shotglass75
05-17-2008, 10:08 AM
Have always been a fan of this band. They have been a major part (at least for me) in the Chicago music scene for over 10 years now and continue to put on amazing live show and releasing great albums. New album was released this week and this is one of their most diverse and complex albums to date. "taxi cabs" is very dark and almost cryptic with it's string arrangements and the triple assault of drums on "white belt boys" is brutality at its best. They are on tour across the country right now so I highly recommend that you try and go see them.
www.localh.com
www.myspace.com/localh
Los Angeles, CA – Alternative rock mainstays Local H return with their seventh album on May 13, titled 12 Angry Months. The band’s debut on Shout! Factory, 12 Angry Months is Local H’s first new studio album since 2004’s Whatever Happened To P.J. Soles?
Written after the bitter end of a long-term relationship, the album chronicles a full year of post-breakup experiences. Each track on 12 Angry Months corresponds to a month, and deals with the range of emotions one encounters after love turns sour. Those emotions range from anger (“so, baby could you do me a favor? fall off the earth and i'll see you later”), to jealousy (“this is crazy, I can’t believe that you replaced me”), to acceptance (“you knew we’d never make it anyway”).
Highly regarded for their powerful sound and unique two-man lineup with Scott Lucas on vocals and guitar and Brian St. Clair on drums, Local H is known for derisive lyrics, heavy guitars and feedback, energetic live shows, and an active relationship with their fans. The band performs regularly, and will be on tour nationally in 2008.
In 2007 Local H showcased their typical humor when they played a show at Chicago’s Cellular Field, and fans were only granted by finding Lucas around town and proclaiming “Attention all planets of the Solar Federation - we have assumed control.” Other shows have seen the band passing out a sushi menu-type ballot to take song requests, auctioning off a concert on eBay, and performing under the names and guises of other bands, including Nirvana, Tom Petty, Led Zeppelin, and Hall & Oates.
http://www.localh.com/images/topfront_w_logo400.gif
Local H jams 13 years into 7 nights
By Mark Guarino | Special to the Tribune
May 15, 2008
If you see Scott Lucas moving slowly today, it's for good reason: Starting May 7 he performed every hit, every near-hit, every cover, every B-side and every outtake he recorded over 13 years as the frontman behind Local H. In a seven-night, sold-out residency at the Beat Kitchen that ended Tuesday with the new album, "Twelve Angry Months" (Shout! Factory), Lucas made it clear why he remains an essential component to Chicago's rock tradition: commitment and passion.
With Billy Corgan and Jeff Tweedy regaled as auteurs for their conceptual turns and twists, Lucas is Chicago's bare-knuckled rocker, slugging it out on stages from small bars to large clubs to outdoor festivals and releasing a steady run of albums that stand up against fickle pop trends. The week of shows forced a new look at a band that can often be undervalued here but whose music is consistently packed with depth, craft and true grit.
Despite playing a different album per night, the shows did not pause for reflection, especially since a significant segment of the audience looked like they didn't have their driver's licenses when the band released its 1995 debut. Opening slots provided a survey of Chicago punk past and present, including Smoking Popes frontman Josh Caterer and reunions of old-school punks Pegboy and power-pop contenders Fig Dish.
On the first night, early songs like "Manipulator" and "Grrrlfriend" capitalized on power chords, pop hooks and loud/soft dynamics. But on later nights, Lucas demonstrated his range, showing how two people can make a massive sound. Drummer Brian St. Clair, who replaced original drummer Joe Daniels in 1999, proved a perfect foil, hammering out polyrhythms but also, through immediate turnabouts, firing songs to new heights.
The new songs played Tuesday—the only night featuring additional players such as a keyboardist, bassist, guitarist and extra drummers to flesh out songs that left no room to breathe—showed how much of a craftsman Lucas has become since that first album. From power pop ("24-Hour Break-Up Session") to a psychedelic epic ("Hand to Mouth"), the songs were tightly compressed and scorched with vitriol and heartbreak.
His true colors were shown when even the leftovers and B-sides ("for hard-core losers," Lucas admitted) stood on their own to make up a night that rivaled all the others. That included his unusual cover choices, from Prince's "Purple Rain" to the Godfathers' punk anthem "Birth, School, Work, Death" to an irony-free version of "Toxic" by Britney Spears.
Lucas excelled at shrieking to accelerate songs that frequently shifted from foreboding to rage. Yet for all the chaotic moods, he and St. Clair kept a masterful grip on the music. "I'm very proud of all of you," he told the crowd at the end of the seventh night. Then he played "All the Kids Are Right," the 1998 single that became, this time appropriately, a campfire singalong.
www.localh.com
www.myspace.com/localh
Los Angeles, CA – Alternative rock mainstays Local H return with their seventh album on May 13, titled 12 Angry Months. The band’s debut on Shout! Factory, 12 Angry Months is Local H’s first new studio album since 2004’s Whatever Happened To P.J. Soles?
Written after the bitter end of a long-term relationship, the album chronicles a full year of post-breakup experiences. Each track on 12 Angry Months corresponds to a month, and deals with the range of emotions one encounters after love turns sour. Those emotions range from anger (“so, baby could you do me a favor? fall off the earth and i'll see you later”), to jealousy (“this is crazy, I can’t believe that you replaced me”), to acceptance (“you knew we’d never make it anyway”).
Highly regarded for their powerful sound and unique two-man lineup with Scott Lucas on vocals and guitar and Brian St. Clair on drums, Local H is known for derisive lyrics, heavy guitars and feedback, energetic live shows, and an active relationship with their fans. The band performs regularly, and will be on tour nationally in 2008.
In 2007 Local H showcased their typical humor when they played a show at Chicago’s Cellular Field, and fans were only granted by finding Lucas around town and proclaiming “Attention all planets of the Solar Federation - we have assumed control.” Other shows have seen the band passing out a sushi menu-type ballot to take song requests, auctioning off a concert on eBay, and performing under the names and guises of other bands, including Nirvana, Tom Petty, Led Zeppelin, and Hall & Oates.
http://www.localh.com/images/topfront_w_logo400.gif
Local H jams 13 years into 7 nights
By Mark Guarino | Special to the Tribune
May 15, 2008
If you see Scott Lucas moving slowly today, it's for good reason: Starting May 7 he performed every hit, every near-hit, every cover, every B-side and every outtake he recorded over 13 years as the frontman behind Local H. In a seven-night, sold-out residency at the Beat Kitchen that ended Tuesday with the new album, "Twelve Angry Months" (Shout! Factory), Lucas made it clear why he remains an essential component to Chicago's rock tradition: commitment and passion.
With Billy Corgan and Jeff Tweedy regaled as auteurs for their conceptual turns and twists, Lucas is Chicago's bare-knuckled rocker, slugging it out on stages from small bars to large clubs to outdoor festivals and releasing a steady run of albums that stand up against fickle pop trends. The week of shows forced a new look at a band that can often be undervalued here but whose music is consistently packed with depth, craft and true grit.
Despite playing a different album per night, the shows did not pause for reflection, especially since a significant segment of the audience looked like they didn't have their driver's licenses when the band released its 1995 debut. Opening slots provided a survey of Chicago punk past and present, including Smoking Popes frontman Josh Caterer and reunions of old-school punks Pegboy and power-pop contenders Fig Dish.
On the first night, early songs like "Manipulator" and "Grrrlfriend" capitalized on power chords, pop hooks and loud/soft dynamics. But on later nights, Lucas demonstrated his range, showing how two people can make a massive sound. Drummer Brian St. Clair, who replaced original drummer Joe Daniels in 1999, proved a perfect foil, hammering out polyrhythms but also, through immediate turnabouts, firing songs to new heights.
The new songs played Tuesday—the only night featuring additional players such as a keyboardist, bassist, guitarist and extra drummers to flesh out songs that left no room to breathe—showed how much of a craftsman Lucas has become since that first album. From power pop ("24-Hour Break-Up Session") to a psychedelic epic ("Hand to Mouth"), the songs were tightly compressed and scorched with vitriol and heartbreak.
His true colors were shown when even the leftovers and B-sides ("for hard-core losers," Lucas admitted) stood on their own to make up a night that rivaled all the others. That included his unusual cover choices, from Prince's "Purple Rain" to the Godfathers' punk anthem "Birth, School, Work, Death" to an irony-free version of "Toxic" by Britney Spears.
Lucas excelled at shrieking to accelerate songs that frequently shifted from foreboding to rage. Yet for all the chaotic moods, he and St. Clair kept a masterful grip on the music. "I'm very proud of all of you," he told the crowd at the end of the seventh night. Then he played "All the Kids Are Right," the 1998 single that became, this time appropriately, a campfire singalong.