Thank the Holder Uppers
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| Thank the Holder Uppers | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1995 | |||
| Label | Interscope | |||
| Producer | Brett Gurewitz | |||
| Claw Hammer chronology | ||||
| ||||
Thank the Holder Uppers is an album by the American band Claw Hammer.[1][2] The band's first major label album, it was released in 1995 via Interscope Records.[3][4] Claw Hammer supported the album with a North American tour.[5]
The album was produced by Brett Gurewitz, the head of the band's former label.[6] The band often added harmonica, saxophone, and piano to the album's longer tracks.[7]
Critical reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [8] |
| Calgary Herald | B[9] |
| The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [10] |
| Los Angeles Times | [7] |
| The San Diego Union-Tribune |  [11] |
The Washington Post wrote that singer John Wahl's "high (and erratically) pitched vocals and Christopher Bagarozzi's guitar-hero fretwork may recall Led Zep, but the band's rhythms and sense of structure owe more to Captain Beefheart."[12] Trouser Press thought that "the foursome caper rowdily like (dead end) kids set loose in a candy store."[13]
Westword opined that the songs "may sometimes seem quizzical—'Blind Pig' is the weirdest imaginable ZZ Top imitation, while 'Olfactory Blues/Nosehair' resembles a bizarre marriage of Frank Zappa and, well, Foghat—but they're never, never boring."[14] CMJ New Music Monthly declared that, "problem is, these guys seem a little too proficient on their instruments, enamored of severe (and frequent) tempo changes for the sake of keeping themselves interested."[15] LA Weekly praised the "exceptional guitarists and crackerjack drummer, Bob Lee."[16]
AllMusic wrote: "In sum, think of Funhouse-era Stooges with a few more instruments and slightly quiet moments, almost as good a vocalist and crisp production, and there's Holder Uppers in a nutshell."[8] In another retrospective review, Spin deemed the album "a totally unmarketable combo of cartoonishly venomous wails, chainsaw riffs, and harmonica solos."[17]