PJ Harvey
31-Aug-2004
PJ Harvey, iconic singer/songwriter, plays the Olympia Theatre on the 31st of August.
Over the past decade, PJ Harvey has proven to be one of the most creative and consistent artists in rock music. Her early abrasive recordings combined a raw rock & roll sensibility with a subversive take on female sexuality but as her career matured she took on a more theatrical and iconic persona. Her latest album Uh Huh Her, sees Harvey take on a new post punk, angular sound that opens a whole new chapter in her inspiring body of work.
PJ Harvey learned to play guitar and saxophone when she was a teenager and formed the band, PJ Harvey with bassist Steve Vaughn, and drummer, Robert Ellis in 1991. PJ Harvey signed with the British indie label, Too Pure and released the singles, “Dress” and “Sheela-Na-Gig” before unleashing her debut album, Dry on the music world.
For their second album, Rid of Me PJ Harvey employed the talents of producer Steve Albini. Albini gave the album his trademark loud, noisy guitar centred production creating a harsh and angry sound that mirrored the harder-edged feel of the record. Rid of Me proved to be just as successful as her debut album and expanded her growing cult following.
Ellis and Vaughn left the band after the Rid of Me tour and Harvey became a solo artist. Her next record, To Bring You My Love was recorded with bassist Mick Harvey, guitarist John Parish and Joe Gore and the producer Flood. If her first two records were defined by a concept of sexuality that pivoted on feelings of fear, anger and rejection, her new album saw Harvey approaching sexuality with a persona that was more playful, theatrical and iconic. To Bring You My Love heralded a more bluesy, richer sound and was hailed as a masterpiece by many music critics.
In 1998, Harvey released her fourth album, Is This Desire with oblique songs based around the fallout from her tempestuous romance with Nick Cave. Two years later, after a hiatus in the Big Apple, Harvey returned to form with the Stories From the City, Stories From the Sea with a stunning array of songs featuring “Good Fortune” and “This is Love”.
Early this year she released her most recent album, Uh Huh Her an album that takes it's marker from New York post rock bands but some how transcends those artists with brilliant songs like “Shame” and “The Kingdom of Love”. A spellbinding live performer, PJ Harvey plays the Olympia Theatre on the 31st of August.
Ticket : €38
Tickets are available through Ticketmaster outlets,
www.ticketmaster.ie.
Olympia Theatre
72 Dame Street,
Dublin 2.
Tel: + 353 (0) 1 6793323