The Story of the One-Hit Wonder Band That Secretly Influenced the Entire Post-Grunge Movement

I’ve written about Local H often. Maybe I’m biased, considering they’re one of my favorite grunge and post-grunge alt-rock bands. They’re still together today, thankfully, years after they first formed in 1987. After the release of their album As Good As Dead in 1996, they were positioned to be the new “big name” in grunge and alternative rock. They certainly had all the makings of one. Stellar songwriting, a strong vocalist, and a style that was distinctly alternative but different from what everyone else was making at the time.

And yet, today, they’re technically a one-hit wonder band among few in the grunge genre. The 1996 song “Bound For The Floor”, off the above-mentioned album, hit No. 10 on the Mainstream Rock chart and No. 5 on the Alternative Airplay chart. That song was just a taste of how killer that album was. It was clear that once their next album, Pack Up The Cats, dropped, people would be talking about it the same way they talked about Ten or Nevermind.

But that didn’t exactly happen. Not for lack of trying or talent. But because Local H was the unfortunate victim of labels doing what labels do.

Why Local H Never Became as Big as Nirvana or Pearl Jam

Local H, now made up of core members Scott Lucas and Ryan Harding, formed back in 1987. Their debut album Ham Fisted was a modest release, but it got them some attention. As Good As Dead pulled in some serious attention with the success of “Bound For The Floor”. It was an unexpected success, and their label, Island Records, greenlit their third album with producer Roy Thomas Baker. They promised a big budget and a hands-off approach to let the band work their creative magic.

The result was Pack Up The Cats, a conceptual alt-rock gem. It had better production and followed the story of a rock band’s rise and fall. It was supposed to be a massive success.

Then, Island Records’ parent company, Polygram, was acquired by Universal Music Group around the time the album was set to be released. Island Records’ plans to heavily promote Pack Up The Cats were totally derailed; the promo campaign was canceled, and all of the Island employees that Local H worked with were sacked or jumped ship. Pack Up The Cats was released anyway in 1998.

A Grunge Outfit That Deserved Better Than Most

It wasn’t a total disaster. The lead single, “All The Kids Are Right”, got some love on MTV. But while Pack Up The Cats would do slightly better on the charts than their previous album, they would only sell about 78,000 copies compared to the nearly 321,000 copies As Good As Dead sold. They would never reach the Radio Songs chart again, nor would they reach the Top 10 on either the Mainstream Rock chart or the Alternative Airplay chart. By the 2000s, they would stop charting entirely.

I can’t think of a worse case of a genuinely amazing band being the casualty of label tomfoolery and changing tides of music, quite like Local H. I’m going to give Pack Up The Cats another spin as a metaphorical toast to them.

Photo by Al Pereira/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images