There is a dearth of female artists that have inspired me, mostly because I just haven't made the commitment to diversifying my listening. Among those that have, PJ Harvey stands out. Her voice, in particular, both the actual instrument and her artistic vision, grabbed a hold of me from the onset. I can't remember when I first heard her music, but I remember listening to Dry over and over again. The 1990's were the high point of alternative music (There were a lot of great albums released in 1992), but Dry seems to embody the best of those years without sounding like a Nirvana clone. This is definitely a punk record; the songs are simple three or four chord riffs, and the arrangements are minimal. Yet Harvey's amazing voice rings out loud and clear, along with the excellent rhythm section. This album is scattered with odd time signatures; Water proceeds in 5/4, the extra beat helping the groove, while Dress uses polyrhythm (two simultaneous time signatures) during the bridge section. You don't usually hear interesting rhythmic changes in pop music, especially today, although alternative rock was experimenting at the time (Soundgarden's Spoonman comes to mind).
Harvey got lumped together with Patty Smith and other solo female rock artists, because critics are stupid. Her lyrics were considered feminist at the time, and although that's not an inaccurate categorization, they feel more expressionist and personal to me. Dress tells the story of a woman making herself uncomfortable and embarrassed to please a man, which backfires; Sheela-Na-Gig criticizes the male gaze and its objectifying purpose. I listened to Dry in my twenties, during which I was gradually becoming more aware of how much women get screwed by society. Great art helps you realize things that you were blind to. Also, this album fucking rocks.
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