3 keepers
keeper avg .214
Other than being the second album with "replacement" drummer Brian St. Clair (and maybe being thinner on material), I can't point to any way this album is substantially different from the albums of their commercial peak (As Good as Dead, 1996 and Pack Up the Cats, 1998). Along the way there are a few stylistic departures, such as the Blur / Brit Pop "Dick Jones", 70's soul via "Sunny" (Bobby Hebb, 1966) "P.J. Soles", and the 2-chord metallic-folk "Hey, Rita." But the album begins aggressively, introduced with the brief, syncopated noise-rock jingle "Where Are They Now?" and the snarky Offspring-clone "Everyone Alive" before unleashing the classic "California Songs"*****, a punky middle finger to coastal arrogance ("and f--- New York too"). Speaking of middle fingers, Lucas gets the last word in ("If you wanna leave, I can help you out with that") with "How's the Weather Down There?"**** .
Previously I'd have pointed to Nirvana as the possible source of Local H's overall sound, but this album I hear more Stone Temple Pilots, such as in "Heaven on the Way Down", the breakneck "Heavy Metal Bakesale", and the aforementioned "How's the Weather Down There?". None of these sound out of place for Local H in general, and the poppy "Eddie Vedder"-like "Mellowed" sounds like I'd expect. Like "Pack Up the Cats," this album also closes on a tuneful but introspective note with Badfinger / Beatle-esque "Halcyon Days (Where Were You Then?)"****. Overall the album would feel a lot better without the lumbering 70's arena rock "Buffalo Trace" and "That's What They All Say," which combined add up to 18-minutes of monotonous drivel. Ridiculously, the latter is one of too many songs to feature yet another cruddy tribute to "Beck's Bolero" (via Ted Nugent) - why????
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