If 1991 is seen as the year that Alternative music thrust itself into the front of the musical landscape, then 1995 would be the year which the women of Alternative got a prominent spotlight. Alanis Morrisette would have her defining year with the awards and sales given to Jagged Little Pill; Bjork’s Postal would become her breakthrough body of work with many of her biggest hits and, depending your definition of alternative, a band named No Doubt released a record named Tragic Kingdom that would slowly make its way up towards Diamond. But even amidst all these names and big, famous records, PJ Harvey’s To Bring You My Love still stands out amongst pretty much all of them in terms of consistency and quality.
Harvey’s closest kinship seems to be with that of Bjork’s work, but it is interesting that Jagged Little Pill would come out in the same year Harvey would make her (somewhat) comeback. Songs on Alanis Morrisette’s record are emotionally and lyrically direct screeds towards broken relationships (even amidst some vagueness in target). Harvey brings you her love, and that love is messy. It is love lost and love found. It is both literary and primal. It is love towards children, towards nature, towards you. It is a love in which she is a mother, a jilted lover and, in one instance (“Long Snake Moan”), even a man. And it is only in the final two songs in which that love is truly reciprocated, but even then it is as complicated as the peace to her “black and empty heart”.
The two years in which Harvey took a break have ramifications on the sound of this album. It might be tempted to call it a “New Harvey,” but I don’t think even Harvey sees it as that. To Bring You My Love’s cover is of Harvey in the pose of Ophelia, but she is wetting her head such as on the cover of Rid of Me. It is the same Harvey, just with a dress on it. The blues influences are still there and prominent, from Beefheart to Leadbelly, but with help of frequent collaborator John Parish and producer Flood (whose work with Nine Inch Nails and U2 is just as influential to the sound of the 90’s as Steve Albini) Harvey’s sound has moved from the grungy aesthetic of her first two records to a more varied and decorated palette.
The sounds on this album range from a folk/acoustic rock influence on songs like “C’mon Billy” and “Send His Love to Me” (the latter with a rhythm that feels like galloping horses in the setting sun), to the percussive instruments on “Teclo” that give a true sense of floating, and sounds from the organ/guitars that wouldn’t sound out of place on a track from The Velvet Underground’s White Light/White Heat. Almost as a reaction to comments on Rid of Me, Harvey’s vocals are also very prominent in terms of them as an instrument; on songs like “Working for the Man” the quiet, staccato screeches and murmurs almost give the impression of drowning. With this diversity and aforementioned Joycean levels of the fragmented self (going so far as to invoke voodoo in the song Long Snake Moan), Harvey has found a style on this record that both allows her to encompass many varying identities and personas, whilst still maintaining a sound that doesn’t sound out of place with the PJ Harvey we already recognise from her first several records.
To Bring You My Love is a triumph of alternative rock, a record about love that is willing to shine a light on every possible dark aspect of it in means of cleansing the self. It is the first true sign of Harvey’s willingness to constantly experiment with her sound, whilst still remaining true to what inspires and excites her. As of right now, this is my pick for best Harvey record.
What do you think though?
“To Bring You My Love”: A track that sounds at first like of a slower of the build-up of “Rid of Me”, but then keeps in that perpetual space for five minutes, a drifting sensation the musical equivalent of Harvey on that front cover. Her vocals in particular are ragged on this song, like her mouth is kissing the microphone. Props to the organs on this track which both help fill out the song and still give that loose sense. A great opener.
“Meet Ze Monsta”: The song this closest reminds me of sonically, with the fuzzy guitar and pounding industrial drums, is Velvet Underground’s “The Gift”. And Harvey combats the “Monsta” of this record by almost becoming one herself, with those screeches and the blunt, staccato inflections she shouts on the chorus. Probably the song that sounds most like her previous records.
“Working For The Man”: Such a disturbing track for something that has a percussion as exact and tight as this. This is down to that guitar lick repeating the same drop in semi, that organ bass and Harvey’s vocals, the way they mixed into the record sounding like a voice we shouldn’t be listening in on.
“C’mon Billy”: A nice change of pace and tone after such a dark track, though one that still keeps in tone with the album. The welcome return of strings to a PJ Harvey album, though here they are much fuller and keep a grounded line to the gallops of the acoustic guitar. All building up to an outro of heightened strings that break off to a fantastic, heart stopping effect.
“Teclo”: Probably the cleanest and most traditionally beautifully vocal performance on the album. Just as you think the quiet guitar licks won’t be able to sustain the whole five minutes, the song is elevated by the addition of tuned percussion, from piano to chimes and vibraphones, that build up on top of each other to amazing effect.
“Long Snake Moan”: My favourite track off the album. Thematically it is an extension of ideas on “50ft Queenie”, subverting the imagery of what in the hands of the other gender could be a traditional cock-rock track. This song sounds the most grounded and rugged on the record, probably some of that due it being the only track with a traditional bass (which Mick Harvey just kills on). That combination of hard guitar hits and drums on the chorus should be enough to make anyone euphoric.
“Down By the Water”: Probably PJ Harvey’s most well known song, and for good reason. It’s structure is like a traditional upbeat rock song that is constantly being undermined, or hieghtened by sinister forces. Be that those dark choral voices responding to Harvey, the clashing and pizzicato strings, or the final refrain to a dark infanticide by natural forces. Beautfiully bleak. [There are sounds from this song, particularly the synth/organ, that I can see influencing bands like Muse.]
“I Think I’m A Mother”: An interesting track production wise in comparison to other album tracks, in that this is the one in which Harvey’s vocals are most mixed in to the rest of the song. The kind of song with its rolling guitar lick and drum that would play in a montage of heat waves and people lost amongst the crowd. Least favourite song on the album, but only because I feel the need to pick one.
“Send His Love To Me”: Apart from the previously written acoustic performance, the sound is also propelled by the soft percussion and the backing which begins as an organ and moves towards an ecstasy of strings. The fade out at the end is perfect too, as though the journey implied from the song is still going on…
“The Dancer”: …and returns here. A very close second to my favourite song on the album (along with “Down by the Water”). The most prominent instrument on the album being those ceremonial organ chords, the guitars compliment the the track with chords and holding constant sounds to become parts of a greater whole. And that final shout from Harvey is jut perfect.
PJ Album Rankings
- To Bring You My Love
- Rid of Me
- 4-Track Demos
- Dry