Dan Andriano in the Emergency Room – Hurricane Season

I’m getting old and jaded. I still love my fast, hard punk rock but it needs to push the boundaries to truly entice me and counter to that, I’ve become more and more enthralled with some of the slower, punks-go-acoustic albums as late. Not sure why that is, but sometimes it’s nice to hear something a little softer as I walk through the bustling city streets.

That’s where Dan Andriano In The Emergency Room comes into play. As the counter part to Matt Skiba in Alkaline Trio, chances are you’re already familiar with his voice and writing style. Hurricane Season sees him stepping out into the limelight under his own moniker and creating an album that’s perfect for those Alkaline Trio fans who loved songs like Fine and I’m Dying Tomorrow.

On Hurricane Season, Andriano takes the full lead – performing every instrument other than pianos/organs on two tracks. This enables him to have complete control, and lets him push the emotional moments required for the album to succeed. This is important, because at its core, Hurricane Season is a love album with pages torn from a road-weary traveller’s diary. With every passing beat, the songs propel a sense of longing through to the listener and each song has that one moment that completely engulfs the listener’s attention as Adriano’s passionate vocals beg for forgiveness, understanding or discovery. Lyrics like “I can’t always be right there, but I can get there soon. I can’t always hold your hand but I will always love you” may read as a Hallmark greeting card but jump out from the album in an extremely positive way.

Unlike many of the recent punks-go-acoustic albums, Andriano follows in the footsteps of Dave Hause’s Resolutions with an album that features a variety of instrumentation and tempos. By switching it up, the album remains fresh as the songs no longer blend into on another seamlessly. There is a difference between the upbeat, acoustic jangle of Me and Denver and the slow, organ-led crooner On Monday whileSay Say Say could be mistaken for a Joey Cape tune. The simplistic drum pattern on The Last Day We Ever Close Our Eyes accentuates the structural beats of the song while the piano led introduction toIt’s Gonna Rain All Day gives the song a sense of rising momentum rather than constant delivery. These slight variations see Andriano pushing his writing style rather than staying in a safe comfort zone.

Even though Hurricane Season won’t get your blood flowing with energy, the album succeeds as a nice, laid-back listen to throw on when you want to mellow out a little bit. And for all of us jaded old fools, that’s sometimes exactly what we need.