Local H, “As Good As Dead” (Island, 1996)
This norther Illinois duo’s second – and best – album bears a strong superficial resemblance to the punk-rock side of Nirvana, but really it’s a fusion/streamlining of two great regional traditions – machine-tooled noise-rock (think Big Black) and hard-edged guitar-pop (think Cheap Trick). The sound fills in a striking, sick-joke-funny depiction of dead-end small-town existence.
Try 2, 5, 7
4/4/11