PJ Harvey, Rid Of Me

Impressions: Earlier, I felt like I missed the boat on PJ Harvey. Now I get a second chance with her most lauded record. Let’s put it on… Hmm, I recognize that drum sound: Steve Albini! Well, if nothing else, maybe I’ll at least enjoy the production of this record (then again, that’s like eating a meal and saying I really dug the plates.) Even though I’ve never heard this record before, there’s a real familiar ’90s loud/quiet/loud thing going on here that harks back to the Pixies, Nirvana and well, college. This album is already more brutal than the more polished Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea, with buzzing guitars, pounding drums and Harvey’s emotionally raw vocals. Songs like “Rub ‘Til It Bleeds,” “Dry” and, ironically, “Hook” lack big, catchy hooks and rely more on a grinding, occasionally monochromatic almost post-blues sound. Again, listening to this or other similar “alternative” music of the ’90s, everyone sounded pretty fucking unhappy at the time (although I find this album a little more effective than Hole or Tool or whatever else was the angsty-style of the day.) The tense “Man-Sized – Sextet” played by a string sextet instead of rock band, and the driving Dylan cover of “Highway ’61 Revisited,” change up the record a bit, but still maintains the overall mood. The rock version “Man-Size” comes off like a hit single compared to the rest of the songs, but still doesn’t sound like she’s worried about charting. I kinda enjoyed the sharp “Snake,” but maybe because it was only 1:37 long. Seriously though, I don’t think I’m having some sort of weird male feminist aversion to the material or something, it’s basically just not music that makes me want to listen to it over and over again. I wanted to like this album more than Stories, mostly due to the Albini pedigree and it’s raw approach, but it still was a missed connection. I’d say “sorry, PJ,” but I have a feeling she could give two shits.