Music / Uh Huh Her

Put the pen / to the paper / press the envelope / with my scent

I have not time for hate or love
Hey child, you're so full of woe
I have no time for hate or lying
Hey child, you're no, child of mine

— "No Child of Mine"

Uh Huh Her is the sixth studio album by PJ Harvey, released in 2004. It's arguably her most "raw" album to date, due to her being the producer, something she hasn't done since 4 Track Demos (The album of demos from Rid of Me) in 1993. Also, most of the recording of the album was done alone by PJ using her four-track and eight-track home studio. She played all of the instruments on the album, including guitar, keyboards, and the drum machine. The only instruments she didn't play on the album was the final drum tracks.

Critics have praised the album for being raw, dark, and for PJ's ability to go from gentle singing, to shouting and screaming in one album. The album has produced the singles "The Letter", "You Come Through", "Shame", and "Who the Fuck?".

Tracklist:

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

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The Desperate Kingdom of Tropes:

• Alliterative Title: "The Darker Days Of Me & Him".
• Anti-Love Song: "Shame".
  Shame is the shadow of love
• Arranged Marriage: "The Pocket Knife"
  Please don't make my wedding dress
  I'm too young to marry yet
  Can you see my pocket knife?
  You can't make me be a wife
  How the world just turns & turns
  How does anybody learn?
• Cluster F-Bomb: In "Who The Fuck?", as indicated by the title.
  Who, who, who?
  Fuck, fuck, fuck, you!
• Exactly What It Says on the Tin: "Seagulls"
• Face on the Cover: A close-up of P.J. in a car.
• Instrumentals: "The End".
• Intentionally Awkward Title: "Who The Fuck?"
• Limited Lyrics Song: "No Child Of Mine".
  I have no time for hate or love
  Hey child, you're so full of woe
  I have no time for hate of lying
  Hey child, you're no child of mine
• Lyrical Cold Open: "Who The Fuck?".
• Lyrical Dissonance: In "The Pocket Knife", PJ's voice sounds pretty child-like, but the song is about an arranged marriage of a young girl.
• Miniscule Rocking: "No Child of Mine", "The End", and "Seagulls" are all between 1-2 minutes. However, "No Child of Mine" is just an excerpt; the full version is on Marianne Faithfull's album Before the Poison.
• One-Word Title: "Shame" and "Seagulls".
• Questioning Title?: "Who The Fuck?"
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech:
  • PJ gives one to her man in "The Life & Death Of Mr. Badmouth":
  Baby, you got a bad bad mouth
  Everything is poison that's coming out
  Cheating, lying since the day you were born
  Someone outta rinse it out with soap
  • "Who The Fuck?:"
  Who the fuck do you think you are?
  Get out of my hair
  who the fuck do you think you are?
  Comin' round here
• Soap Punishment: In "The Life & Death of Mr. Badmouth," PJ tells her lover to "rinse his mouth out with soap."
• Surprisingly Gentle Song: "The Desperate Kingdom of Love," compared to the other songs of this album (even the more gentler ones), is very pretty.
• Title-Only Chorus: "Cat on the Wall."
• Single Stanza Song: "No Child Of Mine."

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