Local H - No Fun
(Thick Records)
3 1/2 (out of 5 stars)
Reviewed: June 25, 2003
Review by Tony Bonyata
Despite the fact that the Chicago duo Local H have been churning out post-punk grunge rock on record since '94, they're not exactly a household name outside of their Midwest hometown. (Come to think of it, they're not even a household name there.) But with a rough-edged music that's as immediate and impassioned as anything out there today, its about time for people to prick up their ears to these guys.
While their second full-length album As Good As Dead helped garner some attention from the short attention span of MTV viewers - due largely in part to the success of their hit "Bound for the Floor" - Local H have done little to attract the attention they deserve for a band that makes a lot of noise for just two people.
While their brand new six-song No Fun EP will do little to further their career with the Âpretty vacant' MTV audience, it's sure to put a smile on the mugs for those who love driving, scuzzed-up punk rock. From Scott Lucas' vocals that turn from nonchalant to raging angst on a dimebag, along with his gritty rhythm guitar that chugs through the punchy "Cooler Heads," to the hysterically crude AC/DC rhythms hammered out on the screaming title song, these guys prove they aren't about to kowtow to the masses...and thank God for that.
With a nod to a couple of bands that have influenced them, they snort through a slash-and-burn version of The Godfathers' "Birth, School, Work, Death," as well as a stomping take of The Ramones' "I Just Want Something To Do," which surprisingly comes off more like The Stooges' "No Fun" (no relation to Local H's title song) than Joey and Dee Dee's original.
Without aping, paying homage or ripping them off, Local H still possess the raw musical essence that made the best of the Seattle grunge and Detroit punk bands so appealing in the first place.
"It's no fucking fun!," Lucas howls over and over throughout the title track, but don't believe him for a second. This stuff is a fucking blast.