Hakan

Drunk Dial #6 [7-inch] (2020)

John Gentile

The Drunk Dial series is a chain of 7-inch singles where bands get blitzed (or semi-blitzed) before writing and recording a single. The A-side features an orignal and the B-side features a cover.

Entry #6 features Italian garage rockers Hakan. On A-side “Tempuras Never Come,” the band tears through a high energy bopper which appears to be about wanting shrimp. In true garage rock, and fittingly for the series, the track opens with a beer can popping open. From there, the band zips ala the clean striking of Marked Men. Though, there’s such a dedication to melody and simple but effective songwriting that there are equal echoes of the smart-economy of M.O.T.O. That is to say, the track rocks with clean energy. The band verges towards AM rock category with their sunny sound, but bring back to the garage with the energy.

The B-side is a muscled up version of the Devo classic “Mr. DNA.” Th band plays the track at double speed, but in accordance woith the A-side, keeps the melody in the forefront. Usually when bands get too melodic, that is to say “nice sounding,” they loose teeth and become aimless pop-adjacent wanderers. Not so with Hakan. While this does sound radio ready, some how they keep the venom in the tracks so that while it sounds bright, it also sounds like it’s ready to blast off the tracks at any minute. I guess they’re “happy” drunks. That’s good for them and it’s good for us too, because we get a nice little 7-inch like this.