(Credits: Ole Christian Klamas)
Thu 26 February 2026 23:00, UK
Like many of her calibre, PJ Harvey has always committed herself to moving forward and leaving the past in the past.
For some, reinventing their own formula time and time again works, but for Harvey, her own creative flow has to be ever-evolving for it to be gratifying and to mean something. Otherwise, there’s really no point at all. As she once explained it herself, “Probably my biggest fear is that I might start churning out the same kind of records and not realise that that’s what I’m doing.”
One of the biggest associations when it comes to Harvey is her poetic flair – as a master blender of various styles and genres, her worlds often tell stories, some of them connecting with the deeper roots of society itself. In songs like ‘Man Size’ and ‘50ft Queenie’, for instance, Harvey explores feminist tropes through male expectation and masculinity, often subverting overdone styles with a fresher perspective.
In ‘Man Size’, for instance, Harvey captures the concept of freeing herself from the shackles of being a woman, adopting masculinity and parading her newfound power as her “birthright”. She sings, “Man-sized, no need to shout / Can you hear, can you hear me now?”, giving voice to all those who have ever felt silenced by society’s deeply embedded prejudices.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Harvey looks for the same fearlessness in other artists, as well as those who adopt a similar mindset when it comes to the ever-evolving nature of the art itself. One such figure is Björk, whose commitment to innovation and constantly bending the rules of art in music is something that Harvey also feels deeply passionate about.
In fact, Harvey once admitted that she doesn’t enjoy listening to all of Björk’s music, but that she will always admire how every single one of her records “plunges into the unknown”, which “really excites” her. For similar reasons, Harvey has always loved David Bowie and Prince, especially because, with those, it was rarely about commercial success but genuine artistic expression.
Many of her heroes are these boundary-pushing, artistic types who don’t much care for appearing a certain way, so long as they believe in their own voice and ability to create art that is actually meaningful to them. Tom Waits, for instance, was also one of those defining figures who embodied the core principles of art, making music isn’t just about “making money”.
However, there are some figures whom Harvey still fell in love with, despite their commercial streak, as their talent was enough to pull her in and make her fall in love with the music itself. One such figure was quite possibly the only one no one can ever argue with: Elvis Presley. “There is no other Elvis for me,” Harvey told the LA Times. “I was completely in love with Elvis when I was younger, and I was devastated when he died. I love his singing, the passion, the depth in his vocals.”
Growing up, Harvey fell in love with many of blues and rock ‘n’ roll’s defining legends, including Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones, Howlin’ Wolf, and more. But with Presley, no one came close to the feeling he created on vocals alone, alongside the raw energy he could exude from his own personal talent and charm.