Four years ago, the two-man, quasi-grunge band Local H was beginning to flourish in the post-Cobain rock world. Then Fred Durst and \Nookie"" came along and Local H drifted out of public consciousness. The drummer quit, the label dumped them and for over a year they existed only in theory.
Now, in an entirely different radio-rock climate, frontman Scott Lucas has revitalized 'H' with the help of a new drummer, Brian St. Clair. The fourth disc, Here Comes the Zoo, came out on Tuesday via Palm Pictures records.
The annoying single, ""Half Life,"" in no way represents the other nine songs on the disc. In fact, there is no truly definitive track on the whole album as they cruise between old school 'H' (""Son of 'Cha!'""), Weezerish sing-alongs (""Keep Your Girlfriend"") and a nine minute song (""(Baby Wants to) Tame Me"") that would be a classic if only Led Zeppelin had made it 30 years ago.
Produced not by Andy Wallace but by Jack Douglass (John Lennon, Patti Smith, Cheap Trick), Lucas sticks to his roots and does not fall into the ugly nu-metal trap. Thrashy guitar riffs, a drum kit, a few catchy melodies, a bunch of sarcastic lyrics and not much else dominate the disc, which is actually more accessible than past 'H' efforts, as their grunge attitudes have melded neatly into 2002 listenability. Just to prove they did not forget their roots, though, the opening chord of ""Tame Me"" is a tribute to Nirvana. Listen, it is there.
For Lucas' irony has not died'only a few minutes later he is ripping apart the current state of pop rock stardom on ""Rock and Roll Professionals."" Sarcasm drips off his chorus, ""Rocking for dollars/Rocking for real estate/Rocking for lawyers/Am I doing great?""
Although the window of opportunity for immense popularity may be gone, Lucas did not turn his back on the past or the band's die-hard fans, and the 'H' will no doubt be around for a few more years, remembering the grunge era for us all.
Local H are playing at Luther's Blues, 1401 University Ave., tonight at 9 p.m. with fellow Chicago suburbanites Chevelle. Tickets are $12.
