4-Track Demos (1993)

Whether to defy convention, demystify herself, or perhaps just fulfill her contract, postpunk iconoclast Polly Harvey immediately follows her sophomore effort, Rid of Me, with recordings of the original rough drafts of its songs. This album's state-of-the-bedroom quality may not immediately transform the often-abrasive English singer-writer-guitarist into a household name — but 4-Track does provide a chillingly intimate peek into the fierce musical ethic of an independent and compelling voice. A