Search - Local H :: 12 Angry Months

The 90's success story that should have been.

D. C. Ober | Boston, MA | 06/29/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Two Bands.



Both gained the public spotlight during the aftershocks of the nineties grunge earthquake. Both earned their success through unbearably catchy singles. Both bands appeared dead after their major label sequels failed to meet expectations. Both resurrected themselves in the new millennium after a lengthy hiatus where they lost and replaced a band mate.



That's where the similarities end. One of these bands went on to recapture their mid-nineties songwriting skills and added a few new tricks while they survived playing small clubs and searching out independent labels for their newer albums. The other band sounded like a cheap knockoff but still managed to sell out stadiums and eat up internet chatter about their latest new release.



I'm talking about Local H and Weezer here. In my mind it is one of the great tragedies of our time that Weezer, a band who hasn't been able to write a truly great song for well over a decade, has managed to coast on nostalgia selling millions of records while Local H, a band that is as strong, if not stronger, than they were in the alternative rock heyday, is remembered as a one hit wonder. Now that both acts are putting out new albums in the same year I wish I could claim that things are about to change and that a chiasmus shift will occur finding Local H on top and Weezer looking for a record deal. Instead, expect Weezer to put out a series of albums that sound as if they were recorded during a coke fueled all-nighter right before deadline ("Hey, remember that old Shaker song, we'll just use that and people will think we're being clever"), and Local H will continue to put out consistently good to great albums so long as they find a label willing to distribute them.



It's a real shame too, because 12 Angry Months is the best Local H album since Pack Up the Cats. Not coincidently both albums emerge from the concept records of the 1970's, but instead of the mystifying and campy sci-fi rock of Electric Light Orchestra or Styxx, Local H's album long tales are of a more personal nature. Pack Up the Cats chronicled a band moving from the countryside to the big city and realizing that many of the same tribulations exist in both places. 12 Angry Months is a break up album that follows the despondent over a single post-break up year. As you might guess each song corresponds to a month.



What's particularly powerful about Local H's latest is the sheer honesty. This isn't a collection of wistful songs about a lost love engineered to be perfect background music to sip one's morning cup of joe. Instead, Scott Lucas realizes that most relationships end in an immolation that engulfs both participants. On "White Belt Boys" Lucas repeats "I hope you have a lonely life" and Lucas is his least sympathetic on "Jesus Christ! Did You See..." where he bluntly states, "to think I used to f*** you." Sentiments like these are effective because of their honesty, and because Lucas realizes they emerge as much out of his hatred of another as they do out of self-loathing, as evinced by the mantra "only a groupie would ever want to love me."



The transition from love burned to denouement backtracks from introspection to anger. Songs that hint at some sort of reconciliation, like "Simple Pleas'" acoustic guitar, are tempered by the anger evident in the industrial sounding percussion on "Machine Shed Wrestling." The album accurately chronicles how hatred lies underneath the most sophisticated of sentiments. Lucas's wit is underrated, and it is his sense of humor that also helps him recognize what the hell happened. On "The One With `Kid'" he describes the process of disentangling the couple's integrated record collection, a task that leads him to accusatorily ask where his Kyuss records are, and to claim "you never liked them until you met me." Later, in "Machine Shed Wrestling," Lucas sings "As a product you would be great, and all the income you generate, but as a lover you're just a bust, you're not a service I can trust," suggesting that the two first met comparing notes about their recently divorced record collection.



A rock band like Local H who openly confesses their love of Daft Punk is the kind of rock band who can write some great pop songs. This is perhaps the most disappointing aspect of the Weezer/Local H comparisons. Despite being known as a power pop band, Weezer hasn't written a truly memorable pop song since their second album. Skim the top four songs off of just this one Local H album and compare it to the top four songs from Weezer's last four records and I guarantee you every Local H song will win the pop category.



But Local H doesn't just stop at writing catchy songs, they also have a knack at writing final songs that sums up everything that came before. On "Hand to Mouth" Lucas repeats the lines "You'll learn what really matters, you'll know what really counts, you'll hear the chitter-chatter, they say when you're living hand to mouth," with variation, on into infinity. Each intonation suggests a new and slightly different understanding of the phrase. Built upon tricks old and new, "Hand to Mouth" is possibly the best song in Local H has written to date, and possibly my favorite song so far this year.



The music industry has undergone some mighty peculiar changes since the 1990's. I wish all of it was for the better. Despite the injustices that still exist in the marketplace, I'll be happy if the long-tail provides enough room for a band like Local H to continue to write great albums without being forced to ride the wave of the inevitable 90's nostalgia trend. I'll end before you get me started on the Stone Temple Pilots' reunion. That's a whole other review."

Their Best Since 'Pack Up The Cats'

CBlaze | Batavia, IL | 05/19/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Local H is a highly underrated 2-man band from the Chicagoland area. They have a knack for creating catchy hard rock with solid riffs and bitter lyrics - and they have been succeeding in this in the shadow of the mainstream for over a decade now. Their latest album '12 Angry Months' is more of the same that fans of the band have come to expect.



The production of this album is extremely raw - more than anything they've done before - it may take a little getting used to. I for one - expect their albums to be more polished - and their live stuff to have this kind of rawness. But with the success they've had over the years as a live act - it doesn't surprise me that they would want to bring that into a studio album to try and capture that energy. For example - the tracks go from song to song with no break - which reminds me of how they waste little time ripping from one song to another live. This may leave the listener somewhat out of breath being bombarded like this - but for fans of the band - this should come as no surprise.



Musically Local H has shown their willingness to mature and create more complex sounds in their music. Yet, this album doesn't really expand much from what they did on their previous album `Whatever Happened to PJ Soles?' - where they go from psychedelic and spacey - to soft and sweet - to rock your ears until they bleed. The production of the album probably took a bit away from their options to expand any further but that's okay - it fits with the theme of the album.



As for the theme - this album chronicles a year of an on-and-off relationship. Each song tackles an emotion that you generally feel at the end of a bad relationship. They break down like this...



- Splitting up the friends/bars/and most importantly the record collection "The One with `kid'"

- The friends asking about your relationship status "Michelle (again)"

- You replaced me with some shallow jerk? "BMW Man"

- Bitter hate wishes "White Belt Boys"

- You're moving on - but I can't (not yet) "Summer of Boats"

- I'm desperate and I'm going out to prove I don't need you "Taxi-Cabs"

- Rationalizing the relationship and why it's better off we're apart "24-Hour Break-Up Session"

- I want you but I hate you "Jesus Christ! Did You See the Size of that Sperm Whale?"

- We can work it out - remember our connection - let's negotiate a truce "Simple Pleas"

- I got you back only to remember why we shouldn't be together "Machine Shed Wrestling"

- I have to try to resist you "Blur"

- Once you get away from the relationship for a while you'll start to know what really matters "Hand to Mouth"



From my own past break-up experiences - a lot of lyrics really resonate with me especially in "Michelle (again)" where the friends make a commentary about how "he fell in love before he'll fall in love again - with someone not like Michelle" which just reminds you of the traits of your ex - and even though they are trying to help - it only hurts by reminding you of her (and the singer's [Scott Lucas] repetition of her name at the end really drive in that point). In "24-Hour Break-Up Session" where it's an all night all out break-up fight - where you rationalize EVERYTHING. And some of the post-break-up encounters in "Jesus Christ! Did You See the Size of that Sperm Whale?" - where the music really emphasizes how two people try to have a physical relationship without the emotions - and where you're pulled two ways by the lyrics of "looking fine in your skin" and "I think that I hate you".



The fact that they focus on one thing throughout the album is where it's more of a "success" than some of their previous efforts. Most of their previous albums had an unfocused hostility that was scattered all over from the being pissed at the government - hating on mullet haired idiots - annoyance with California bands - and their sarcastic view of the rock `n roll business. So, it's refreshing to hear what they can do when they focus their energies much like their 3rd (and best) album `Pack Up the Cats' where they focus on telling a story through the entire album.



I recommend this album to anyone who enjoys 90's hard rock/garage rock - anyone who just got out of a bitter relationship and you need to hear something that might help put an exclamation point on the end of the break-up. Every song on this album is a 4 or 5 star song and other than wanting to take a piece of sand paper to a few areas - it's a fantastic album.

"

Great Album

Music Lover | Chicago | 05/23/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Local H, in my mind, has always been an underrated band. A lot of their music has gone unnoticed and that truly is a shame.



12 Angry Months is a very solid album with a lot of great songs.



The first single, 24 Hour Breakup Session, is a great jam.



Other standouts include:



Michelle, BMW Man, White Belt Boys, Taxi-Cabs, Blur, and Hand to Mouth.



If you like Local H, and dont know a lot about them, check out the very underrated album Here Comes The Zoo.



Get this album, you wont be disappointed.



"