Hurricane Season (album)

Hurricane Season is the first studio album by Alkaline Trio vocalist and bassist Dan Andriano, released on August 9, 2011 through Asian Man Records. The album is primarily acoustic, and was met with positive critical reception, being given a 4.5/5 by PunkNews,^[1] and a 4/5 by Alternative Press.^[2]

Track listing

All tracks written by Dan Andriano.

Songs

It's Gonna Rain All Day

This song was written in two sections. Andriano wrote the first part at home, when he woke up to a "very Florida-style downpour — thick, muggy and [producing] the sweet smell of wet greenery". He had the melody to the song stuck in his head, so he wrote the lyrics to the chorus and left it at that for the moment. The rest of the song came into being when Dan was on tour, and woke up in "a hotel bed at some shit-hole. [It was] pissing rain outside, and I didn't really want to move". He immediately wrote the rest of the song's lyrics about making decisions and where those decisions can take you. "Sometimes we have the power to make it rain on ourselves, and flood our lives with negativity. Sometimes it's just beautiful to smell the wet grass and go outside and get wet — get clean."

Hurricane Season

This song was written about Dan's negativity, and how he has to choose between his love for his wife and daughter and his love for writing songs, listening to music and touring with friends. The song plays as an apology/thank you to Dan's wife for putting up with his constant absences and negative moods. "Because as I'm trying to get better at prioritizing, and scheduling and all that shit that doesn't come naturally to me, she's still here. Not just hanging around, but supporting me emotionally and trying to help me become the best person I can be."

Hollow Sounds

Another song for Andriano's wife, he wrote it as " a simple "I miss you" song, with a hint of, "I know I'm gone a lot, but please don't leave me." [It] sounds a little like well-worn territory for some, I suppose. But I've never felt like this in my life, and I'm 34 years old and have been married for 9 years". He wrote it to express his relief that he found someone who can help him through his "real-life problems", and that he married her as soon as he could.

Let Me In

Dan wrote this song to talk about his desire of touring against his desire of spending time at home. He wrote the lyrics after camping with one of his friends in Moab, Utah on an especially beautiful night. This served to make Dan grateful for the life he leads. "So as I try and describe this song, I want you to know I will never forget how beautiful this universe is, but things change and now there's always a place I would rather be: home. When you're away for months and some asshole tries to vomit on your shoes for no good reason, I get freaked out [and] disgusted. In this song, I write, "It's an ugly world where beautiful doesn't mean much of anything / Let me in"".

This Light

One of the first songs created for the album, Andriano wrote this while on tour with Alkaline Trio. He had become depressed about not being able to see his wife. Dan wrote the song when he realised that he should snap out of his mood because his wife deserved it. "... this song kinda spilled out of me when I realized that I had to get better, because she deserves better and I had to get home".

On Monday

While on tour, Andriano arranged to meet up with his wife and child on a day he had off. However, Dan had been drinking, as he often does on tour, and became ill on that day and missed his family. So he wrote this song to apologise to his family for missing them. "... the glamorous life of staying up all night drinking alone on a tour bus really bit me in the ass: "But I blew it this time, and I missed you on Monday"".

Me And Denver

Andriano doesn't go into details as to the inspiration for the lyrics of this song; he simply says: "It's definitely one of my favorites on the album, though, because the sentiment is real. Most of us don't need anything; we're lucky in that regard. But a lot of us are missing a lot of things — maybe it's people, maybe it's answers, or hope, love, trust, whatever. If you're looking, I really do hope you find it".

Say Say Say

At this point, Dan's lyrics stop being so negative and take a positive turn. Dan says that in this song, he "learned to say “fuck off” to the negativity and appreciate the here-and-now, as it was all worth it. There comes a time to forget about things, to put all the bad memories, all the bad choices [and] all the critics into a giant balloon and let it all float out into space, to hopefully burn up somewhere far away from here. For I have learned recently that need is a very strong word, and I try to remember that there's not much on this planet that I actually need. For that, I am thankful".

The Last Day We Ever Close Our Eyes

In keeping with the lightened tone of the record, Dan writes a poem to his wife, saying that their love is so strong that it would take the end of the world to separate them.

From This Oil Can

Andriano's favourite song from the record, this is a song dedicated to his daughter. ""Though your leaves were born in ashes, they will die in the sunlight." I wrote it as a lyric for her, but I wrote it as a promise to myself". Note: a verse in this song, beginning at 1:15, borrows lyrics from "I Remember A Rooftop", a song Dan wrote for Alkaline Trio's acoustic album Damnesia. The lyrics borrowed are: "And I lost my life on the first try/But you found it miles down the line, a swollen face with all these names/And then you kissed the taste back into my tongue/Sucked the smoke out of my lungs, and then we slept for days and days". ^[3]

References

1. ↑ http://www.punknews.org/review/10489/
2. ↑ http://www.altpress.com/reviews/entry/dan_andriano_in_the_emergency_room_hurricane_season
3. ↑ http://www.altpress.com/features/entry/track_by_track_dan_andriano_in_the_emergency_room