Rocktrospectiva: The Dirty "Uh Huh Her" Turns 20

 

Released on 31 May 2004, "Uh Huh Her" was the sixth studio album by British musician PJ Harvey, written, recorded and produced over a two-year period by the singer-songwriter herself, she also played every instrument on the album, with the exception of the final drum tracks, added by long-time collaborator Rob Ellis, the album spawned three singles "The Letter", "You Come Through", & "Shame".

 

The record was commercial successfully, even bigger than the brilliant "Stories From the City, Stories From The Sea", but in some places, it failed to achieve its predecessor's chart longevity and interest by audiences. Written and recorded over a two-year period in Dorset and Los Angeles, most of the recordings was done alone by Harvey herself using a four track and eight track home studio, guitar, keyboards and drum machine, she produced the whole album and received the help from her longtime collaborator Rob Ellis. 

According to musician, this album had gentle and loving songs, some other are the kind of fun songs, replied that she wanted to get back to her roots, focusing into a more dirty rootsy and earthy kind of things, also she wanted to record as simple as possible, in some parts wanted to be ugly, swagger in others but in the end, she wanted to project a real honesty and intimacy warmness and closeness, a some kind of welcome record, which actually was kind of contrast with the extreme sound and topics of her earlier records. 

There are some tracks such as "The Desperate Kingdom Of Love" or "You Come Through" which the artist considered really optimistic and tender, the guitars here were tuned so low or even played through the awful and cheapest amps the artist could find, in order to capture a distressed or debased sound, some other tracks sounds playful like the tantrum "Who The Fuck?", or the noisy and erotic frustrating that is "The Letter", "The Life And Death of Mr. Badmouth" is an intersting tune as a reminiscence of the artist earlier recordings in which she explores the feral fury, she also manages to create and explore something new with certain tracks such as "Pocket Knife" which is something like a murder creppy ballad conjuring the hidden feminine power, other tracks such a "Cat On The Wall" and "It's You" had a generic Harvey vibe, "Shame" is a latin flavor tune and "The Desperate Kingdom Of Love" is a strange beauty tune. Definitely one of the most curious album by the artist, in where she balances her bold and vulnerable moments but manages to keep herself vital. 

The critical reception was strong, describing the record as something profound and touching, raw, dark, and beautiful and with intimate sigh, that made this record truly potent with more perspectives and characters, than any album released before by the artist.  

 

Uh Huh Her Track List:  

1. The Life And Death of Mr. Badmouth

2. Shame

3. Who The Fuck?

4. Pocket Knife

5. The Letter

6. The Slow Drug

7. No Child Of Mine

8. Cat On The Wall

9. You Come Through

10. It's You

11. The End

12. The Desperate Kingdom Of Love

13. Seagulls

14. The Darker Days Of Me & Him