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PJ Harvey Ranked 2023 Revamp

An update of my 2016 Favorite 10 PJ Harvey Songs list and my 2015 PJ Harvey Ranked/Hype Thread. Top 10 songs FIRST, Albums Ranked SECOND
22PJ Harvey
Uh Huh Her


10th place song (previously 10th place too): "The Life and Death of Mr. Badmouth"

Uh Huh Her has a lot of problems, but this song is still so damn amazing. That riff is badass, and PJ is as passionate as ever. Dark PJ is best PJ!
21PJ Harvey
Let England Shake


9th place song (previously not top 10): "Let England Shake"

Replacing "The Glorious Land" as my favorite, this one is such a catchy album-defining opener. I love percussion (both the drums and the xylophone.)
20PJ Harvey
Dry


8th place song (previously not top 10): "Dress"

Replaces "Hair" as the Dry REP, but honestly "Hair" is still the 2nd best song on Dry so yeah. "Dress" has such strong tomboy rough indie energy while still being catchy and poppy, how could I not love it?
19PJ Harvey
I Inside the Old Year Dying


7th place song (previously didn't exist): "The Nether-edge"

Would it really be a hype thread if I wasn't jumping the gun by including something from the new album? The new album rules by the way. Arty, spooky, spacious, and oddly minimal. Maybe shows how much my taste has evolved over the years. Or at least how much PJ Harvey's direction has evolved.
18PJ Harvey and John Parish
A Woman a Man Walked By


6th place song (previously hadn't heard yet) "Passionless, Pointless"

Trippy psychedelic background scape, but the lyrics are so depressing. I swear this is one of her prettiest songs. Been listening to this one way more than I used to.
17PJ Harvey
Is This Desire?


5th place song (previously not top 10): "Angelene"

My 2nd favorite on Is This Desire changes A LOT. Last time I picked the t/t, but honestly "Angelene" holds up even better. Like that piano, the passion in the chorus. Singer/songwriter styled perfection.
16PJ Harvey
To Bring You My Love


4th place song (previously 7th place): "Down by the Water"

PJ Harvey can be so damn weird when she wants to. Maybe It's influenced by how much I love the music video, but this song feels like one of her most sensual even though it's about murdering your daughter. The stings sting, that blaring bass is so cool. PJ Harvey is so damn cool when she's singing about murdering her child? ...little fish big fish swimming in the water, come back here man gimme my daughter...
15PJ Harvey
Is This Desire?


3rd place song (previously 2nd place): My Beautiful Leah"

PJ Harvey's best mood is desperation. She's a little too good at it haha. That beat is so cool and the lyrics are dark as hell. I love when her lyrics paint such a vivd story. It's short, but cuts deep.
14PJ Harvey
White Chalk


2nd place song (previously 3rd place): "Dear Darkness"

The piano rules, and her ghostly wails are exchanged for sad yelps. The autoharp is so pretty too. Man, this is such a good curl-up and stare-at-the-ceiling song. It's like generational sadness, what a concept.
13PJ Harvey
To Bring You My Love


1st place song (previously 1st place too): "C'mon Billy"

Last.fm says I've scrobbled this song 136 times. It's my 4th most scrobbled song ever and I wanna say it's actually 3rd because "Green Typewriters" by The Olivia Tremor Control is actually 10 songs with the exact same title. The guitar, the orchestral strings, the desperation, the pretty vibe, the story angle. It's all here and all done so perfectly. The way she "mahs" at the end of the song is weirdly perfect. Best UK artist ever? Yes.
12PJ Harvey
Uh Huh Her


12th place album:

This album was 8th place when I knew 8 albums by her, now it's 12th place now that I know 12. Won't go too much into detail about this one since I wrote the review for it, but it's the least original/inspired one she has. Still not bad though. She did all of the production and most of the instruments which is cool.

3/5

Best song: "The Life and Death of Mr. Badmouth"
Worst song: "Seagulls" (does this even count?), "No Child of Mine" (if "Seagulls doesn't count)
11PJ Harvey and John Parish
Dance Hall at Louse Point


11th place album:

It's not that there's really anything wrong with Louse Point, but it just lacks enough highlights. I actually love more songs on Uh Huh Her than this one, but this has no terrible songs and Uh Huh Her does. It's the first hint at how folky she'd become, so that's pretty cool. It's also maybe her most experimental album? Maybe forgettable compared to the others?

3.5/5

Best song: "Taut"
Worst song: "Heela"
10PJ Harvey
The Hope Six Demolition Project


10th place album:

I defended this album A LOT when it came out, and I still will, but I admit: it has mostly grown off me. I love the use of saxophone and the blues and psych rock textures, but the lyrics are just too often tone dear. Her biggest failure was to pick the most tone-deaf song as one of her singles "Community of Hope." Hell, she named the album after it. It's a shame because the album is still musically so strong.

3.5/5

Best song: "A Line in the Sand"
Worst song: "The Community of Hope"
9PJ Harvey
Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea


9th place album:

I'm not sorry when I say that this is the definitive basic bitch PJ Harvey album. After writing 2 amazing depressing records, she wanted to make something happy and poppy, and hey she did a pretty good job, but MAN she's better when she's depressing or angry. I hate to say it, but it's so true. Still, this is PJ Harvey, so this is still good. Also, stop emphasizing that there's a Thom Yorke feature on here, PJ Harvey is better than Radiohead shhh.

3.5/5

Best song: "Good Fortune"
Worst song: "One Line"
8PJ Harvey and John Parish
A Woman a Man Walked By


8th place album:

After the disappointment of Louse Point, I wasn't super excited about hearing this one, but yeah it's so good. This is some prime spooky, weird, sad, goodness. I do appreciate how she can make extra big vocal risks on the John Parrish collabs, It's like she knows they're slightly outside of her main canon, so she can fuckup more here and no one will be mad. She doesn't really fuckup here much regardless.

4/5

Best song: "Passionless, Pointless"
Worst song: "The Chair"
7PJ Harvey
Rid of Me


7th place album:

Whoa 7th place? This is a lot better than a lot of 1st places! Gritty Pixies-inspired indie blues punk stuff. Short throwaway type songs, not as a mistake, but as a mission. I feel like the immediacy he displays here is so powerful and fun.

4/5

Best song: "Rid of Me"
Worst song: "Legs"
6PJ Harvey
Let England Shake


6th place album:

So far, with the exception of the addition of the Parrish songs and her latest 2, this ranking has stayed relatively the same, but here's where it changes. Upon further listening: this sunk a few spots. Don't get me wrong, unlike Hope Six the political angle works since it's more personal, and the music is still great, but Dry and Is This Desire just held up even better over time. You gotta adit there's 2-3 songs on here that are kinda boring even if the highs are high.

4/5

Best song: "Let England Shake"
Worst song: "Bitter Branches"
5PJ Harvey
Dry


5th place album:

What a fantastic debut. It oozes so much personality and her guitar style is so unique and cool. Pixies-esque, but still unique. Oddly has a weird "girl power" vibe to it (I'm only half sure I know what I mean by that, but it just seems correct.) Violins in unexpected ways too. Chamber indie grit chic.

4.5/5

Best song: "Dress"
Worst song: "Fountain"
4PJ Harvey
I Inside the Old Year Dying


4th place album:

I'm fine with jumping the gun on this. It might sink like Let England Shake did, but for now, I'm wowed by the mature storytelling vibe of this. Spooky PJ is the best PJ. She's still not afraid to experiment and refuses to rest on any laurels. Listen to it, it just came out!

4.5/5

Best song: "The Nether-edge"
Worst song: "August"
3PJ Harvey
Is This Desire?


3rd place album:

PJ Harvey goes downtempo. I feel like this is best listened to in the kind of damp shack that'd give you pneumonia if you stayed in it too long. So many sad ladies on this album. Angelene, Leah, Elise, Catherine, Joy, Dawn. Great beats, quiet production (except when it's explosive.) Maybe a good starting point?

4.5/5

Best song: "My Beautiful Leah"
Worst song: "The Garden"
2PJ Harvey
White Chalk


2nd place album:

No one was expecting a ghostly chamber-folk album from PJ Harvey in 2007. It's her only album to lack all rock elements and it's a strength. Maybe it's controversial to those who got comfortable with who they thought she was up to this point, but like almost every song on here is awesome. Mostly autoharp and piano lead the songs and it's not exactly a "catchy" album. But good, not everything needs to be a head bobber.

4.5/5

Best song: "Dear Darkness"
Worst song: "Broken Harp"
1PJ Harvey
To Bring You My Love


1st place album:

This is my favorite album of the 90s. This is my favorite album from the UK. This album makes 2 Captain Beefheart references? (both from Safe As Milk) yet it's better than anything Beefheart ever touched. Blues, folk, alt-rock, orchestra stuff. Art rock I guess really? She sounds so emotionally raw, desperate, and distraught. Every song feels like its own little universe. Weird pseudo-religious romps like "Working for the Man" juxtapose gorgeous ballads like "C'mon Billy" and I'm very here for both. PJ Harvey isn't religious, but I like how she'll call out to God throughout To Bring You My Love to make her characters feel so real and at their lowest points. I don't know if I'm a sad indieboi (probably not,) but PJ Harvey makes me wish I was.

5/5

Best song: "C'mon Billy"
Worst song: "Teclo" (but "Teclo" is also good)
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