Catty Driving Music For Suburban Illinois

PACK UP THE CATS

Local H

Island Records

Tired of distorted guitar riffs, pounding drums and the occasional bass breaks? Too bad, because Local H explores these elements as very few in the post-grunge era have in Pack Up the Cats. Repetitious, almost hypnotizing chord structures pull the listener in with building crescendos along with the typical start and stop patterns which made 1996's "Bound For The Floor" a hit.

Local H's sophomore album As Good As Dead (1996) opened the eyes of audiences everywhere with its raw appeal, but the group also gained a level of notoriety due to its members: Joe Daniels and Scott Lucas. In a world of elaborate back-up bands with three guitarists on every song, Daniels and Lucas have managed to create a hard-edge duo without sacrificing the complex underlying melodies that rock fans demand. The liner notes expound on the duties of the two collaborators: Daniels drums and whistles, while Lucas takes care of "the other stuff."

Lucas' "other stuff" gives the album its edge with many high-energy melodies accompanied by his driving voice. At live performances, equipped with a guitar with bass pickups on the low strings, Lucas creates an intense atmosphere that brings back the glory days of shallow teen angst.

The album proves a mixture of signature start/stop riffs strung together by lengthy chord progressive choruses, often spelled by a soft interlude to add to dramatic effect. This album actually reveals the diversity of this typically "heavy" group. The 48-second "Lucky," which continues on the last track as "Lucky Time," gives a respite from the pumped up slam in the first half of the album, but this mellowing effect is countered by the unintelligible "500,000 Scovilles" which leads into one of the album's biggest successes, "What Can I Tell You."

The next track, "Fine and Good" opens with an acoustic intro with a spacey background, setting the scene for the eventual rocking climax. "Lead Pipe Cinch" eerily resembles a Soul Asylum acoustic number, but this aura is broken by "Cool Magnet," a pulsating anthem that could become the album's dark horse hit. Though not yet receiving radio airplay, it conveys the raw, hardcore emotion that is great for blasting out the car window while cruising down the highway at 80 miles per hour.

"She Hates My Job" combines typical Local H with a seducing acoustic flavor that combines the old world of grunge with the now-popular electric-acoustic style. "She Hates My Job" brings all Lucas' and Daniels' talent to the forefront, leaving the occasional sucker-riff out in an effort to create a fluent body of music.

"All The Kids Are Right" will unfortunately be the group's first single. It is unfortunate because Lucas tries to put a little to much gravel in his sliding voice. The result is a sound like Billie Joe from Green Day trying to sing a Wallflowers' song in a scratchy voice. The track gets better as soon as the chorus takes effect, but ultimately, "All The Kids Are Right" doesn't stand out like the rest of the album does. The song has the potential to be three-day hit, but eventually it will fade into overplay-rock obscurity.

The real success of Pack Up The Cats is the second half of the album, which strays from typical rock conventions and moves toward a more expressive tone. The latter half also reveals the best of Local H: the guitars, bass and drive that makes you turn up the volume to ear-bleeding level and pound the crap out of your roommates. Save up any frustration before listening and let it loose singing along with both the vocals and the guitar, but be sure to take the occasional soft section as a break, because the intensity with which Local H hits leaves pretenders behind.