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Uh Huh Her members Camila Grey (left)
and Leisha Hailey (right) |
There are only a few artists that I've been with since day one. LA-based duo Uh Huh Her is the first that comes to mind. Like many, I knew about UHH long before they released their debut EP,
I See Red, in 2007. Part of it was due to Leisha Hailey's involvement in the group (many recognize her as Alice Pieszecki of Showtime's
The L Word), and the other was due to my immense love for synth pop during my high school years. I remember hearing a demo of "Say So" on the groups Myspace page the day it was released and absolutely falling in love. Superficially, I think I was initially infatuated with the idea of Hailey playing an instrument and fronting an all-female band (the idea kind of struck me as this surreal continuation of
The L Word, because if Alice wasn't an overbearing journalist, I could've totally seen her in a synth pop band.) However, my obsession with the group stuck around long after the release of "Say So" and remained consistent through the release of their debut LP,
Common Reaction, the following year. Long story short:
Common Reaction was a killer record. It combined the perfect amount of shoe-gazey instrumentation, hypnotizing melodies (i.e. the last minute and ten seconds of "Explode", the pre-chorus of "Covered", etc) and an inspired level of production that ended up transferring over perfectly for a debut album. Personally, my favorite track off the record is "So Long", due to its repeated hammering guitar riffs, lead-vocalist Camila Grey's angsty delivery of the line
"Twenty four hours is not enough time to make me feel alright", and the ability to incorporate everything I mentioned in the previous sentence. The duo's next full length release would come three years later and divert from their original shoegazy/synth tone.
Nocturnes (2011)
was a pretty interesting follow up to
Common Reaction when looking at the sound the debut initially established for the duo. Their sophomore release definitely favored a more polished and traditional style of rock/pop production. Produced by Wendy Melvoin (made famous by Wendy & Lisa of Prince & The Revolution),
Nocturnes was a highly commercial release for Grey and Hailey. However, the commercial (and when I say commercial I mean popularized sound) aspects of the record proved to be a progressive transformation for the group. Songs like "Marstorm", "Wake to Sleep" and "Another Case" are subjectively some of the bands best recordings to date. Since releasing
Nocturnes in 2011, they put out a third EP,
EP3, and began recording their next effort. Continuing with a push for musical growth and transformation, UHH announced the release of their third full length record in late 2013.
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Future Souls will mark the release
of Uh Her Her's third full length LP |
Their upcoming release,
Future Souls, appears to be a transgression back to a more individual sound that initially hooked listeners back in 2008. Their first singles, "Innocence" and "It's Chemical", both have their roots heavily embedded in electronic sound. While "Innocence" finds itself grappling with the changes of living in a technocratic society, "It's Chemical" speaks of ending love in a fleeting relationship. As a sucker for angst-driven love songs, I find myself drawn to "It's Chemical" due to it's lyrical vulnerability and melodic structure (two of the qualities that made me fall in love with UHH in the first place.) Camila Grey has a deeply personal way of delivering vocals that makes almost all UHH listening experiences very idiosyncratic. She has a soft and mumbled way of phrasing her words that often times make it difficult to interpret exactly what she is saying. When she sings,
"I gave you good love, I gave you memories, you can convert that to whatever you would like to see", you can't help but feel like she cautiously is sharing a story with listeners. Maybe it's because I can particularly relate to the song, but I have always felt like Grey's vocal delivery is one immersed in honesty and vulnerability. This honesty is what seperates Uh Huh Her from the slew of other pop-based groups putting out music today. Unlike their peers, Grey and Hailey have the ability to coincide their lyrical and musical growth with their individual transformation in a way a way that is refreshing and sincere. Although there has been very little promotion regarding the release of
Future Souls, fans of the group are anticipating the release of a record that will more than likely prove to be one of the bands best to date. We already know that the two are returning with the same level of emotion present in past releases, however, it questionable what reiteration of the bands original sound will be emerge.
Future Souls will be released on March 25 via Plaid Records. Stream single "It's Chemical" below:
