Local H: Whatever Happened To P.J. Soles?

Local H: Whatever Happened To P.J. Soles?
by Martell

It's probably been six years since I heard anything new by Local H. Don't remember them? Though they had a few other popular songs, they were probably best known for their song "Bound To The Floor" off their 1996 release As Good As Dead. This song in particular got the most airplay on alternative radio. Still not ringing a bell? How about this: "Bound To The Floor" was the song that had the word "copacetic" in the chorus. (Yeah, I thought that might do it.)

So anyway, I was at the record store a couple months ago and I noticed that Local H had a new album out. I was pretty excited, because I used to be a fan of theirs, but it also got me to wondering where they've been all these years. I mean, the last thing I remembered, they were pretty popular. How could a band like that just fall off the face of the earth, only to reappear six years later? I decided to do a little research.

Much to my surprise, they've been working all along; they released a full-length album in 2002 (Here Comes The Zoo) and an EP last year. But something wasn't right. I never heard a single song from that album on the radio or on MTV. I dug a little deeper. Aha! As it turns out, just as they released Pack In The Cats in 1998, their record company went through a major merger and they ended up losing not only their promotional support, but their entire record deal as well. On top of that, the drummer left and had to be replaced.

For most bands, replacing the drummer probably is not that big of a deal. The problem is, Local H is a duo. Guitarist. Drummer. And that's it. So NOW I know why they're last album was largely ignored. It probably sucks. I disappointedly pop the new album in my CD player anyway.

Thank God it didn't take long to realize that Whatever Happened To P.J. Soles? is as good an album as Local H has ever produced. From the rocking "Everyone Alive" to the Nirvanaesque "Heaven On The Way Down" and "Halcyon Days," everything that I liked about their old music was still here. The third track, "California Songs," is reminiscent of their very first single back in 1996, "High-Fiving MF," only instead of lambasting the macho-jock crowd, this time they take on California (and New York too). I can only guess that they speak for the collective psyche of the U.S.'s third-largest city, who has got to be sick of playing Cinderella to LA and NY's evil stepsisters. (Of course, I mean the early-on, do-all-the-work Cinderella, not the happily-ever-after one.)

Track 4 is a melodic, dreamy song titled "Dick Jones" that sounds like it came straight off an early Remy Zero album. It has a synthesized, trance-like sound, which is somewhat new for this band, but in this case they pull it off quite well. But there is still plenty of that raw, garage/grunge fusion that Local H is best known for. These songs can be a bit hit-or-miss, but even when they miss, it's still easy to appreciate their honesty and creativity.

With the change in label and new drummer, I'm amazed that Local H has been able to rise from the ashes to produce an album like Whatever Happened To P.J. Soles?. The best I could have hoped for was for everything to be copacetic. Fortunately, this album is much more than that.

Martell can be reached at martell@babblog.com.