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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 21, 2011)
OREGON S LGBTO NEWSMAGAZINE -I music OCTOBER 21. 2011 ► They Only Come Out At Night Uh Huh Her’s sophomore effort Nocturnes sees daylight BY RYAN J. PRADO It’s been said, mainly by entertainment publicists, that there’s no such thing as bad press. And while that remains a relative ob servation—excluding, o f course, someone’s obituary— the fact remains that well-timed salacious dalliances, transgressions or ward robe malfunctions in public can prompt a firestorm of social interest far quicker and with more zest than an emailed press release. Electro-rock duo Uh H uh Her— Camila Grey, 32, and Leisha Hailey, 40 (yes, Alice from The L Word)— are, for better or for worse, now highly aware o f this infallible PR rule. Less than a m onth after they were booted off a Southwest Airlines flight for betraying the company’s “family-friendly” scripture— they were kissing (gasp!), and were subse quently revealed to be a couple— Uh Uh H er’s sophomore album Nocturnes is finally seeing the light of day, three years after the group’s debut, Common Reaction. I t’d be somewhat sad if the timing o f their tryst were the only reason for the group’s newfound notoriety. Luckily, it’s not. Nocturnes, released October 11 on the hand’s own label Plaid Records, bubbles with synth- bass warbles, vivid homage to the bleaker bits o f the New Wave oeuvre (think Joy Division or the Eurythmics) and danceable moments of brooding pop just melodic enough to lull you into a false sense of security before dropping the full extent of its gloom. It’s the classic sym biosis of a dark foundation given a radio-ready facelift, and it’s immediately alluring. For Grey (pictured, left), the grim outlook was an easy source to create from, culling as she was from the time during the band’s split from Nettwerk Records just as their debut LP Common Reaction was released in 2008. The bitter taste transferred over to the songwriting for Nocturnes. “We went on a firing spree and got rid of ev erything old, and wanted a fresh start,” explains Grey. “After an experience like that, it’s trying on you emotionally. We wanted to go back to the basics like, ‘W hy do you make music?”’ The duo opted to take its time in recording a new batch of material, renting a studio in Van Nuys, Calif, and laying down the founda tion for what was to become Nocturnes over the next seven months. Following the initial recordings, the album sat while Grey and Hailey mulled over how they were going to go about releasing their new music. In the meantime, they decided to hand the record ings over for a hit of collaborative production work by friend Wendy Melvoin, who worked most famously with Prince and the Revolu tion. W hat came next was a totally new take on the record Uh Huh Her had been making in the previous months. “I can get stuck into my own little dreamy, synth-pop world,” ruminates Grey. “I’m super pragmatic and I very rarely go outside my own little box. W hen we brought Wendy in, she challenged me. She brought this really crazy, left-of-center element that I’m not used to, which I loved in the end. Both o f our brains ended up working really well together.” Upon release, Nocturnes topped iTunes’Top 10 Electronic albums list, providing an inter esting read from Grey, who insists she was trying to make a rock record. “I was going for this super 70s, Pink Floyd, big wall-of-sound kind o f thing,” explains Grey. “W hen [Nocturnes] was #1 on the elec tronic charts, I was like, ‘This is a rock record.’ I don’t know who gets to name everything on ¡Tunes. I think it takes a more organic rock approach than any o f the other stuff we’ve ever done. We wanted to be a little grittier than normal— less polished, a little more raw. That’s how we were feeling from all the crap that was going on.” However you slice it, the album is garner ing near universal praise. Uh Huh Her is headlining the first ever Keep A Breast Tour, zigzagging the continental United States and Canada to promote awareness and education of breast cancer. The tour benefits the Keep A- Breast Foundation, with volunteers from the organization handing out informational pam phlets, pink ribbons, necklaces, bracelets and more. The ladies begin each of their perfor mances on this tour by bringing a breast can cer survivor on stage to share their story with the audience. “It’s an important thing for young peopl^ to hear, and a cool way to do it through mu sic,” says Grey. Both her grandmothers sur vived breast cancer. Beyond the Keep A Breast Tour, Uh Huh H er hopes to tour Europe before heading back to the States to do more supplemental touring for Nocturnes. W ith all that time to gether, Grey and Hailey, it would seem, have likely not let the unwelcome spotlight o f the" Southwest debacle thwart their camaraderie (journalists are instructed not to ask about the incident by the group’s tour publicist). In fact, as Grey reports, the couple’s offstage balance seems to translate into the creative process as well. “The way I see Leisha is that she’s a bunny and I’m a bear,” giggles Grey. “She’s super light and energetic and really positive, and I’m kind of this broody... I tend to go dark. She really tries to bring out the sweet, light side of me. I don’t know what it is, but from day one when we got together and started writing, it was so easy. It wasn’t ever challeng ing. It’s not like a Fleetwood Mac kind o f thing; there are no huge fights. We comple ment each other really well.” ! • ] The Keep A Breast Tour makes its fin a l stop in Portland Sun., Nov. 6 at the Wonder Ballroom. 128 N E Russell. Jarrod Gorhel opens; 8 p.m. (doors at 7:30); $15 in advance, $17 day o f show; 21+; wonderhallroom.com. -------------------------------------------------------------1 Dianne Appleqate ö u ns. 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