''Ham Fisted'' is the debut studio album by American

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

band

Local H Local H is an American rock band co-founded in 1990 in Zion, Illinois by guitarist and vocalist Scott Lucas, who has remained the band's sole consistent member. Following the departures of the early line-up's bassist and lead guitarist, Lucas a ...

. It was released through

Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in Jamaica by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in 1959, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, another ...

in January 1995. Two songs, "Cynic" and "Mayonnaise and Malaise", were released as airplay singles in 1994, though the album failed to chart. A music video for "Cynic" was directed by Jodi Wille and released in February 1995.

Critical reception

Trouser Press ''Trouser Press'' was a rock and roll magazine started in New York in 1974 as a mimeographed fanzine by editor/publisher Ira Robbins, fellow fan of the Who, Dave Schulps, and Karen Rose under the name "Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press" (a reference ...

'' wrote that ''Ham Fisted'' "offers an entertaining haymaker of cranked- up, stripped-down '95 noise."

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and later became a ...

gave the album a three-star " honourable mention", comparing it to two releases by

Nirvana Nirvana, in the Indian religions (Jainism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sikhism), is the concept of an individual's passions being extinguished as the ultimate state of salvation, release, or liberation from suffering ('' duḥkha'') and from the ...

by calling the album "brighter than ''

Bleach Bleach is the generic name for any chemical product that is used industrially or domestically to remove color from (i.e. to whiten) fabric or fiber (in a process called bleaching) or to disinfect after cleaning. It often refers specifically t ...

'', less fly than ''

Incesticide is a compilation album by the American rock band Nirvana. It consists of their 1990 non-album single " Sliver", including its B-side, along with demos, outtakes, and recordings from BBC Radio sessions. It was released on December 14, 1992, in E ...

''". ''

Newsday ''Newsday'' is a daily newspaper in the United States primarily serving Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island, although it is also sold throughout the New York metropolitan area. The slogan of the newspaper is "Newsday, Your Eye on LI" ...

'' called it "a spell-binding display of neurotic rock and roll at its finest." ''

The Morning Call ''The Morning Call'' is a daily newspaper in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1883, it is the second-longest continuously published newspaper in the Lehigh Valley, after '' The Express-Times''. The newspaper is owned by Alden Global Capital ...

'' listed the album among the best of 1995, labeling it "a metallic punk-grunge KO."

Track listing

All songs written by Scott Lucas and Joe Daniels. : appears on ''ICON: The Island Years'' compilation (2011) : demo recording appears on ''Twenty-Five Years of Skin in the Game'' compilation (2015) : re-recorded song from Local H's self-titled demo (1992) : live recording appears on ''Live in Europe'' (2018) : live recording appears on '' Alive '05'' (2005)

Personnel

Local H * Scott Lucas –

vocals Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define sing ...

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

bass guitar The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an Electric guitar, electric but with a longer nec ...

* Joe Daniels –

drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a ...

s Production *

Steven Haigler Steven Haigler is an American record producer of alternative, grunge, hardcore, and popular music, notably ''Sunburn'' (1998) by Fuel, '' February Son'' (1999) by Oleander, '' As Good as Dead'' (1996) by Local H, '' Slip'' (1993) by Quicksa ...

– producer, engineering, mixing at The Carriage House (

Stamford, Connecticut Stamford () is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, outside of New York City. It is the sixth-most populous city in New England. Stamford is also the largest city in the Western Connecticut Planning Region, Connecticut, Weste ...

) *Dave Cozzie – assistant mix engineer *Tracy Schroeder – additional engineering *Janet DeMatteis – art coordination *Jana Leòn – photography *David Calderley – design *Joe Bosso – A&R *Bob Ludwig – mastering at Gateway Mastering Studios, Inc. (

Portland, Maine Portland is the List of municipalities in Maine, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine and the county seat, seat of Cumberland County, Maine, Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 at the 2020 census. The Portland metropolit ...

)

References

{{Authority control Local H albums 1995 debut albums Island Records albums