Arkive

“… a seductive calling card that signals the arrival of an extraordinary new artist.” - Robert Hilburn, LOS ANGELES TIMES.

"Polly dredges these sounds from the pit of her dissected soul and drags them out of her mouth with clenched fists." – NME

“On her debut [DRY], Polly Jean Harvey matched Patti Smith’s incandescence with Bessie Smith’s lasciviousness, outplayed everyone on the British indie circuit, and became an instant star.” – PITCHFORK

“[DRY] ….an uncompromising work of exhilarating, cauterizing beauty." – ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY

"With its choke-hold guitar energy and the controlled vocal eruptions of Polly Harvey, this British trio created a college-radio splash on this side of the Atlantic There's an undeniable electricity to Dry, the band's debut: These musical primitives make exciting use of dynamics and twisted arrangements. As a frontwoman, Harvey commands attention: She cunningly mixes sensuality and feminist awareness in conversational hooks. An air Deja Vu also wafts around the album; not a single angry riff, raw melody or thorny lyric on it would've surprised postpunk trend spotters back in '8L The (big) difference between PJ Harvey and the half-forgotten bands of that period is focus — and competence. Polly Harvey only plays rough when she wants to, for emphasis. If that sounds like progress, Dry will slake your thirst for a Patti Smith fix — maybe permanently."- ROLLING STONE

"Dry is the first chance I ever had to make a record and I thought it would be my last. So, I put everything I had into it. It was a very extreme record. It was a great joy for me to be able to make it. I never thought I'd have that opportunity, so I felt like I had to get everything on it as well as I possibly could, because it was probably my only chance. It felt very extreme for that reason." - PJ HARVEY speaking to FILTER MAGAZINE

In a 1993 critics' poll of the 100 Greatest Albums of All Time, NME ranked Dry at number 71, and in a similar poll conducted by Melody Maker in 2000, the album was placed at number 86. It was on Kurt Cobain's 50 greatest albums list. It is included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.