Dan Andriano - Hurricane Season Review

Following in the footsteps of his Alkaline Trio counterpart Matt Skiba, bassist Dan Andriano will be releasing his debut solo album, Hurricane Season, on August 9. Playing under the moniker Dan Andriano in the Emergency Room, the 34-year-old bassist is delivering a 10-track wonder that's some of his freshest and most personal work yet.

Hurricane Season is a deeply intimate look into Andriano's life as it stands today. The love for his family, his fear of losing them and his struggle with finding a sense of home in Florida (after spending years living in Chicago) are all themes that dominate the record. After more than a decade on the road with the Trio, Andriano used his solo platform as a sort of apology to his wife and daughter - the two of whom he had been away from for months at a time while pursuing a musical career.

Take for instance the album's third song, "Hollow Sounds". The soft acoustic track is what Andriano described to Alternative Press as a sort of "'I miss you' song, with a hint of, 'I know I'm gone a lot, but please don't leave me.'" And this certainly holds true as Andriano compares his unrelenting need for a cigarette to the longing he feels for his wife. "I want to light you up and take you deep inside my lungs/Well maybe you can shine your light inside on all the damage that I've done."

As the record progresses, it becomes evident that while his insecurities might be running on high, Andriano has come to terms with them and has put them to the wayside to just enjoy the present. During the album's ninth track, "The Last Day We Ever Close Our Eyes", he paints a picture of finding happiness with his loved ones as the world around them crumbles.

"And when they finally kill the lights, you get the glass, I'll pour the wine/On the last day that we ever close our eyes."

Ultimately what you're getting on this record are themes focused inward, rather than the usual dark and macabre scenarios played out on most of Alkaline Trio's discography. It's a completely different and fresh side of an artist that most people thought they had pegged. That itself is was makes this album worthwhile.

Hurricane Season stands as a journey of sorts that takes the listener through all the deep inner workings of a man struggling to find his place in life and hold onto it. What starts off as shaky and insecure in the beginning of the record develops into something that's happy and fulfilled at the end. At varying times, Hurricane Season is depressing, uplifting and funny, but somehow it remains catchy and honest throughout.

Simply put, the record is a must have for Alkaline Trio fans and anyone who likes things slowed down just a bit. You can preview a few tracks from the album below.

Alkaline Trio - Damnesia Review

When you've got a discography as large as Alkaline Trio, putting out another studio record seems, well... old. So what do you do to keep things fresh? Well, the dark rockers decided to release Damnesia, a 15-track rehashing of some of the band's most classic work (with a couple new songs added for good measure).

But the Trio didn't rerecord with all the bells and whistles this time around. Instead, Damnesia is a stripped down compilation of the fan favorites. Don't count on hearing anything electric on this record - but don't call this an acoustic album, either. Damnesia might be fronted with acoustic guitars but there's enough percussion, heavy bass and keyboards to keep this record from being labeled as simply acoustic.

Alkaline Trio have always had a taste for the macabre and the creepy. So getting down to the bare bones of their music on this record seems like nothing new. And to be honest, the minimalist approach makes a lot of the tracks even darker.

Take for instance "This Could Be Love" (originally off Good Mourning), which has more of a haunting presence to it with its lead melody played on keys rather than guitar. Lead singer Matt Skiba's vocal approach is noticeably better on the new version, though die-hards will hold fast to the original.

The real drawback to this album, if any, is the low level of energy. But again, it's stripped down. Where Damnesia lacks energy are also the same spots in which its dark and brooding presence are best exemplified. Looking again at some of their older work, "Private Eye" (originally off From Here To Infirmary), stands as another track that comes across darker regardless of its slowed tempo and basic nature.

But Damnesia isn't just a horror movie inspired remake of the Trio's early work. The band also recorded two new tracks including "I Remember A Rooftop", led by bassist Dan Andriano, which could easily pass as a b-side off the band's last album, This Addiction.

The other track, "Olde English 800" is a short, comical nod to the malt liquor. If anything, its lightheartedness gives you a break from the nonstop bones, blood, death theme that runs through the rest of the record. Tack onto that a cover of The Violent Femmes "I Held Her In My Arms" and Damnesia starts to feel more than just a rerelease.

Overall, the record should please most fans. Everyone always wants to hear a band play the "older stuff" anyway - and that's certainly taken care of here. Songs like "Mercy Me", "The American Scream" and "Calling All Skeletons" round out the band's newer material as well. And perhaps the best part of this record is that, while it's stuff you've already heard, it's presented in a new way.

If there's any band that can make lyrics about death sound so fresh, it's Alkaline Trio. Damnesia is a perfect addition to your heart and skull collection.