This album has an odd quality to it. The first time I heard it, I was pretty convinced I’d never listen to it again. It appeared disorganized and noisy. And yet I kept on putting it on the stereo without knowing exactly what made me come back to it.

By now, 2 months later I’m fairly certain that the reason I keep listening to this album, enjoying it more and more for each time is the straightforward honesty in it’s expression.

Rid of Me is filled to the brim with anger, regret and misery, so beautiful it goes straight to the heart. Not that this kind of stuff hasn’t been heard before. There’s a lot of angry regretful and miserable artists out there, but never have I heard anybody with the same sincerity in her expression.

Her shouts seem true and full of emotion she wants to let out. This doesn’t feel like an act; some character she has to play to live up to some reputation. Instead the shear force of the emotions she is expressing lets the music talk with a loudness and aggression coming from the expression itself, not as an afterthought.

This is important. A lot of angry yelling bands come off as ridiculous to me, because their anger seems to be their brand. Korn springs to mind as the obvious example, but even while listen to System of a Down (whom I admire) or Mastodon (whom I respect for their technical skills), I can’t help but questioning the honesty of the shouts and anger. It sure is anger, that’s true, but the emotional background for that anger doesn’t seem to be there.

Just imagine standing there on the scene for the 12th time that month trying hard to be really mad so you can play a kick-ass concert. Must suck. I’d had to pay somebody to piss me off.

But somehow I don’t think PJ Harvey would have that problem. When she shouts, she does it with such a conviction that I can’t help but feeling her pain and connecting with her music. It feels real every time.