Editor’s Note: From Albumism’s inception back in 2016, we’ve remained unabashedly and unequivocally passionate about our mission of celebrating the world's love affairs with albums past, present and future.

But while our devotion to the album as an art form has remained steadfast, as evidenced by our deepening repository of individual album tributes and reviews, we’ve admittedly seldom taken the opportunity to explicitly articulate our reverence for the virtues of artists’ complete album repertoires as a whole.

Hence why we’ve decided to showcase what we believe to be the most dynamic discographies of all time in this recurring series. In doing so, we hope to better understand the broader creative context within which our most beloved individual albums exist, while acknowledging the full breadth of their creators’ artistry, career arcs, and overall contributions to the ever-evolving musical landscape.

We hope you enjoy this series and be sure to check here periodically for the latest installments.

PJ HARVEY

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Though PJ Harvey debuted in 1992 with her own very distinctive sound, attitude, and ethos, over the decades since then it’s become clear via her nine-album discography that she’s a bit of a shapeshifter—in the best possible way. It began with 1995’s To Bring You My Love, which, following on the heels of the very raw-and-rough Rid of Me (1993), featured a much more polished and bluesy sound, complete with a refined personal aesthetic—shimmering ball gowns, coiffed hair, heavy makeup. And yet it was still in all ways PJ Harvey, done with a wink and a nod and a bit of a “fuck you” for good measure.

1998’s Is This Desire?, Harvey’s album chronicling the aftermath of her breakup with Nick Cave, brought another surprise with the addition of keyboards, electronic accents, and moody, atmospheric soundscapes. Then, in 2000, after falling in love with New York City on a trip she decided to extend for close to a year, Harvey gave us a tight, slick pop album with Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea. She crystallized the essence of the city so viscerally and expertly that it was on constant repeat during my own move to NYC not long after its release. It also won Harvey her first Mercury Prize.

Uh Huh Her, circa 2004, saw a return to Harvey’s dirtier rock & roll roots, but there was also a noticeable new maturity, and a mellowness that wasn’t there before. Then, we all got a surprise again in 2007 when Harvey, having learned the piano, rolled out the celestial, piano-driven, Victorian-sounding White Chalk, the biggest departure from her signature sound yet. 2011’s Let England Shake, which earned Harvey her second Mercury Prize, proved once again that she is an eager student, never content to stop learning. Rigorous vocal training allowed Harvey to adopt an entirely new singing style on the album, which explores with academic rigor Britain’s thorny and storied history of war.

Harvey’s deep dive into politics continued in 2016 with The Hope Six Demolition Project. The record was initially inspired by a trip to Washington D.C., where Harvey saw the many rundown neighborhoods in our nation’s capital, juxtaposed with its stately, gleaming monuments and posh communities. It explores the injustice of gentrification, and the demolition of “less desirable” neighborhoods in the name of improving conditions for the impoverished, only to further disenfranchise poor populations.

Since then, Harvey has been releasing the demos for all of her previous albums, making for a compelling, re-imagined listen of her staggeringly imaginative and thought-provoking catalog. And earlier this year, she unveiled her long-awaited tenth studio album I Inside the Old Year Dying (2023).

Erika’s 3 Favorite PJ Harvey Albums of All Time:

1. Rid of Me (1995)
2. Dry (1992)
3. Let England Shake (2011)

VISIT PJ Harvey’s Official Store

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