H is for PJ Harvey ‘4-Track Demos’

I’m going to start this review by admitting a huge error on my behalf: initially I though PJ Harvey was a man. Turns out I’m wrong and was very much mistaken.

However, me mistaking PJ Harvey‘s gender actually got me wondering on why she had gone for her initials and surname, rather than calling herself Polly Jean Harvey, for instance. It led me to think of a similar example in the case of the author JK Rowling who was advised by her publisher to conceal her first name in order for her books to appeal to young boys. (N.B. Interesting article here featuring other female authors who have done the same: Female Authors with Male Pseudonyms: A Practice of the Past?).

Did PJ Harvey do the same in order for her music to appeal to a wider audience? It is commonly known that the music industry is male dominated, so maybe this was a clever technique by PJ to avoid people jumping to conclusions before listening to her music. I’d hope it wasn’t and that she, unlike JK Rowling, did not get pressurised to disguise her gender.

Music is music and gender, in my opinion, should be cast aside when judging an album or piece. I could write an essay on this, but this is neither the time nor the place. However, it’s an interesting thought and one to reflect on and I’d also love to get PJ Harvey‘s opinion on this.

PJ Harvey has released eight studio albums between 1992 and 2011 all of which have been certified as silver status or above. The first two were in conjunction with two other members, but the six that came after were all solo albums. 4-Track Demos comes between the transition from three piece to solo and is a compilation album consisting of eight demos from her previous album Rid of Me plus six extra songs that I believe were never released. It was, interestingly, solely produced by PJ.

PJ has a unique and very distinct voice, she doesn’t go for the ‘nice’ singing but wails, screeches, and at times, spits out her lyrics sounding very aggressive. Her music reminds me of Smashing Pumpkins, Pixies and occasionally Goldfrapp, the latter of which I have no doubt PJ was an influence on. I can even hear similar lyrical themes of indie rock/pop artist Florence & the Machine.

One of my favourite songs is ‘Reeling’, a previously unreleased track that contains heavily distorted guitars and synths along with lyrics such as “I wanna bathe in milk, eat grapes, Robert De Niro sit on my face.”, also “even Aphrodite, she’ll have nothing on me.” It’s a powerful song and it’s a shame it never got released further than this compilation album. Her brass lyrics have no holds barred; it’s clear PJ says what she want, when she wants. The multi-talented woman is certainly a strong role model for any female artist.

Her alternative rock contains punk elements such as the screaming vocals, raw production and seemingly makeshift, thrown together songs, however saying that ‘Legs’ opens with a short piano introduction, genre-wise more classical than punk. Final track ‘Driving’ (another unreleased one) is very structured in comparison to the rest of side A; it’s not as manic or chaotic and ends the side with a fadeout. This fadeout sets the stage for side B, which is more relaxed and calmer, although with the slight exception of ‘Rub ’till it Bleeds’ and ‘Yuri-G’ that contain the hectic pace and volume of side one.

I first discovered PJ Harvey when I saw her 2011 album Let England Shake on display in the music library. It seemed to intrigue me, especially as I served a number of people who were taking out that album. After listening and review 4-Track Demos, I’m going to go back to the library and get out Let England Shake and, for that matter, any other album of hers I can find.

Official video for ’50ft Queenie’ released 1994. I really want her coat!

‘Rid of Me’ live in Sydney at Big Day Out festival, 2001

Released in 1993 on Island Records
Side One – ‘Rid of Me’, ‘Legs’, ‘Reeling’, ‘Snake’, ‘Hook’, ’50ft Queenie’, ‘Driving’
Side Two – ‘Ecstasy’, ‘Hardly Wait’, ‘Rub ’til it Bleeds’, ‘Easy’, ‘M-Bike’, ‘Yuri-G’, ‘Goodnight’.