More than a decade after Nocturnes quietly cemented its place as an overlooked electropop gem, Uh Huh Her are revisiting the album with a fresh perspective. The duo of Camila Grey and Leisha Hailey have announced Nocturnes: Redux, arriving 7 August via Kill Rock Stars, pairing previously unheard original mixes with their first new material in 12 years.
The announcement follows the release of comeback single ‘Shook’, which Backseat Mafia recently covered as the band’s long-awaited return. Now, Uh Huh Her have unveiled another preview in the form of a striking reinterpretation of Sonic Youth’s landmark feminist anthem ‘Kool Thing’.
Rather than simply recreating the 1990 original, the duo reshape the song around its central message. By removing the male spoken responses that punctuated Sonic Youth’s version, Grey and Hailey place Kim Gordon’s lyrics squarely at the forefront. As Hailey explains, the decision was intentional, describing the cover as “our love letter to this perfect feminist punk manifesto” and a way of amplifying its challenge to patriarchal structures without interruption.
The reissue also opens the vault on producer Tchad Blake’s original mixes of Nocturnes. Known for his work with artists including Arctic Monkeys, The Bangles and Sheryl Crow, Blake’s first and second passes on the album have remained unheard until now. Grey says those early mixes captured an instinctive energy that was gradually softened through later revisions, resulting in versions that are longer, rougher around the edges and closer to the band’s original vision.
Alongside ‘Shook’ and ‘Kool Thing’, Nocturnes: Redux presents the album in a form that reflects where Uh Huh Her stood creatively before compromise entered the process. It also arrives at a time when the duo’s influence on indie and alternative pop is being reassessed, with their blend of synth-driven melodies, post-punk textures and understated cool continuing to resonate well beyond the indie sleaze era in which they first emerged.
For longtime listeners, Nocturnes: Redux offers a chance to hear a familiar record through a different lens. For newer audiences discovering Uh Huh Her for the first time, it serves as a reminder of why Grey and Hailey remain such distinctive voices within alternative pop.
