Dan Andriano in the Emergency Room
Hurricane Season


4.0
excellent

Review

by Slum USER (56 Reviews)
September 3rd, 2011 | 41 replies


Release Date: 2011 | Tracklist

Review Summary: On his premiere solo album, Andriano shows what's been boiling beneath the surface for the past two years.

For the majority of his magnificent and extensive career with Alkaline Trio, Dan Andriano has been providing soundtracks for the lonely and angst filled teens and adults alike across the world. As the bassist and secondary singer/writer of the group, he fueled the fire that Matt Skiba ignited, giving the group a backbone and a necessary variance in its style. While Skiba was a fan of a direct punch to the gut with his writing and musicianship, Andriano chose to be a more brooding and atmospheric performer. His songs were gloomy and honest, but not overwhelmingly so. Beneath the dreary aesthetic that he presented himself with, there was still a light of integrity that kept his writing from becoming monotonous and stereotypical. With this background, it should come with no surprise that when he eventually released his solo work nearly two years in the making, that it should not only match his previous work, but in some instances one-up it. With the fresh and appropriate moniker of Dan Andriano in the Emergency Room, he releases his emotionally demanding LP, Hurricane Season, which pulls no punches and conceals no secrets of what’s been running through Andriano’s ever intriguing mind.

Fittingly, the album is a mixed bag of both poignant and affecting tracks, but with a proper dose of innervating and inspiring numbers to give the album a pleasant balance. Opening track ‘It’s Gonna Rain All Day’ details a man lost and broken, a familiar character for Andriano’s catalogue, but the next track immediately booms in with an exciting mesh of pounding drums and traditional acoustic guitar, giving a more confident and determined mindset, though the writing suggests different. It’s this contrast between the catchy hooks and entertaining rhythmic patterns and the brooding and sometimes downright depressing lyricism that makes Hurricane Season an album worth immersing yourself in.

The journey through the mind of a man lost and battered in life is something Andriano can pull off with an impressive clarity. Since the early days of Alkaline Trio he’s been one of the most understated writers and performers in the punk scene, but perhaps that is where he performs best. His writing is genuine, but catchy; his music simple, but appropriate all the same. The basic plucks and strums of the trusty acoustic on ‘Say, Say, Say’ accentuate the slowly progressing intensive tone of the song and helps pin that atmosphere that he creates so easily. He aims to connect with his audience by pulling them into his world, and through such simple means he accomplishes it with a grand performance.

Though the weaker tracks of the record (‘This Light’ and ‘The Last Day we Ever Closed our Eyes’) may detract slightly from the overall impact of the experience, the strong songs absorb the audience so easily that the faults are merely a blemish on the peripherals. ‘From This Oil Can’ concludes the record with one final tug at your heart, and leaves it with a sense of completion that is unfortunately absent on a great number of modern records. Hurricane Season is not the peak of perfection for Andriano, but fans will undoubtedly eat it up, and rightfully so.



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user ratings (54)
3.8
excellent
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alkaline trio goddamnit


Comments:Add a Comment 
Slum
September 4th 2011


2580 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

hope i still know how to write

dimsim3478
September 4th 2011


8987 Comments


Got this a few months ago. Shit is epic.

Slum
September 4th 2011


2580 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

yeah man, he really upped his shit on this

Eclecticist
September 4th 2011


3863 Comments

Album Rating: 3.0

It's like the Alkaline Trio, just not as awesome.

Slum
September 4th 2011


2580 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

it's better than most recent alkaline trio records tbh

mitch91
September 4th 2011


420 Comments

Album Rating: 3.5

I feel like I should get this seeing as I'm seeing him on the Revival Tour in just over a month, I just don't have enough money spare. Plus I've never really got into Alkaline Trio; whereas I love Dave Hause, Chuck Ragan and Brian Fallon's bands as well as their solo stuff.



Good review too.

Slum
September 4th 2011


2580 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

thanks man. If you want to get the general feel of the album he has a couple songs streaming on his facebook

Trebor.
Emeritus
September 16th 2011


60085 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

You guys should listen to this

Slum
September 16th 2011


2580 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

what david cross said

Rowan5215
Emeritus
November 27th 2013


48036 Comments

Album Rating: 5.0

best album ever

Trebor.
Emeritus
November 27th 2013


60085 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

yeah

Rowan5215
Emeritus
November 27th 2013


48036 Comments

Album Rating: 5.0

5 it man, every song on here is perfect

Rowan5215
Emeritus
November 27th 2013


48036 Comments

Album Rating: 5.0

double post but still 5 it

ShadowRemains
August 23rd 2014


28114 Comments

Album Rating: 3.5

listen to chris wollard and the ship thieves if you like this

Rowan5215
Emeritus
August 23rd 2014


48036 Comments

Album Rating: 5.0

is it as good though cos I very much doubt it

ShadowRemains
August 23rd 2014


28114 Comments

Album Rating: 3.5

i like it better but you are partial to this



either way, don't go into it with an attitude like that

Rowan5215
Emeritus
August 23rd 2014


48036 Comments

Album Rating: 5.0

Well yeah this is one of my absolute favourite albums ever but you're right that's a bad way of going about it I will try with an open mind

I haven't actually heard Hot Water Music yet though I need to get on that too

ShadowRemains
September 25th 2014


28114 Comments

Album Rating: 3.5

hollow sounds ftw

Rowan5215
Emeritus
September 25th 2014


48036 Comments

Album Rating: 5.0

whole album forever

dimsim3478
January 14th 2015


8987 Comments


the next Emergency Room record is being produced by JEFF ROSENSTOCK THE HYPE IS ON



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