not fully for me. Still good just a little abrasive for my taste

First listening to this album I couldn’t tell if I loved it or absolutely hated it. The more I listen the more it grew on me. The instrumentals are awesome - I love the use of cello in plants and rags. after finishing the album I think I really love it. Need to give it another listen I think. favorites: - Sheela-na-gig - Plants and Rags - Fountain

Awesome and angsty and finally some WOMEN IN THIS SHIT!!!

I love it. I usually listen to this type of musicccccc!!

OK

Liked it! Nothing breakout here but solid rock, PJ hits it. Twangy bass was interesting.

I think this is one of those albums where I like the albums it influenced more than I like the album itself. The raw angsty sound is cool, but the content doesn't hold up for me.

moody and crunchy. maybe a little one-note. i really enjoyed it. favorite song is Water. very strong 3

Rating: 7/10 Big fan of PJ Harvey. She's a fantastic non-typical alt rock songwriter, guitarist and also multi-instrumentalist who has a one of the best outputs of albums of any artist in the 90's, and some very good late career works as well. Her debut is cool, it shows what she's all about but it's also in my opinion her worst or at least one of, PJ at her least developed and just laying the groundwork. Her 90's albums are just even better versions of Dry, expanding and perfecting her sound. There's nothing bad here, it's still above average and promising. Oh My Lover and Sheela-Na-Gig are very cool songs

Sick as

Hadn’t realised the album finished and got about halfway through the second listen before I figured it out. Pretty samey, which isn’t a bad thing, but in this case I don’t particularly like the sound.

Det er ikke så dårligt at det ikke gør indtryk, men det er heller ikke så godt at jeg vil bruge mere tid på det. Det som det gør godt, gør det rigtig godt.

Tanken om at have lyst til at give mere er rar, men den er der sgu bare ikke for mig. Måske hvis jeg var i lidt dårligere humør. Desværre Pyjamas Harvey.

*64 Perfekt ligelig dosering af prætentiøst alt rock og faktisk god musik.

Hvis det er replay-value der gør en 3'er, så må jeg nedgradere på denne. Jeg var fristet, for jeg synes faktisk der var nogle ok numre undervejs. Dog har jeg svært ved at se mig selv gå og lytte til PJ Harvey herhjemme.

Rætti fedt album, good job 4.0

Jeg ville så gerne give hende flere stjerner, både fordi jeg synes hun er pisse dygtig (og sej) og for de kunstneriske ambitioner med albummet, men det her er bare ikke min favorit version af PJ Harvey

I’ll be completely honest here. I don’t know what to rate this one exactly. Initially, I let out a bit of a confused sigh when I saw that this was my album for today. Weird album cover, indie rock is always a bit of a mixed bag, and I don’t even remotely have a clue who PJ Harvey is. Like, I’ve never heard of her in my entire life. So it was a bit stacked against her already in my mind. Then I saw that she somehow has 4 albums on here. That being said, naturally, this is my first of 4 PJ Harvey albums I will be reviewing for this project. And as always when I initially doubt something based on just looks alone, I am so very, very wrong. Now, I still don’t know who PJ Harvey is at the end of the day. I haven’t done a deep dive on her yet. I’ve got 4 albums to do so, so I’ll save that for another review just so I have something else to talk about. For now I’m fine not knowing anything about her. What I do know is that the general consensus of her 4 albums on here is not great. For what it’s worth, Dry, her debut album, is the second highest rated of the 4 albums on the site. And my personal opinion?? Wow. Refreshingly different. I love a good female artist who just unapologetically kicks ass, and I think PJ Harvey might just kick a whole bunch of ass. This is one of those albums that clearly isn’t perfect, and you really kind of get the point even after the very first song is finished. It’s a little samey and formulaic through and through. She’s got a BADASS grungy voice, and based on the Spotify Credits, she’s also playing the freaking guitar as well?? OK, seriously, why have I never heard of her, this is right up my alley. It’s like a female Nirvana. What the hell, I actually love this. Picking a favorite song too is also difficult, and that’s unfortunately because all of these songs sound the damn same to me. Noted, it’s the same really good song, but they’re very similar. On memory alone, I think the song that stands out the most, besides the killer opening track “Oh My Lover”, which instantly had me going “Oh” myself, has to be “Sheela-Na-Gig”. That song was the perfect bland of catchy singing and killer, shredding guitar solos. Dude. Actually, I love this album. Didn’t see that one coming based on the rating, but I’ll never complain about being caught off guard by any of these albums and artists that I’ve never heard of before. It’s been quite a few days since I added anything to my regular Liked Songs playlist, but this album is getting a few inclusions added to the list. And for that, as well as everything else I already mentioned, I’m going to give this one a 4.3ish out of 5. It’s really freaking good. Love the singing, the grungy, angry guitar, and everything else is just right up my alley. Both interested and a little nervous to hear what she sounds like later in her career with her 3 other albums on the list. For now though, first impressions are quite good!!

she doesn't miss does she

No private session used for Spotify. I have always liked what I heard from PJ Harvey and I have listened to an entire album, just not this one. This one rocks, seems raw yet polished. Early 90's there were are lot of angsty men making music, it's nice to hear from the feminine side.

I'll not be sad if this album comes on.

PJ Harvey – Dry (1992) On Day 268, this was an impressively dark and fearless record, and that uncompromising tone likely explains why it was titled Dry. Releasing an album this raw and unvarnished as a debut was truly biting the bullet, but the creative risk paid off completely. It made for a compelling, cohesive, and surprisingly focused listen. "Sheela-Na-Gig" was a standout cut, showcasing exceptional dynamic tension and lyrical bite. Aside from "Hair," which didn't quite land for me, the rest of the tracklist held together with genuine grit and artistic conviction. A brave, memorable debut. A strong 4/5.

But moany.

Sheela-na-gig is the peak of PJ’s career. She’ll never top The Peel Session version.

I could see the argument for why they'd be on the list with this album, but not for me.

This was pretty good

Energin! Texterna! Inte på något sätt en kvinnlig artist, utan bara en artist.

VERY Dry.

I think I've heard other PJ Harvey music that isn't this punk rock sounding. I recall liking that work more. This is not easy listening.

The album got potential but the voice quality just doesn't let me enjoy the album. Actually, nevermind the first paragraph the lyrics are pretty good and the quality of the vocals got an upgrade.

Taken aback by how brilliant this is. I'd heard bits before but never this album. So assured and strong, lyrically, musically and in terms of production, for a debut album.

2 - not for me

This was not bad but it just didnt do anything for me.

Meh

It was ok. Not bad. Very 90s angsty which is fine. I like her other albums better maybe

I didn't previously care much about PJ Harvey before listening to Dry. But the aggression in these tracks is surprisingly fun, and the music overall feels a bit more accessible to me. Dry is the kind of record I could put on no matter what my mood is just because of the energy.

It’s ok but I don’t really care for this type of music.

Listening session: september 7th, while getting ready in the morning Listened to before: no Thoughts: I don’t like this album as much as Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea, but it’s still a cool album Favourite tracks: Dress, Sheela-na-gig & Hair

An artist I really don’t know as much as I probably should. Each time I hear one of her albums, I think she deserves more of my time. This was definitely the right side of raw-sounding.

No comment, nothing special

The perfect amount of grunge in an indie record. Crossing the borders of the two superbly and creating an album that blurs lines and pulls more people in. Very raw vocals and powerful sentiments behind them clearly. The bass, drums and guitar all faultless! Every track having one that just stands out that little more and it’s perfect. No lull in tracks and each and every single one will be getting another listen. If I had to pick a least favorite off first listen it would be ‘water’ although I’m sure that could easily change. Best track is a really tough one, so many great tracks but personal highlights were ‘sheela na gig’ and ‘plants and rags’ also ‘dress’ and the power it possesses. again I’m sure these will change on another listen but after a couple of listens I’ll go ‘Sheena’ So much better than the later released album by PJ that I reviewed earlier in this list. Listening a second time as I’m writing this and after my initial thoughts of 9/10 I already know it’s better on a second listen so BOOM 10/10 💥

PJ Harvey - Dry When you get the opportunity to make a record, and you believe it will probably be the only chance you will ever get, you may as well put every ounce of your heart and soul into it. And that is exactly what we get here. Every track is a open book of raw emotion, lust, hatred and spiritual longing. All accompanied by a brooding, rolling thunder of distorted, syncopated, but bloody brilliant, power trio set up of guitar, bass and drums. And yet the whole thing sounds so quintessentially English and polite. Polly is up there with Kate Bush in her genius with this album. Nothing like it before, lots of pale imitators since. Best tracks - so many. The menace of Oh My Lover, the thunder of Joe, the wanton promiscuousness of Sheela-na-gig and Dress. All contrast with the pensive brooding of the of Plants and Rags and Fountain. Before a final exploration of the prehistoric landscape of the South Downs in the closer Water. I havent listened to this album for probably over 20 years, but it still left me blown away and reminded me just why I took a trip to the record store to buy it all those years ago on the day of release. 10/10 - absolutely stunning piece of work.

Enjoyed

It's a fine debut, and I rather enjoyed it, however there's not a whole lot that will stay for me. With PJ Harvey here, I can see a lot of potential just from this first album, with quite a few songs with plenty of ambition, but it just doesn't come together all that well as a coherent unit in the same way that a lot of great albums do. For now then, I'm giving this a 3 in the hope that it grows on me as I discover more of Harvey's stuff.

This was good. Just don't know if I would actively choose to listen to it on my own.

I don't have much to say about this one other than that it seemed short, and that's a good thing.

In which PJ Harvey gets dressed up for a date is very, VERY disappointed. As well she should be. Maybe her best album. Love the heaviness. But, you know, she's never NOT heavy.

I have liked all of the PJ Harvey albums that Ive heard, though the albums from the mid 90s are my favorite. While I had heard the demo version of this, I had never heard this album. Other than the muddiness of the sound in the first track, I liked the rest of the album.

I didn't know the band. I don't like the vocal and only a few tracks were good enough to listen to. A bad album overall.

Listens: 3 Standout Tracks: Dress, Plants and Rags, Water There sure are a lot of PJ Harvey albums on the List (at least four so far). This album falls into the same category as Alanis Morissette, Sheryl Crow and Liz Phair: (Varying degrees of) edgy 90s alternative rock that I have no objection with, but just aren't in my daily listening rotation. I rarely, if ever, go out of my way to listen to music like this. Unlike Alanis' Jagged Little Pill, I don't recognize any of these songs. I am not convinced this needs to be on the List. It's not a bad album, but it's taking up a spot that could have been given to some other band's album that is equally or more interesting and unique than this.

I love this album, I wish I’d sorted the needle for my record player so I could have listened on vinyl today but I loved it no less for streaming. What a debut. I love PJ Harvey, and Sheela-na-gig is my favourite but I also really enjoy happy and bleeding and water.

Thought I liked it…then several times thought “what the fuck am I listening to?” DNF.

Grungy, punky, angsty, enchanting. Amazing!

Life changing album for me!

Loved !

4/8