PJ Harvey To Bring You My Love Music
by PJ Harvey

Singer-songwriter and guitarist Polly Jean Harvey initially leant her name to a rock trio, with Rob Ellis on drums and Steve Vaughan on bass. But after two successful albums with them, she continued as a solo artist and enjoyed even more acclaim.

Their debut album Dry was widely praised by critics in 1991 for its raw guitar-driven sound, and became one of Kurt Cobain's favourite records. After signing to Island, the trio then released Rid Of Me, and after Ellis and Vaughan left, Four-Track Demos (both 1993). The latter was mostly comprised of early demos of tracks for the former, but both were hailed by the press as successes, and PJ Harvey's following grew.

Her first real album as a solo artist, To Bring You My Love (1995), was her best yet. With bluesy guitars, and newly heard strings and synthesisers, Harvey collaborated with other musicians to produce a million-selling album that also won several Album Of The Year polls. It is still regarded as one of the greatest alternative rock albums of the 90s.

Is This Desire? (1998) was greeted with warmth, though a few critics noted that it wasn't as good as To Bring You My Love, and then Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea (2000) won the Mercury Prize (for best British album of the year) and again sold over a million copies.

Uh Huh Her (2004) was a lesser success in 2004, and 2007's White Chalk saw a complete change in direction with Harvey relying only on piano. The response was mixed: some reviewers loved it, while others suggested she should strap her guitar on again.