Genius isn't a word used very often in rock criticism because, frankly, the supporting evidence rarely looks good in print. For instance, the highlight of PJ Harvey's genius new album is the moment when she growls, "Aaaaah, aaaah, ahhahhh, aaaah, aarrrgghh/Whooooorrr, whooooorrrr." And the title of that particularly brilliant song is Who the F__? I'll stop now.
Yet, printed evidence aside, there's no doubt Polly Jean Harvey deserves the G word somewhere near her name. Over the course of seven albums, she has never written a bad song. Not one. That would be an amazing streak for a commercial hitmaker,...
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