Album Review-Local H: Hey, Killer

"Hey, Killer" is the eight studio album by Illinois Grunge group Local H and was released in April, 2015. My history with this band is actually fairly new as my friend Brad encouraged me to review this groups new album, which i never take no for an answer, so I said yes. Doing some research, i found out these guys have quite a history including many line up changes since their beginnings in 1987. I figured since most grunge music I dig I'd enjoy these guys, so lets see what their newest album has to offer.

Track Rundown

1.The Last Picture Show In Zion-Opening with a very fuzzy haze of distortion, This song really goes into a hard rocking venture that i dig. When the vocals come in it sounds a bit like Alice In Chains which i can get into. The harmonies have a kind of Psychedelic feel to em as well. Heavy groovy opening tune and a good first impression.\

2.City Of Knives-This one has kind of a punky feel with more shouting vocals and frantic guitar riffing but is still pretty laid back as well. The chorus is simple and catchy which i like as well. Very straight forward rock n roll song.

3.Freshly Fucked-With a title like that, how could you not be drawn to listen to this song? It almost kind of reminds me of a Misfits/Black Flag hybrid. Very reminiscent of old school punk but with better production laid over it.

4.Gig Bag Road-This song has that nice riff driving rock that bands like soundgarden pumped out way back when. I love how fuzzy the guitars are on this record as well it adds a more garage band feel to the whole record.

5.The Misanthrope-This song is another grungy punk driven song and has these actually gothic kind of feeling parts but im sure thats just me. The verses are really catchy, this is one of my favorite songs on the record.

6.One of us-Opening with more clean guitars, there is still an eerie feeling within the chord progression with Scott Lucas' soft vocals. This song is really heavy in how it is executed. Really enjoyable song.

7.Leon and The Game of Skin-Opening with that quick punk drum beat really gets me hyped and the fuzzy bass slowly fading in is really cool too. It almost has a new wave-ish feeling in it with the clean chorus guitars. It really caught me off guard with how ti didnt go into a straight forward rocker. However it is really good and catchy all over the place.

8.Mansplainer- This song has that really really evidence 90s alt rock sound to it, but nonetheless is still pretty good. Doesn't go into anything straining from the typical formula it is really straightforward.

9.Age Group Champion-This song has a heavy but melodic sound to it which I really enjoy. This is my favorite song for that reason as it combines the softer sounds with their heavier sounds.

10.John The Baptist Blues- Another more rocking song with some heavy catchy riffs. Not much to say but it rocks.

11.I Am A Salt Mine- A really soft song to go out on with some interesting sounds in it as well. It is really atmospheric sounding as well which I like and I enjoy that they went out on a softer note as well.



Overall, I give this record a 7.5 out of 10. This review was another one that I went into nearly completely blind but I enjoyed what I heard. Even thought this record was alot of straight forward kind of throwback material, there were some interesting style choices in songs, catchy melodies and some pretty good written lyrics, This record hasn't really broken any new ground but it is a fun record and anyone a fan of this band will surely enjoy it.