Campaign for Real Gale
All the requisite ingredients would seem to be
in place for Hurricane#1 to be exactly the kind of
'classic' rock band that they, and indeed Alan
McGee, believe them to be. Street-smart and
swaggering ex-pugillist Alex Lowe on
honey-drenched, razor blade vocals; songwriting
duties cared for by the perpetually shaded Andy
Bell who, since disbanding Ride, has plunged
headlong into guitar-noodle central; rock colossus
elder statesman Will Pepper, formally of
pseudo-Motor City madmen The Hypnotics, on
bowel-quaking bass, and an undercurrent of funky
flair injected by Gareth farmer on drums.
But can this alleged dream team truly cut the
mustard as this impressive theoretical evidence
would suggest? Produced by Steve Harris, whose
retro-sonic midwifery skills have already borne
abundant fruits for Kula Shaker, Hurricane's
eponymous debut teeters maddeningly between
outright inspirational genius and sterile overblown
adequacy.
Opening salvo and former chart-bothering single
'Just Another Illusion' is little more than a studious
throwback to the staid, wah-wah drenched,
groove-approximations of baggy, and swings in a
way that only white men can't. Not only does
'Face In A Dream's diligent cohesion of
over-familiar acquired stylings remain as rigid as an
anaconda in an oboe, but like so many Hurricane
songs, it mercilessly outstays its welcome. Huge
swathes of riff repetition that serve no purpose
other than to infuse the songs with an epic aspect
that they neither warrant nor need proliferate
throughout, sending impatient fingers scurrying for
the 'skip' button. Though 'step Into My World'
sees the band's buttocks partially unclenched, it
remains firmly lashed to the status quo.
Inoffensive, yet ultimately unchallenging, it
provides ample proof that one Noel Gallagher is
perfectly sufficient, thank you very much. 'Mother
Superior' is little more than Alex Lowe's Stars In
Their Eyes audition - "Tonight Matthew, I'm going
to be Liam Gallagher's arse" - and despite an
unexpected bliss-out in the middle, it's
mind-numbingly predictable.
With 'Let Go of the Dream', however, Hurricane
finally deliver the goods. It's short, sharp, drenched
in seductive pathos and entirely irresistible.
Soon-come single 'Chain Reaction' follows, and
unsurprisingly finds the band desperately aping
their celebrated Mancunian label-mates as if their
very mortgages depended on it.
Up until this point, Hurricane#1 have been treading
water in a most slothful fashion, dull glimmers of
inspiration have been extinguished by half-hearted
realisation, and the word 'satisfactory' has hovered
over proceedings like an accusatory vulture. But,
thankfully, 'Lucky Man' swaggers over the horizon
and allows the band to finally fulfil their potential
for greatness. It's a Herculean groove which, aided
and abetted by swooping strings and driving
production, culminates in a dramatically
self-assured conclusion. 'Strange Meeting'
continues the fightback, a nicely crafted slice of
summer whimsy complete with scrubbed acoustics,
jangling hooks and melodies to die for. Brash
braggadocio finally yields to refreshing vulnerability
in the truly wonderful 'Monday Afternoon', before
the closing 'stand In Line', a hypnotic mantra of
dark Lennonesque psychedelia, systematically lulls
and culls the grateful listener into abject
submission. All in all, 'Hurricane#1' is not so much
a relentless monsoon, as a light drizzle followed by
an awe-inspiring deluge of almost biblical
proportions."
Ian Fortman, Vox (
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