Local H

There's nothing like a dose of yesterday's flavors to put today's in perspective. Roughly representative of hard rock from a time when "grunge" didn't require quotation marks, Local H's Scott Lucas is not only from the mid-'90s, but of the mid-'90s, ahead of his time only in the minimal guitar-and-drums...

By Andrew Marcus

April 21, 2005

[
        {
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Inline Content - Mobile Display Size",
          "component": "18478561",
          "insertPoint": "2",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "2"
        },{
          "name": "Editor Picks",
          "component": "16759093",
          "insertPoint": "4",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "1"
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "17980324",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "16759092",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "17980324",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 24
        },{
          "name": "Air - Leaderboard Tower - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "16759094",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 24
        }
      ]

There's nothing like a dose of yesterday's flavors to put today's in perspective. Roughly representative of hard rock from a time when "grunge" didn't require quotation marks, Local H's Scott Lucas is not only from the mid-'90s, but of the mid-'90s, ahead of his time only in the minimal guitar-and-drums setup he's shared with a succession of drummers. Consider, however, the New Wave monkey-boys currently flopping around in those loose-fitting rock-star shoes: Blasting guitars are more liberating than preening retro-tones; crackly wailing at least doesn't require a fake English accent; and failure and spite are actual themes, whereas the new boys generally say more with their clothes than with their lyrics. Local H has range, too -- from Sabbathy jams to pop inspired by the Midwestern punk of the '80s. And Lucas writes a mean kiss-off, as on last year's "California Songs": "Please, no more California songs," he shouts, "and fuck New York, too." Now that's timeless.

Become A Member

BEFORE YOU GO...
Can you help us continue to share our stories? Since the beginning, Phoenix New Times has been defined as the free, independent voice of Phoenix — and we'd like to keep it that way. Our members allow us to continue offering readers access to our incisive coverage of local news, food, and culture with no paywalls.