FRANK HURRICANE AND HURRICANES OF LOVE “Life is Spiritual” C36 (Crash Symbols)

I honestly cannot list any more than ten words Nick Drake had ever sung. My attention was always on the guitar; just how in the hell were which of his fingers plucking which and how many strings in what succession?! 

His breath might occasionally embellish a hammer-on; a consonant hiss or glottal tip-tap might have lent a sliding twang some added weight, but I sure as shit wasn’t hearing any sort of story or sentiment. The black feeling of his soft, inner howl could be counted on to depress my spirit sufficiently, while his convo-lute-d wizardry would reliably bewilder and entertain me, forever.

Neither Frank Hurricane, nor his Hurricanes of Love, for that matter, are Nick Drake. Though “Life is Spiritual” boasts a fair equivalent to ND (and Mississippi John Hurt, more specifically)’s six-string mastery, his (FH’s) Voice (both physical and literary) is the EXACT OPPOSITE, in terms of relaxation and mental mutability. Which is to say, you will listen and you will listen hard to what Mr. Hurricane has to say!

You will learn of myriad shady Appalachian characters (and otherworldly denizens, as well!) who engage in various illicit acts. You will be exposed to an egregious glorification of unregulated Schedule One and Schedule Two substances, and their copious consumptions. You will witness the word “spiritual" transform itself into the trisyllabic “spear-a-chill” & you will become aggressively woo-woo’d. Your lexicon will expand and redefine itself markedly through some slang and appropriation that I’m fairly certain but unable to prove right now is just made the fuck up for this specific album, but, it like, just sounds really cool and fun and definitely has both Merriam and Webster doing dusty pirouettes in their graves. 

You will definitely find yourself in the company of others, hours later, with an insatiable desire to release the impassioned earworm “OOOOHH-OOOOOH, JUH-GAH-LOOOOO-OOOO-OO” with a snarky soulfulness you’ve always knew you had and had better suppress but now it hurts more to do so.

All sung & dunn, you will feel like you’ve just hung out with the crazy sumbitch that is Frank Hurricane, and you’ll wonder just how in the hell he’s lived so long without getting stabbed over rights to a Smokey Mountain still. Enjoy from the safety of your own stereo/altar.

RIYL: Old Crow Medicine Show/early Akron/Family/Robert Plant's vocal affects, MJH’s finger-style virtuosity, stories about uppers, ghost stories about uppers, & uppers in general, I guess.

https://crashsymbols.bandcamp.com/album/life-is-spiritual

and/or

https://frankhurricane.com/

— Jacob An Kittenplan

FRANK HURRICANE "Off Da Chain" C62 (Posmicom)

2nd printing of this bad boy, so you know the shit is tighter than the shit in a shrimp's asshole.  Frank's comedy tape, as if he wasn't funny enough in the real world. Last minute mother's day gift?

http://posmicom.bigcartel.com/product/frank-hurricane-off-da-chain-cs62

-- Ed.

FRANK HURRICANE "Fall Iz The Best Season" (Anonymous Dog)

this tape has been out for a while but I figured I should post this anyway - ed.

Wow, I say this with no irony what-so-ever, this is a magical tape. Why do I use the word magical? Because Frank Hurricane has the ability to turn nothing into something similar to the techniques of a man who dabbles in the arts of illusion. Frank Hurricane is a post modern gem of a musician because this output is so gentle and humble, a rarity amongst struggling bohemians bending backwards to have their voices taken seriously. His songs are interesting because his decision making in song structure is fantastic and his influences are eclectic and from the far away places in the sonic universe, like banjo and hip hop. He does not rely on tons of effect pedals or sonic do-dads to make something that sounds contemporary, awesome and worthwhile.

Frank's voice swings in and between instrumentals. His lyrics cry out like a delta blues legend of way back when and a little off tune. That era's philosophy of low-fi recording is evident, making for the perfect intimate cassette experience.

But he can also rap and just tell good stories too! What if Jerry Garcia made a hip hop duo in 2012 with the guy from Casiotone for the Painfully Alone? It may sound like his hit "Real Talk", which is as heavy as Fall Iz the Best Season gets.

Then there are some simple drum and beat loops that are just meditative and complex in their own way while remaining repetitive and restrained. They're pleasant.

Frank Hurricane is also a great freak folk string player. The cassette's closing track "Autumn Love" is intimate, nostalgic, spare ... dare I say romantic? It's definitely moving.

The album goes through so many changes without ever feeling heavy handed or jarring. It's smooth as jamba juice. The closest comparison I can think of to an album would be Beck's ODELAY, but this album is more challenging and DIY. It was made with a simple grocery list of instruments: a yamaha keyboard, voice, banjo, guitars and cymbals.

I hold this in high prestige! www.anonymousdog.com to check it out.
Here's Frank's bandcamp: http://hurricanesoflove.bandcamp.com/album/fall-iz-the-best-season

-- Jack Turnbull