Local H

Quintessential exponents of what the cynics at Spin call scrunge, these two young guys from Illinois are a study in the uses and limits of originality. After their debut proved only that singer-guitarist-bassist-headman Scott Lucas and drummer-dynamo Joe Daniels were to the bash-roil-howl born, they figured out enough about riffs and hooks to transform sound into song, and now evoke a tragic Seattle trio who shall remain nameless. I wish Pearl Jam, whose leader stars in the title song, packed such isometric power--that sense of tremendous force bravely exerted against implacable reality--and I say the exercise makes all of us stronger. Even if it develops further, which is about as unlikely as it having gotten this far, it will never replace the original. But these days we need any reassurance the music machine can cough up. (Grade: A-)