The Hurricane Lamps

Reviews

	Sing Me a Song CD Sonic Boomerang Records, 2003
About twice a year, sometimes more, I convince myself that indie rock is just deathly boring stuff that I'm no longer interested in. And right on cue, there always seems to be a record waiting for me that wins me back-- at least for a few months. By "indie rock," I mean that bread-and-butter, classic formula that got you through high school or college or whatever other phase of your life during which you were obsessed with it: that old, reliable guitars/bass/drums setup with less-than-crystalline production and superchunks of memory-forming melody. Lots of albums full of this stuff still see release every year, but it's a lamentable fact that the vast majority of them lack any melody factor working in their favor, be it for want of a distinctive vocalist or a simple lack of compositional imagination. Over the years, I've heard too many of those albums to count, but it all feels worth it when you come across a record that really hits and makes the formula feel fresh again. Sing Me a Song, the fourth full-length by Washington, DC's Hurricane Lamps is one of those albums. The Lamps get more confident with each album they make, and on Sing Me a Song, they let their punk edge drop to reveal their pop heart more than ever, and the result is an adeptness at catching melodic lightning in a bottle and turning a phrase on a dime. More importantly-- and this is what separates an album like this from the masses around it-- the band also has a knack for arrangements that feel just as substantive as the songs they support. Rhythm guitarist Greg Bennett drops walking basslines while the band varies the rhythms and feels to better highlight the melody. If the devil's in the details, they've got him pretty much slain. The album lifts off slowly with the controlled burst of "Listen", with guitarist/vocalist Eric Tischler lying breathy harmonies over a thumping rhythm and phosphorescent guitar. "Turn Me On" is a blast of high-octane pop built around an exultant shouted chorus. Tischler's voice is a weirdly ingratiating tenor that muppets out completely when he really lets go (one of the few things I can foresee causing problems for more touchy listeners). He also speaks plenty through his axe, tossing off some pretty decent guitar solos, particularly on "Dive", where he lets himself just wail for a couple of seconds before the band closes out the song. Blessedly, though, he refrains from ever overdoing it-- only once does a whole song even top four minutes, much less a solo. Tischler also gets off a few good lyrical volleys on "Dive", including these parting words from an estranged lover: "She said, 'Leaving's all I'm ever good for/ And leaving's all that's good for me/ 'Cause leaving's always there when you want it/ And leaving's where I want to be.'" Elsewhere, he helps keep the nerdish personal armor of the underground intact, imploring "don't confuse me" on the pop rollercoaster of "For a Good Time..." and serving up lines like, "I saw you cringe behind your politesse," without so much as a smirk on "Judge You All Night". Sing Me a Song is a fine entry point into The Hurricane Lamps' catalog, though I have a hard time choosing between it and 2001's slightly rougher Tilting at Windmills when deciding which to pop in. Either way, it's a great record that's at least somewhat restored my faith in the power of indie rock for the time being. I just wonder what will be there to pick me back up the next time I fall off the wagon. -- Joe Tangari, Pitchfork
It's fitting this DC-area trio's fourth album (and finest hour) arrives just as Magnet reaches its own milestone and casts a reflective eye back on the indie-rock world's most creative era. The hurricane lamps epitomize much of what we've held dear for the past decade: trusting your DIY artistic vision, hoping the fans will trust your vision, too, and being unafraid to wear your record collection on your sleeve. Hindsight now makes the lamps' four-year growth all the more impressive. Where lo-fi once held almost dictatorial sway over the band, Sing Me a Song boasts 3-D sound characterized by fat drums, hyperkinetic bass, swipes of cosmic-raygun synth and buoyant guitars that nod equally in the diretions of the Clean (the fitful din of "All These Things"), Buzzcocks (blurry anthem "Dive") and Mission of Burma (the dissonant/angular "Judge You All Night"). The lamps' melodic gifts have come into their own, as evidenced in Eric Tischler's keening vocals, the deft rendering of lush harmonies and a previously untapped wellspring of power-pop nuance--the latter amply displayed on the title track, a hooky confection wedding Byrdsian jangle (plus a nifty raveup solo) to edy post-punk thump. Growing up in public is never easy, of course, and the lamps could still benefit from the guidance of a seasoned producer. (The band tends to lean a bit too heavily on pet chord progressions and song intros; an outsider's ear might help shake up the formula.) But when a group not only feels that it's hitting the mark but the audience senses it, too, the overall mood is intoxicating, like a long-term promise that's finally been, signed, sealed, and delivered. -- Fred Mills, Magnet, no. 60
You can tell when a punk band is trying too hard to be a pop band. There is an uncomfortable stiffness that betrays a band forcing melody and harmony into a space that once housed only volume and dissonance. The Hurricane Lamps are most certainly not an example of that. The Washington DC trio began their career as a lo-fi indie punk band but have slowly and capably evolved into a fully formed pop band resulting in the Lamps's fourth album, Sing Me a Song, an artistic manifesto that flies the flag of their own punk roots while remembering the long and illustrious pop roll call that has gone before them (the Who and the Kinks from the '60s, the Police from the '70s, the Feelies from the '80s). Guitarist Eric Tischler subverts his punk past with just the right amount of jangle and power riffage while singing his lyrics of love, loss and disillusion with all of the adenoidal charm of Ray Davies ("Turn Me On") and Jules Shear ("All These Things"). The disc's opener, the power pop gem "Listen," almost sounds like an updated Association outtake, while "Dive" offers up an early U2-like depth and swagger propelled by Tischler's ringing guitar and powerfully simple rhythm section of bassist Greg Bennett and drummer Jason Merriman. The Hurricane Lamps succeed in their punk-to-pop endeavor because they approach the writing and execution of their songs with the same kind of freshness and naivete that distinguished the work of their forefathers. -- Brian Baker, Pop Culture Press 57
(One of the best of 2003) RECOMMENDED (09/24/03 @ Carousel Lounge) D.C. road warriors the Hurricane Lamps have struck gold with their new album Sing Me a Song. It’s their most assertive effort yet, injecting their hazy New Zealand pop and Swervedriver fetishes with a shot of frayed nerves and outwardly vulnerable vocals, courtesy of frontman Eric Tischler. Tischler also recognizes the greatness of local openers Fivehead, correctly calling them one of the best rock bands in America. It’s a hearts-on-sleeves humpday. -- Michael Chamy, The Austin Chronicle
After three albums trying to decide what kind of band the Hurricane Lamps want to be, with Sing Me A Song they have presented a great record full of jangling guitars and lovelorn lyrics. The Hurricane Lamps busted out of D.C. four albums ago. No, they don’t sound anything like Fugazi, Minor Threat, or any other bands on Dischord Records. And that’s a refreshing change for music fans of the D.C. rock scene. Eric Tischler’s jangly guitar and vocals are in the forefront of Sing Me A Song (recorded on 16-track again at their home studio). If there is an opposite to Fugazi’s bass heavy, muffled vocal style, then this is it. The lead track, “Listen,” welcomes the listener into the album with assuring vocals and the comfort of a daily affirmation. This is pop done right. Without a moment’s break, they drop into “For a Good Time…” It has the pop rock swagger of an ‘80s Romantics song, as he tells the tale of a bathroom stall hook-up. The use of harmonies is reminiscent of Yo La Tengo, while the keyboards add texture not before seen on a Hurricane Lamps album. The heaviest track on the disc, “Judge you all night,” exhibits a gutter guitar that kicks off the action, then a wacky keyboard alien sound throws it into vocals. Jason Merriman’s style of drumming is more present on this song, as he calls it “clobbering time.” The guitar solo is well placed as an “outro” to the song. The Hurricane Lamps Sing Me A Song is air-guitar rock, butt shaking music. They come close to Dinosaur Jr without the distortion pedal. Eric Tischler and gang close the album with the title track. “Sing Me A Song” feels like a way to welcome you back to the beginning. Start over and listen again. Or maybe it’s a sign of what’s to come? Look for the Hurricane Lamps when they come to your town, because they deliver live as well as on record. -- Alan Haworth, Stanky Groove
(Four Stars) Fusing the sound of the Who's early heyday with the attack of American independent pop outfits like the Mayflies USA, Superchunk, and the Velvet Crush, Washington, D.C.'s Hurricane Lamps deliver the goods on their fourth album, Sing Me a Song. Fronted by guitarist/vocalist Eric Tishler, the group's rich, upbeat approach has grown since 2001's coarser Tilting at Windmills, but still exhilarates on hook-injected tracks like the celebratory "For a Good Time..." and the smitten love song "A Home." Elsewhere, sugary guitar-jangling goodness like "All These Things" gets offset by the jagged college rock roar of "Judge You All Night," but the disc's finest moments come with the fast punk-pop blast of "Dive" and the rave-up "Turn Me On," which easily does what its title suggests. Some could argue that the Lamps are selling retreads as new tires here, but when Tischler announces "Hey, let's go for a ride" early into this magnificent set, fans of this style of rock should already be onboard. -- John D. Luerssen, All Music Guide
Wow, has this band made strides! I heard their debut a few years ago and wasn't too into it but this, cd #4, sounds like a band of seasoned veterans weaned on classic records by bands like the Feelies, Unrest, The Wedding Present, and the like. Main guy Eric Tischler has turned into a top-notch songwriter and his lyrics of life, love, and death ring with the best of them. And while his guitar strum speaks a few languages, the rhythm section is just as impressive w/ a bassist who's all over the place and a drummer intent on smacking the skins as hard as he possible can. I'm a believer. -- Tim Hinley, Dagger, Fall 2003
"Hey, let's go for a ride," proposes singer-guitarist Eric Tischler on "For a Good Time . . .," the second song on the Hurricane Lamps' fourth album, "Sing Me a Song."' By then, the suggestion is redundant. This D.C. trio has already started to race, and the sprint lasts the entire disc. Like a number of great '80s traveling-riff bands -- the Feelies, the Smiths and the Verlaines come to mind -- the Lamps know how to overdrive a plangent guitar figure into an ecstatic vamp. A few of these 11 songs are little more than jangling excursions that are satisfying in themselves. But Tischler hooks many of the grooves to memorable choruses and pointed lyrics, yielding songs that both regret ("Judge You All Night") and celebrate ("A Home") love. Romance is not an unprecedented theme, and the Lamps don't have an innovative sound. Yet whether channeling '80s indie bands or the Byrds' "I'll Feel a Whole Lot Better" (whose signature riff is partially submerged in the title song), "Sing Me a Song" never sounds backdated. -- Mark Jenkins, Washington Post, 11/28/03
Unfortunately too often lumped together with other groups under the rubric of pop-punk, the Hurricane Lamps share little with such bands. Instead, they hearken back to the classic power pop of the Plimsouls and the dB's, benefiting from a sound and style that borrows equally from late Sixties acts such as the Who, Small Faces and the Kinks, and early Nineties artists like Superchunk. The Hurricane Lamps channel these disparate elements into a not unpleasant sound. Benefiting from a much better and cleaner production that allows Eric Tischler's guitar work to soar all over the album, the Hurricane Lamps make a compelling case that there is still life and energy to be drawn from the sounds of the sixties. -- Terry Egan, Ink 19
"[The] Hurricane Lamps seem proud of sticking to a brand of crunchy indie rock patented by Superchunk, and the band does a good job, too, with bouncy melodies and tightly wound singing." -- TimeOut NY, Feb. 5-12, 2004
Disregard the serene sunset that graces the cover of Sing Me a Song, the fourth outing from The Hurricane Lamps. The D.C.-based trio puts a heavy emphasis on the first half of the term "power-pop," without forgoing the latter, raising quite a clattering commotion in the process. Having released its debut just four years ago, The Hurricane Lamps are a young band, one that still wears its influences on its sleeve and continues to search for its place within the pantheon of rock ’n‘ roll. Its lyrics cover the typical ground of broken hearts and one-night stands, adding little in the way of insight, yet on Sing Me a Song it all comes together well enough for the ensemble that it just might break out of its role as local favorite to make a name for itself on the national scene. Call it garage rock or indie rock. Call it revivalist-punk or pop-punk. It really doesn’t matter. Critics undoubtedly will scour their record collections searching for the most obscure ensembles from the ’80s and ’90s in any of these genres for comparative purposes, but the fact of the matter is that The Hurricane Lamps are caught somewhere between the mid-’60s sounds of The Who and The Kinks. Sure the group tosses about bits and pieces of other acts, such as the jangly guitars of U2 or the discordant pleasures of the Velvet Underground. But Sing Me a Song is, for the most part, brimming with a blend of British-invasion pop and maximum R&B-tinged rock. It really is that simple, and it really is that good. -- John Metzger, Music Box Online
The D.C.-area Hurricane Lamps sneak their lusty experimentalist tendencies in under a cheerful, chiming blanket of Wedding Present/the Clean/Superchunk worship, like a dog's medicine tucked inside raw meat. Listening to their fourth album, Sing Me a Song, you're rooting for Eric Tischler's exhilarating guitar squall to break out of the cutesy cage. But even that cage is stronger than you'd think. -- Monica Kendrick, Chicago Reader
Eric Tischler is one of our contributors, and his rockin' Lamps combo played at Tape Op Con #1. Their previous CD, Tilting at Windmills, was a little undercooked in my opinion, so it's nice to hear the recording process improve as the songs get more interesting to boot. Eric recently bought a used Harrison console and picked up a few Royer and Earthworks mics that he loves. Recorded on 1" 16-track and mixed to Masterlink, 24/96 in Eric's basement, and mastered by the always patient John Golden. -- Larry Crane, TapeOp 37