Biting? Raw? Brilliant? 'Uh Huh'

It doesn't happen often, but every once in a while an artist comes along and puts out an album that leaves a deep impression so long after listening that you can't help but be in awe of it. Uh Huh Her is one of these albums, except its force in leaving an impression is so blunt and abrasive that it winds up breaking the skin and bleeding the listener white.\nIt starts with a rumbling guitar in "The Life and Times of Mr. Badmouth," weaves through the faint melodica of "Shame" and resurfaces again on the stunning "The Letter" and "Cat on the Wall" -- its brilliance, an ear for melody, an ability to deftly move between sadness and rage without ever crossing the line into the maudlin or overwrought. "Who the Fuck?" is the only weak track on this album, and its punk toughness saves it from being a total disappointment. Harvey's songwriting has become more ferocious since 2000's Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea, which might surprise fans who've never been torn to shreds by 1993's Rid of Me. For those of us who like the more abrasive Polly Jean Harvey, this is absolutely mind-blowing.\nI stake my reviewing career on this being one of the top-rated albums of the year. Buy it.