REVIEWS
Local H-Pack Up the Cats
Label: Island Genre: Alternative File Under: Dog-free zone
Rating: 77
Scott Lucas is no dummy. In fact, when it comes to the vagaries of rock stardom, he's a student of the fickle tastes and volatile temperament of his audience. And as the multifaceted Lucas and his partner, drummer Joe Daniels, worked up the songs for their third album, Pack Up the Cats , they were clearly aware that after the modern-rock mainstream's embrace of 1996's As Good as Dead (and its "hits," "High-Fiving MF" and "Bound for the Floor"), Local H was due for the same kind of backlash of indifference that has made one-hit wonders out of so many mid-'90s hitmakers. Rather than tread carefully, however, the duo from Zion, Ill., embraces the threat. First the duo sings about it-"All your cred can't save you from the kids," Lucas declares on Cats' incendiary anthem, "All the Kids Are Right"-then they proceed to turn out one hell of an album, a disc that shakes the walls with hooks and power chords in songs that range from grungy to glammy, punchy to punky. Making no small contribution is Roy Thomas Baker, the famed arena-rock producer known for his work with Queen, the Cars, and Cheap Trick who helps Local H get a big, room-rattling sound, while engineer Nick DiDia, whose credits include Rage Against the Machine and Pearl Jam, plays the foil, tempering Baker's tendency towards studio slickness.
But this sonic strategy would be for naught if the songs weren't there-and they are, in abundance. Commenting smartly on the maelstrom of the rock and roll life ("Laminate Man" slams hangers-on; "She Hates My Job" and "Lucky Time" lament the toll it takes on love), Pack Up the Cats celebrates the idea of big, stomping rawk even as it lampoons the hype. "What was all the buzz about? It's only me, stupid me," Lucas rails over a wall of guitar noise in "All-Right (Oh, Yeah)," while "Cool Magnet" (with a guitar solo by Stone Temple Pilots' Dean DeLeo) froths with the kind of rage that would make any adolescent proud. Elsewhere, "Deep Cut" flaunts the deadpan grunge of Alice in Chains, while "Hit the Skids" and "Laminate Man" have so much glam crunch the ghost of Marc Bolan must have visited Baker's Arizona studios during the sessions. Pack Up the Cats is proof that masterful power rock isn't dead, so much so that when Lucas sings early on that "I'm in love with rock and roll, But that will change eventually," we should pray that he's kidding.
Gary Graff
Local H's third CD is unimpressive
Staff Writer
"Pick up the Cats" (spell it right you idiot) is Local H's third album. Their debut album "Hamfisted" was largely unnoticed, and "As Good as Dead" was the band's big break through. It's hard to forget the chorus to "Bound for the Floor," You just don't get it / You keep it copcetic. Now after their proclaimed success, the pressure is on to produce a worthy follow-up to "As Good as Dead."\par The two albums interact with each other, since "As Good as Dead" pertains to the major theme of being stuck in a small town called Zion, Ill., and the major theme of "Pick Up the Cats" is moving from the suburbs to the big-time city. The band largely has Nirvana influences with such songs as "Fine and Good," "Cool Magnet," "Deep Cut" and "What Can I Tell You?" Scott Lucas' voice has great similarities to Kurt Cobain. \par Roy Thomas Baker is the producer of the album who worked with such '70s bands as The Cars, Queen, Cheap Trick and Journey. Due to this, the drum tracks have '70s-inspired beats. With the between-song effects, there's an unbroken flow of sound throughout the whole album much in the style of Pink Floyd. The band's unity can be compared to that of R.E.M. \par With all these similarities to other music groups, there is one trait that makes Local H unique: Local H is a two-man band. Scott Lucas is the guitarist, bassist and singer. Lucas plays guitar with bass pickup on the low strings, so he can play bass and guitar while he sings. The other half of the band, Joe Daniels, compliments Lucas' guitar action with tom riffs. Amazingly, it sounds like a four-man band.\par Most of the subject material for this band's songs are the love of playing music, problems with being in a rock and roll band, happiness and your surroundings affecting your outlook in life. The lyrics are simple and to the point such as discussing fights with girlfriends, bad jobs and subtle jokes against the whole music industry in general.
"All the Kids Are Right" is about a rock band playing a bad show, resulting in their fans turning against them, as such lyrics describe You heard that we were great/ but now you think we're lame,/since you saw the show last night." The song is popular on the radio, and does have a catchy tune. "All Right (Oh Yeah)" makes fun at bad lyric writing, and "What Can I Tell You?" tells of a song writer who feels inadequate as you hear What can I say that you can't say better? What can I tell you" "Lucky Time" is about a dreamer wishing a better status in life, and "Hit the Skids: Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Rock and Roll" is forgetting your image, and enjoying the music.
Despite the great influences of Nirvana, Pink Floyd and R.E.M, the album mainly leaves me unimpressed. They sound like Nirvana, but do not possess the graceful, poetic outlook of Cobain. The instrumentals of guitar and drums are melodic and have good rhythm, but get overlooked by the lyric writing. They could have used a bit more creativity in their title naming.
The title of the album goes along with numerous references to cats in their songs, but the meaning of the cats is never revealed as I listened to the album. Not to mention, the cat theme got irritating after awhile. Local H comes off with a good song now and then, their ideas are fun and they have talent potential, but they need maturity and to develop
By DOUG ELFMAN
Entertainment Writer
The duo Local H, best known for their rocker of a hit, "Bound for the Floor" ("Born to be down"), could use another musician or two to drum up melody changes, because the two of them are stringing out a lot of talent but not enough ideas.
That leads to redundancy in the superbly-named "Pack Up the Cats" (3 out of five). Singer/guitarist Scott Lucas and drummer Joe Daniels bang out cool grunge melodies, just not enough to give the album a lasting, layered texture.
Don't be completely scared off. "Cats" is full of nice, thick guitar licks that music people like to call "power chords." And Lucas is cranky yet composed on catchy songs like the single, "All the Kids Are Right," which rocks while making fun of band/fan relationships:
"You heard that we were great, but now you think we're lame, since you saw the show last night. ... And it may be OK that you won't wear our T-shirts now, anymore." \par The guys in Local H don't have to be a peripheral band. They're musically charming. If they had more turns of musical phrase, they'd draw more praise.
Local H
Zion power duo started out as a 4-piece, and gradually lost a guitar player and bassist, leaving just Scott Lucas and Joe Daniels. On their Island Record debut, Ham Fisted you don't miss 'em, though. Their second effort, As Good As Dead, they don't sound quite so much like Nirvana and -- because of a lot of touring (opening for the likes of the Stone Temple Pilots), its sold 250,000+ copies. Their new album, Pack Up The Cats was produced by Roy Thomas Baker (Queen, The Cars, Journey), and it seems like -- surprisingly -- a good fit. They recently made their movie debut in Samuel L. Jackson's movie The Great White Hype. They're not physically in the film, but Jackson first meets "great white hope" Terry Conklin performing the band's "Feed" with his garage band "Massive Head Wound." They're currently relaxing after spending 18 months on tour...
You can hear answering machine messages of Fig Dish' s Blake Smith, l Jesus Lizard's David Sims, and Juliana Hatfield on a bonus CD given away by Best Buy to promote Pack Up The Cats.
The Village Voice May 21, 1996
Robert Christgau (consumer guide)
Local H: As Good As Dead (Island)
Quintessential exponents of what the cynics at Spin call scrunge, the two young guys from Illinois are a studyin the uses and limits of originality. After theis debut proved only that singer-guitarist-bassist-headman Scott Lucas and drummer-dynamo Joe Daniels were the bashroll howl-born (???), they figured out enough riffs and hooksto transform sound into song, and now evoke a tragic Seattle trio who shallremain nameless. I wish Pearl Jam, whose leader stars in the title song,oacked such isometric power- the sense of tremendous force bravely exertedagainst implacable reality- and I say the exercise makes all of us stronger.Even if it develops further, which is about as unlikely as it having gottenthis far, it will never replace the original. But these days we need and reassurance the music machine can cough up. A MINUS
REQUEST June 1996
POP-METAL DUO LOCAL H IS NO ONE-TRICK PONY.
Local H is a Midwestern band with a gimmick: There are only two people in the group, a drummer and a singer/guitarist who pumps his guitar through a bass amp, creating a fat low-end sound. But once you get past the novelty,"As Good As Dead" (Island), the band's second album, is remarkably strongand confident. Distinct melodies and deft hooks nestle comfortably in some of the crunchiest, most distorted riffing of the year. And Local H's energetic delivery shows the band is much more than a one-trick pony.
Guitar World June 1996
Local H "As Good As Dead" (Island) The guitars sound like Godzilla getting an enema, and they swear like sailors on shore leave. Why don't more bandsmake records like this? There's even a song called "Eddie Vedder." My mom gets this for Christmas. * * * 1/2