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Thank the Holder Uppers is an album by the American indie punk band Claw Hammer.[1][2] The band's first major label album, it was released in 1995 via Interscope Records.[3][4]

Thank the Holder Uppers
Studio album by Claw Hammer
Released	1995
Genre	Indie punk
Label	Interscope Records
Producer	Brett Gurewitz
Claw Hammer chronology
Pablum (1993) Thank the Holder Uppers (1995) 'Scuse the Excursion (1996)

Production

The album was produced by Brett Gurewitz, the head of the band's former label.[5] The band often added harmonica, saxophone, and piano to the album's longer tracks.[6]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[7]
Calgary Herald	B[8]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[9]
Los Angeles Times	[6]
The San Diego Union-Tribune	[10]

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."[11] Trouser Press thought that "the foursome caper rowdily like (dead end) kids set loose in a candy store."[12]

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."[13] 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."[14]

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."[7] In another retrospective review, Spin deemed the album "a totally unmarketable combo of cartoonishly venomous wails, chainsaw riffs, and harmonica solos."[15]

Track listing

Personnel

• Chris Bagarozzi - guitar
• Bob Lee - drums
• John Wahl - vocals, guitar, harmonica
• Rob Walther - bass

References

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