The seventh long player from P J Harvey is a return to form.
The follow up to Stories from the City, Stories from the Seasees
Harvey returning to a much more acoustic sound, very different to
the lush production of Stories. At first, Harvey seems to have
calmed down; the cover shows her looking composed, passive even,
and the initial track ‘Badmouth’ is a melodic refrain
revolving around the repetition of “wash it, wash it
out.” But judging by ‘Who the Fuck’ (a track
which, if we are to take it literally is a story of a bad
haircut) Harvey is as angry as ever. The overall impression of Uh
Huh Her is not one of anger; rather the album gives a clear sense
of Harvey’s particular brand of humor. From the minute-long interlude of seagull’s squawking to
the lyrics of ‘Who the Fuck,’ “I’m not like
your’ girls, you can’t straighten my curls,”
against a background of screaming guitars Harvey seems to be
resisting taking herself too seriously. Because of its less polished sound, Uh Huh Her sounds more
emotionally raw and encompasses Harvey’s entire vocal range,
from the shrieking ‘Radio Oh Oh,’ to the hushed and
melancholic ‘No Child of Mine.’ The album gets quieter
towards the end, which allows Harvey’s lyrical poignancy to
come to the fore. On first hearing, Uh Huh Herappears to
vacillate from one end of the emotional spectrum to another, but
on closer inspection it presents a coherent depiction of love in
the Twentyfirst Century.ARCHIVE: 6th week TT 2004
PJ Harvey: Uh Huh Her
