The Lonely H Albums (3)
'Concrete Class'
Release Date 6/9/2009
Tracks 12
Label The Control Group
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
On their first two albums, 2006's Kick Upstairs and 2007's Hair, it seemed that the Pacific Northwest-based Lonely H had been listening to a lot of classic rock, and when they really took off on a song, they sounded like a slightly low-rent version of Cheap Trick trying to sound like Queen, all with a sort of ragged garage thing going on, too. When it worked, it worked really well. When it didn't, well, Lonely H sounded like a band that was overreaching. With this album it appears the group has discovered the Band, the Grateful Dead and the Eagles, as well, and these songs have much more of a heartland country rock feel, although there were always faint elements of that popping up now and then on the first two albums. Again, when it works, it works well, like the cocky and Eagles-like energy of "Cold Blues," the Grateful Dead truckin' shuffle of "The River," and the easy, deep resonance of "White Horse Tears," which sounds admirably like an outtake from the Band. There's more pop inflected stuff here, too, like the initially intriguing but ultimately less-than-it-could-have-been "Girl from Jersey," but it takes a back seat. All of this leaves Concrete Class feeling a bit like a transitional album, not quite country rock and not quite anything else, either. Still, this an interesting band, and one feels they're going somewhere, but they just haven't quite gotten there yet. ~ Steve Leggett, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
It's easy for an older rock fan to enjoy a track like the opener, "Just Don't Know," from the Lonely H's Hair, a track that draws heavily from classic rock without sounding overly derivative. At just over three minutes, the vocal, harmony, and big chords come together so effectively that they'll restore one's faith in the kind of rock that seemed to have passed from the scene in 1977. The acoustic-based "Rollin'" and upbeat rock of "Yeah, Yeah" create a similar vibe. A photo of the band, each of the five members topped with a resplendent head of hair, also seems to hark back to the '60s and '70s, a fact reinforced by the album's title. Other cuts -- like "The Meal" and the title cut -- sound more contemporary, but even here, the guitar work of Eric Whitman and Colin Field is grounded in an earlier era. Backed by these guitarists along with a rhythm section made up of drummer Ben Eyestone and bassist Johnny Whitman, Mark Fredson puts these songs across with a great deal of confidence. The Lonely H also reveal themselves to be ambitious on "The Drought," a multi-part song partly in the tradition of Queen and extended for eight minutes. "The Drought," however, lacks the spark or cohesion of a good Queen mini-opera, and has the effect of weighing Hair down four songs in. The remainder of the album veers from the heavier rock of "For Barbara" to the keyboard-based pop of "Captain." While the material on Hair lacks consistency and is perhaps too eclectic to fit together, the Lonely H deliver solid performances that should please fans of the group's first CD, Kick Upstairs. ~ Ronnie D. Lankford, Jr., All Music Guide
'Kick Upstairs'
Release Date 1/24/2006
Tracks 11
Label Control Group / TCG
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What The Critics Say
There's a great tradition in rock & roll of small-town teenagers who get together in the proverbial garage and put together a band that takes on the world. It dates back at least to the 1960s and was given cinematic treatment in Tom Hanks' 1996 film That Thing You Do! The Lonely H, a pop/rock quintet from Port Angeles, WA, may remind listeners somewhat of the Wonders, the fictional band from that movie, if only because their musical sensibility is not far removed from the mid-'60s sound that group made, a sound also immortalized on the first Nuggets compilation. But if garage rock is one touchstone for the Lonely H, it also seems clear that lead singer and keyboard player Mark Fredson has been listening not only to the Beatles and the Beach Boys, from whom he and his bandmates have taken notions of song structure, melody, and harmony, but also from Queen, particularly in the piano-based ballads "Sweet Madeline" and "Simple Love." Fredson has facetiously referred to "Zelda" as an "epic ballad," and he is forthright about the swooning effect that a song like "Simple Love" has on the group's female fans. But kidding and pandering aside, he clearly has a strong talent for melody that the group matches with its arranging skill, which is what makes those songs work for audiences as good power ballads always do. That is not to say, however, that the group can't rock out, and it does so elsewhere on the disc. But the Lonely H makes rock music imbued with pop sophistication; they change keys and tempos, and then they throw in an a cappella harmony part to go along with those loud guitars. Fredson, meanwhile, has one of those foggy, nasal tenors that have been cutting through charging rock bands for decades. But while the Lonely H would seem destined for stardom, their very abilities may limit their appeal. All that straight, unkempt blond hair falling across their beardless faces can be less reminiscent of Kurt Cobain than of Hanson, and another great tradition in rock & roll is the coolness factor, which Cobain, for all his troubles, possessed, while Hanson, for all their talent, did not. Like their idols of the '60s and '70s, the members of the Lonely H will have to balance the rock with the pop if they are to succeed. If Kick Upstairs is any indication, they may do just that. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide
