Best Pop Act/Best Local Recording

Huck, Nothing To Hold On To But A Grudge

Several years back, it seemed the bloom was off the rose for local pop heroes Huck. Sure, they still put out solid material, but fewer and fewer cared to notice. Then, with the release of their second disc, Honeywagon, the band began to make a turn back to relevance. There's no better evidence than this year's overwhelming vote for Huck as Best Local Pop Act and for Best Local Recording. Who knows the reasons behind the fickleness of fandom, but when more than 300 bodies turned out in April for the release of Nothing To Hold on to But a Grudge (Orcaphat), we realized they were again a full-fledged phenomena. And rightfully so. On Grudge they've managed to set the standard for all future pop-rock albums. Better than the majority of what you'll find on commercial radio or on the CMJ charts, their third full-length disc only begins to hint at the prowess of singer Scott Riciutti, who, after all these years in the biz and after writing sound-alike potential hits, has found his true songwriter's voice. The result is fascinating and beautiful. When will the major labels open their ears to this hidden gem?

-- John O'Neill