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Love Like A Hurricane

by Hawker M. James

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about

It's not for nothing that Killers frontman Brandon Flowers tipped his hat to New York's last golden age at the recent Governor's Ball concert. It's an era Hawker M. James remembers well, having participated in it first-hand alongside the Strokes and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs as drummer in the millennial buzz act Longwave. When James received a call in 2001 from childhood friend Steve Schiltz, his fateful decision to join the band would take him to festivals around the world, and land him in Rolling Stone magazine. But well before that, James was amassing a wealth of original material on his Tascam 4-track cassette recorder. He has in fact been honing his songs into gleaming indie-pop/glam/rock 'n roll confections for almost two decades.

"As long as you capture the performance, it doesn't matter how you record it." It's a saying James knows well, having heard it many times from the owner of the Western New York recording studio that’s been something of a second home to James going on 15 years now. Whether recording on a beaten-up 4-track or paying top dollar for studio time, James always strives for the production values that have distinguished his delightfully varied body of work, whether it's under solo monikers like Admirers, Mikey Jukebox, or as bandleader in The Mercies, or producer in acts like The Demos. He's gleaned a lot working with Dave Fridmann on Longwave’s debut The Strangest Things, mixing the Admirers project at Ardent Studios (the home of Big Star) in 2013, and having his first two Hawker singles co-produced by Joel Ford (Ford & Lopatin, Young Ejecta, Autre Ne Veut).

Nothing if not prolific, one thing you can always count on from James is new material. This time, with "Love Like a Hurricane," James takes yet another step from dedicated studio tinkerer to singer-songwriter in earnest, hitting that sweet spot between glam rock, Burt Bacharach, and modern cool. He explains: "'Love Like a Hurricane' was one of those songs I wrote in 15 minutes, lyrics and all. It rarely happens like that -- I went right down to the basement and demoed it. The words just sprang out, and there are more verses than I usually have. It was one of those times where I thought, 'Damn, is this what dylan or lou reed has at any given moment???'"

lyrics

It feels good
Knowing you’re mine
The writings on the walls
Scattered all throughout time
It feels good
That you say my name,
Without sorrow or pain
Panic or shame

It feels good,
Or even sublime
The anecdotes of Shakespeare
With me have aligned
And it’s good
The stew in my brain
Cause a storm has now took
And you give me love like a hurricane

Warnings came
With often complaint
The full moon’s reputation has to uphold its name
And don’t look
Cause she’s coming again
With hail and tirade
Passion and flame

And it took
Only seconds to claim
The thunder and the lightning
And winds did proclaim
Levees shook
By the sound of your name
Baptism and rain
You give me love like a hurricane

And it’s paradise, in earthly domain
A painting from a master, came to life and engaged
A sudden shock hits my knees and shakes

The universe is down on its knees
A grizzly bear of virtue has pawed and squeezed
Subtleties have turned to no reservation

We look through an eye
But can we retain
My molecules and science have tied us and bind
Like a book
With climatic surprise
And a heroine’s fame
You give me love like a hurricane

credits

released July 11, 2016
Recorded by Jason Milton, at Young Lion of the West Recording, Rochester.
Mixing and Additional Recording by Al Carlson, at Gary's Electric, Brooklyn.
Mastered by Josh Bonati, Brooklyn.
Produced, Written, and Performed by Hawker M. James

Additional Musicians:

Jason Milton - Synthesizer, Backing Vocals
Caela Moore - Syntheziser
Al Carlson - Baritone Saxophone

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Hawker M. James Rochester, New York

From his 90's beginnings making demos on a 4-track, to his brush with the millennial zeitgeist as the drummer in Longwave, (and solo-driven projects he's released since then), Mikey James quietly emerged as a journeyman songwriter. James' tunes struck a chord with TV producers and the indie music charts, and blazed his own trail with his singular blend of folk and art rock. ... more

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