Uh Huh Her (album)

Infobox Album | Name = Uh Huh Her
Type = Album
Artist = PJ Harvey


Released = May 31 2004 (UK)
June 8 2004 (US)
Recorded = 2002-2003
Genre = Alternative rock
Length = 40:48
Label = Island
Producer = PJ Harvey
Reviews =
*Allmusic Rating|4|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=Aovjleae64xd7 link]
*"The Guardian" Rating|3|5 [http://www.guardian.co.uk/arts/reviews/story/0,11712,1225923,00.html link]
*"NME" (5/10) [http://www.nme.com/reviews/11659.htm link]
*"The A.V. Club" (Mixed) [http://avclub.com/content/node/15293 link]
*Pitchfork Media (7.6/10) [http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/18390/PJ_Harvey_Uh_Huh_Her link]
*Robert Christgau Rating-Christgau|hm2 [http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?id=1087&name=PJ+Harvey link]
*"Rolling Stone" Rating|3.5|5 [http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/album/6070469 link]
*"Slant Magazine" Rating|3.5|5 [http://www.slantmagazine.com/music/music_review.asp?ID=451 link]
*"Spin" (8/10) Jun 2004, p.101
*"Village Voice" (Favourable) [http://www.villagevoice.com/music/0424,catucci,54300,22.html 5/11/04]
Last album = "Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea"
(2000)
This album = "Uh Huh Her"
(2004)
Next album = "The Peel Sessions 1991–2004"
(2006)

"Uh Huh Her" is a 2004 (see 2004 in music) album by British singer-songwriter PJ Harvey.

History

The album was written and recorded over a two-year period in Dorset and Los Angeles. Much of the recording was done alone by Harvey using her four-track and eight-track home studio, guitar, keyboards and drum machine. For the first time since 1993's "4-Track Demos" album, she produced it herself and played every instrument bar the final drum tracks, which were handled by her longtime collaborator Rob Ellis. Final engineering and mixing work was done by Head in rural Devon in autumn/winter 2003.

"Uh Huh Her" was released in May 2004 and became PJ Harvey's highest-charting record on the US Billboard charts, reaching No. 29. In her native UK it peaked at No. 12 and spawned a minor hit with the single "The Letter" which reached No. 28. Overall, however, it didn't spark the same level of crossover interest as its million-selling, gold-certified predecessor "Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea". As per usual with Harvey, the critical reception was generally strong: "Alternative Press" described the record as “profoundly moving”, "Entertainment Weekly" called it “raw, dark and beautiful... a jagged, edgy winner”, and "Time" noted that “No singer since Janis Joplin has moved as easily between primal scream and intimate sigh”. The UK’s "Sunday Times" newspaper hailed it as “a thrilling, bone-rattling barrage, interleaved with moments of hushed, accordion-flecked intimacy whose closeness and apparent candour make you want to shield yourself from their passion.” "Hot Press" magazine, meanwhile, felt it was "an extremely potent record... that contains more perspectives, characters and camera angles than maybe any PJ album to date". It won Harvey her sixth BRIT Award nomination, as Best British Female Artist, and her fifth Grammy award nomination, for Best Alternative Music Performance of 2004.

Harvey told "Mojo" magazine, “I don’t think ‘tender’ is a word that could be applied to anything I’ve written before, but that’s how I feel about this album and I’m really pleased about it. Some of the songs are very gentle, very loving; with others I had a lot of fun in the words I used and the way I sang them.” She explained to "Time Out" magazine how she “wanted to get back to the earthy, rootsy, more dirty side of things” following the popular success of her last album, 2000’s "Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea". She said, “I wanted this record to be simple, I wanted it to be ugly in some places, I wanted it to have a swagger to it… but also a real honesty and intimacy. I wanted a warmness and closeness and I wanted to make a welcoming record." To SPIN magazine she said that, in contrast to the extreme darkness of some of her earlier LPs, “I find an enormous amount of openness and hope on this record… "The Desperate Kingdom of Love” or “You Come Through” I find incredibly optimistic and tender." Harvey also explained to "Tracks" magazine that, “I was looking for distressed, debased sounds. So all of the guitars are either tuned so low that it’s hard to detect what notes they’re playing or they’re baritone guitars or they’re played through the shittiest amps I could find.”

On the inside sleeve of the album cover are a long set of self-portrait photographs that Harvey took over the years, and a series of scribbled annotations she collected during the songwriting process of "Uh Huh Her" - notes to herself such as "Scare yourself", "Too normal? Too PJ H?" and "All that matters is my voice and my story" (a piece of advice given to her by her friend Elvis Costello). She admitted to "Shaken Stir" that producing the record on her own was “a completely draining, disorientating, exasperating, invigorating experience” and “one of the hardest pieces of work I’ve ever done... I couldn’t say that this record was an enjoyable experience. I think it was a journey that I learnt an enormous amount from, but certainly there were very enjoyable moments... I mean when I look back on it now it was a very difficult, hard and taxing time, and yet I’m so glad I did it – so glad.”

Harvey underwent a seven-month tour in support of the album with drummer Rob Ellis and two new bandmates, bass player Dingo and guitarist Josh Klinghoffer, which included various European summer festivals such as Glastonbury, and a few dates opening for Morrissey.

As of 2005, (according to AskBillboard) "Uh Huh Her" has sold 135,000 copies in the US.

There is a song called "Uh Huh Her" that was not included on the album, but was regularly played during the world tour.

Track listing

All tracks written by PJ Harvey.

# "The Life & Death of Mr. Badmouth" – 4:53
# "Shame" – 2:33
# "Who the Fuck?" – 2:09
# "Pocket Knife" – 3:44
# "The Letter" – 3:22
# "The Slow Drug" – 3:25
# "No Child of Mine" – 1:08
# "Cat on the Wall" – 3:03
# "You Come Through" – 2:48
# "It's You" – 4:13
# "The End" – 1:23
# "The Desperate Kingdom of Love" – 2:44
# Untitled ("Seagulls") – 1:11
# "The Darker Days of Me & Him" – 4:34

ingles and promo videos

# "The Letter"
# "You Come Through"
# "Shame"
# "Who the Fuck?"

amples

Personnel

*PJ Harvey: vocals, electric and acoustic guitar, bass, piano, melodica, accordion, autoharp, producer, engineer, mixing
*Rob Ellis: drums, percussion, background vocals
*Head: engineer, mixing, background vocals
*Evelyn Isaac: background vocals
*Rob Crane & Maria Mochnacz: artwork

Charts

Album

ingles

External Links

[http://blastmagazine.com/the-magazine/features/2008/08/uh-huh-her-opposites-attract/ Long-form interview] Blast magazine