P.J. Harvey

Polly Jean Harvey (aka P.J. Harvey) continues to influence musicians and serve as a feminist role model with her eerie blues aggression. Embraced by mainstream fans and Indie Rock purists alike, the passion and unnerving character of Harvey's 1992 debut, Dry, laughingly choked the daylights out of the stereotypical reserved female Singer-Songwriter. Throughout her decade-long career, her signature primal howls, grinding narratives and noisy, hostile guitar playing have attracted listeners in much the same way that dark, dimly lit parts of town lure people to the darker sides of their personalities. Harvey offers a stirring dichotomy of elegance and brutal finesse coupled against a grotesque, taboo sexuality -- a duality that's sometimes greeted with alarm, attraction, and even disdain.