PJ Harvey – Bringing Her Love
She isn’t barely five feet tall, but she plays like a fifty-foot queenie. And no matter how hard you try, you can’t get rid of her. She’s worked with Nick Cave, Bjork, Flood, and Kurt Cobain. Her music is a mix of blues, punk, and grunge, but with a British, potty-mouthed, sex-pot kind of twist.
Kurt Cobain called her first full-release, Dry, one his top-20 albums of all time. Of course, Kurt was more than a little crazy.
Way before Peaches, The Dresden Dolls, M.I.A., or what’s-her-name Courtney Love, PJ Harvey was making the world nod its head at her hard-pulsing, sexually charged anthems about feminism, love, anger, desire, jealousy, and lesbian encounters next to a river of some kind. She’s O.G. rock-n-roll like the big-red guitar she plays. Her 1995 album To Bring You My Love is an ode to sex and desire, and PJ sounds like she knows what she’s talking about. The album was recorded in New Orleans, and is meant to have a New Orleans’ Desire feel and flavor.
Her current album, A Woman a Man Walked By, may be her most professionally polished to date, thanks to her ongoing collaboration with John Parish. The March 31, 2009, release is making its rounds, but PJ Harvey’s style remains on the edge of most radio formats. Thusly, her current tour to support the release.
The little lady can play, that’s for sure. And she’s best when astride a microphone stand, yelling at the top of her tough-chick lungs. Take a look at the video clip for Rid of Me. Note the solo performance, and how the crowd loves every minute of it.
