local h 
as good as dead  
reviewed by:<br>
<br>
c h r i s . c o n t i<br>
<br>
 A quick memo to all cheap-skates and/or skeptics in the current world of one hit wonders: stop trying to find the ÒBound For The FloorÓ single (that ÒCopaseticÓ single) and just buy the whole Local H disc. Relax...itÕs good stuff. Local H have hit the big time with their second full length effort, As Good As Dead (due to their current success, their debut Hamfisted should be easier to find on the shelves. The duo from Zion, Illinois (drummer Joe Daniels and guitarist/singer Scott Lucas) struck big in the summer of Ô96 with the all too familiar ÒBound For The Floor,Ó thanks to some hip radio stations who caught the early buzz. But the album is deeper than the usual one hit wonder. ItÕs a straight-ahead album without tons of overlaying guitar tracks or vague, nonsensical lyrics. Yes, singer Scott Lucas does sound like Kurt Cobain but, unlike Gavin Rossdale, he isnÕt aspiring to fill the role with every note. Lucas plainly cracks on everything from small-town Americana on ÒFritzÕs CornerÓ to the cutesy relationships in ÒLovey Dovey.Ó Lucas isnÕt a lyrical Eddie Vedder or Michael Stipe, nor is it his intention. The second single, ÒEddie Vedder,Ó is not a Pearl Jam dis, so calm down, and ÒFreeze Dried (F) LiesÓ oozes with a stoner Zeppelin riff. Some of the time itÕs hard to tell if Lucas is singing about a relationship turned sour or the status of their band in alterna-rock. Who knows and who cares. ItÕs just energetic, power-driven songs that sound better when theyÕre blaring from a stereo. As Good As Dead does have a few punk jams that seem to try way too hard and the token acoustic cut ÒOKÓ sounds so much like Kurt Cobain you might think the shotgun was full of blanks. Local H allow you to turn off your brain and turn up the volume. To steal a line from singer Scott Lucas on the final track, over a thick bass line and sonic wave of guitar, Local H are definitely Onto Something Good."