Halestorm represent a rare commodity in hard rock – a band with a female lead singer. Unfortunately, while it’s nice to have a woman crash the boys’ club and offer an alternative to the same old testosterone-fueled rock, this Pennsylvania quartet’s self-titled debut doesn’t have much else that’s novel or surprising about it. Generic headbangers about bad boyfriends and kinky sex abound on Halestorm, and the dreary professionalism of the endeavor gets old pretty quickly.
Formulaic Hard Rock
Fronted by Lzzy Hale, the only woman in the band, Halestorm have toured with Seether and Shinedown, and like those groups this quartet specialize in hard rock that’s usually more melodic than it is death-defyingly loud or aggressive. If it was simply because they slavishly followed a formula, Halestorm would hardly be worthy of scorn, but the really unforgivable aspect of Halestorm is that Hale’s songs demonstrate such little imagination. Perhaps one shouldn’t expect Hale to address the raging misogyny in hard rock or her own experience as one of the few women working in the genre, but her desire to come across as both a sex symbol and “just one of the boys” is disappointing because she doesn’t convey either guise with much authority.
Sexy? Not So Much.
Some of Halestorm’s weakest moments come during Hale’s attempts to be sexy. “Dirty Work” fools around with double entendres and domination talk, but the guitars fail to be either sensual or dangerous. Instead, it’s a pretty unexciting riff-fest that simply goes through the motions. And “I Get Off” is low-grade stripper-rock, with Hale belting her sexual devotion in a rather unappealing way. Because the publicity materials play up Hale’s attractiveness, it’s clear that Halestorm are at least partly trying to flaunt her looks to get (male) listeners’ attention. But as an object of desire, well, she leaves a lot to be desired.
Best When Slowing Down the Tempos
The mid-tempo songs are Halestorm’s strongest. “Bet U Wish U Had Me Back” finds Hale singing to a former lover – she wonders if he thinks of her when he’s having sex with his new flame. Producer Howard Benson emphasizes the dynamic shifts in “Bet U Wish U Had Me Back” to create real sparks, and for once Hale sounds like a real person rather than a hell-on-wheels otherworldly screamer. Later on “Better Sorry Than Safe,” Halestorm write a radio-ready power ballad that may be conventional but still has its charms. As they demonstrate on Halestorm, these guys can’t rock all that well, but they can sway pretty decently.
'Halestorm' - Bottom Line
By and large, hard rock is still a man’s world, with women mostly serving as the subject of songs about love or lust. Halestorm may shift certain gender roles because Hale is a woman, but that’s about the only unique thing here. It might have been silly to have hoped for another Live Through This, but Halestorm’s debut is so dull that it could be renamed Sleep Through This.
“Better Sorry Than Safe” (Purchase/Download)
“Innocence” (Purchase/Download)
'Halestorm' – Best Tracks:
“Bet U Wish U Had Me Back” (Purchase/Download)“Better Sorry Than Safe” (Purchase/Download)
“Innocence” (Purchase/Download)
Release date – April 28, 2009
Atlantic Records
