Albums by this artist

Songs From The Kitchen (1999)

Hurricane Lamps

Songs From The Kitchen

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» BEN FRENCH | CO-DIRECTOR

Hurricane Lamps Songs From The Kitchen Sonic Boomerang, 1999 RiYL: Sebadoh, Pavement

It's hard to listen to the Hurricane Lamps' Tales From The Sink and not instantly think of Sebadoh. All of Sebadoh's patented elements are present: clanging guitars, chattering drums and Barlow-esque vocals. While the comparison might be the mark of death for most acts, it actually works fairly well for the Lamps.

In comparison to his lo-fi role models and peers, the Lamps' leader Eric Tischler certainly does a better job with lyrics and his hooks are more palatable than those of your average Indie bear. The other band members earn their keep with dynamic rawk performances on tunes such as "Bonnie And Clyde," "Stay" and opener "Soda Tower."

On these tracks (and at other odd moments), the Lamps manage to break out of the lo-fi formula to reach fantastic levels of success. The delightfully spacey "Stay" makes me wonder if they aren't holding themselves back from fully reaching their potential. The band inevitably suffers (as does Sebadoh) from their continually cookie cutter approach to songwriting.

Still, given enough listens, this album removes the band from the mire of no-name Sebadoh wanna-bes. Tischler and company set out to make an album dedicated to love and relationships -- an overdone but still compelling subject matter -- and walk away unscathed. Definitely worth a listen.

BEN FRENCH | Ben founded NATN in the winter of 1998-1999 with fellow IU alums Troy Carpenter and Jonathan Cohen. During the day time, he's working for Nielsen Business Media, publisher of Billboard. Ben's favorite acts include Bruce Springsteen, The Clash, Sonic Youth, Elvis Costello, Talking Heads, Rolling Stones, and the Beach Boys.