Regular Columnists

Artist: Band: Hurricane Chaser
Album: The Map Is Not The Territory
Genre: Rock
Technical Grade: 10/10
Production/Musicianship Grade: 10/10
Commercial Value: 10/10
Songwriting Skills: 10/10
Best Songs: The Heist, Sparrow, Barricades
CD Review:

Seattle band, Hurricane Chaser’s new CD, The Map Is Not The Territory, begins with a hypnotic beat laid down by Moises Padilla on drums and Ben Obec on bass. Nathan Spicer weaves in keyboard line while Brad Zeffren delivers a strong vocal. Zeffren and Derek Pulvino add some tasty guitar. This is good rock and roll. The song is Racing A River. The next cut, The Heist didn’t disappoint either. The insistent guitar riff that anchors the song rocks the band through a song of robbery gone awry.

Sparrow features Zeffren’s vocal over a latin spiced rhythm laid down by Obec’s snaky bass line and Padilla’s percussion. When the lead guitar comes in, full of passion and distortion, the song really takes off.  Crowds of the City is a nice rock number with solid guitar work. Barricades was one of my favorite songs on the CD. Zeffren’s vocal with Obec’s harmony fronts a Mark Knopfler style guitar part.  When the lead kicks in backed by Spicer’s keyboard, the band rocks.

The Map Is Not The Territory is a very strong offering from Hurricane Chaser. This is a band with strong commercial potential.  The Map Is Not The Territory was produced by Brad Zeffren and he also wrote all the songs. But the band does a great job of supporting the songs and bringing them to life. The songwriting is sharp and melodically strong. The arrangements are very interesting and the production is clean. This is pretty good stuff. I would not be surprised to hear Hurricane Chaser on the radio or backing a movie. Check out The Map Is Not The Territory by Hurricane Chaser.