Uh Huh Her Issue #37

Common Reaction (Nettwerk)

By Catherine Patterson
Published: September 1st, 2008 | 5:35pm

“Lie down / Just give it up / Dance with me,” Leisha Hailey and Camila Grey sing in unison on Common Reaction’s “Dance With Me.” Such dance-friendly lyrics are appropriate, as Uh Huh Her’s debut explores electropop boundaries, putting together danceable, sometimes sing-along-worthy, tracks. Hailey — recognizable as Alice Pieszecki from The L Word — and Grey sing together on the tracks, their mesmerizing vocals rising over the backdrop of guitars, synth, and drums.

The record’s opening track, “Not a Love Song,” serves as a beacon of freedom and a declaration of moving on, with the duo crooning, “I see I disappoint you / Why don’t you find another threat?” While the following track, “Explode,” limits the talents of Hailey and Grey, and they don’t utilize their strong voices as well as they can. “Everyone” also serves as a pretty standard nobody-believes-we-can-make-this-work tune.

However, just as “Explode” makes one wonder what happened to the duo’s talents, its energizing successor, “Wait Another Day,” provides an uplifting opportunity to dance yet never drowns out their voices with too much synth. The final track, “Dreamer,” is a smart song about a woman questioning a relationship and examining the validity of her beliefs. It’s the high point of the album and definitely a solid way to close the collection of songs.

Uh Huh Her is a talented pair. The duo proves they the capacity to compose songs that flaunt their strengths; both sing, play keys, synth, and guitars. Fans of The L Word and the don’t-even-subscribe-to-Showtime set will enjoy the record alike.

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