The Dangerous Summer

Golden Record

Written by: PP on 26/09/2013 22:50:34

"War Paint" was a monumental sophomore album from The Dangerous Summer two years ago. It felt like a bastard child between Brand New on "The Devil And God Are Raging Inside Me" and My Chemical Romance on "Three Cheers For A Sweet Revenge", drawing emotional depth and introspection from the former and emotive, expansive melodies from the latter to arrive at a sound difficult to place in any one genre. Was it alternative rock? Post-hardcore? Indie-flavored emo? Nobody could really tell for sure. That confusion will no doubt continue on third album "Golden Record", which feels like a logical evolution from "War Paint". It doesn't abandon its core sound, yet it feels like a more mature, bigger-sounding album than its predecessor, partially due to better production values but also due to more ambitious songwriting.

You see, on "Golden Record" The Dangerous Summer have gone for a more anthemic sound, which was hinted at on a number of songs already during "War Paint". Many of the songs have a little more tempo, the melodies are more uplifting and slightly brighter, while the soundscape still retains its overall introspective and thoughtful vibe. And when I say brighter, I mean only relatively so to the previous album, because the overall mood still has a distinctly darkened flavor attached to it. It's a perfect meeting point between tightly confined melodies that feel like emotional outpours themselves and larger-than-life riffs that loftily float across the soundscape, bringing to mind Angels And Airwaves on more than one occasion ("Miles Apart" and "Honesty" especially carry this parallel). In fact, you could argue that "Golden Record" is the album Angels & Airwaves have failed to write since their inception, because Tom DeLonge's vocals are simply not as solid nor as charismatic and depth-laden as those by AJ Perdomo both here and on "War Paint". I mean, this is a guy whose croons are heartfelt in their standard-range, and stretch into near-perfection when they passionately reach towards the screams while staying safely on this side of the border.

So consistent is "Golden Record" in its crescendo-driven buildups that explode into sparkling instrumental excellence that picking individual highlights is a difficult, if not an impossible task. It is an anthemic record that expands on its sound enough to make The Dangerous Summer a viable candidate for the breakthrough act of the next 12 months, if "War Paint" didn't already make them that in the first place. If you want to hear a modern emotive, indie-flavored record by a band that has influenced the likes of Have Mercy and Strange Vacation since their inception, be sure not to miss "Golden Record", which beholds the sky-high standards of "War Paint" while adding new elements to their sound. This, my friends, is how evolution as a band is undertaken with grace and complete control over your artistic expression without taking unnecessary liberties with a beloved sound.

Download: Catholic Girls, Sins, Knives, Into The Comfort, Miles Apart
For the fans of: Have Mercy, Strange Vacation, The Graduate, Balance & Composure, Angels And Airwaves
Listen: Facebook

Release date 06.08.2013
Hopeless Records

Related Items | How we score?
Comments
comments powered by Disqus

Legal

© Copyright MMXXIV Rockfreaks.net.