The Dangerous Summer - Golden Record (Album Review)
Tuesday, 06 August 2013
Written by Gavin Rees
Perception is a major part of modern music. Perhaps it shouldn't be, but it is. Unfortunately for the Dangerous Summer, they're an easy target for music fans fond of labels. Named after an Ernest Hemingway novel, not always the most endearing social media presence...you get the the picture.
But, beneath the surface fuzz are the actual band. They're not the latest crabcore sensations, they're not another beatdown pop-punk outfit. They write rock songs, big old rock songs. They'd not look out of place supporting a 'Clarity'-era Jimmy Eat World, or debating the finer points of a Far lyric sheet for that matter.
'Golden Record' is their third full-length and follows 2011's 'War Paint', an album that flattered to deceive at times. There are no such problems here. In short, this is comfortably the best collection the band has put together to date.
Catholic Girls emerges from snatches of feedback and acoustic guitars to set the record's stall out, bringing a monstrous, anthemic chorus and AJPerdomo's musings on home and tragedy. Across the board 'Golden Record' has more weight at its low end, with Perdomo and drummer Ben Cato very tight throughout.
As far as mission statements from bands go - the album is named after the Voyager Golden Records - it's a personal one in a lyrical sense. Perdomo tackles long-distance relationships on the excellent Sins and Miles Apart, blind rage on the Get Up Kids-esque We Will Wait In The Fog and coming back brighter on Anchor, with all of his themes tied up in slabs of melody.
Throughout, Matt Kennedy and Cody Payne's guitars flip between U2-inspired leads, ethereal backing notes and chugging rhythms, notably on Honesty. A stadium-sized piece of modern rock, the song lands at the midway point and gestures the band towards the next rung on the ladder.
'Golden Record' is not perfect, though. Listened to in a single sitting it's remarkably one-paced, while every one of its punches is thrown with maximum force. Where Jimmy Eat World's best records came with a dose of subtlety at their core, the Dangerous Summer haven't quite nailed down the difference between a loud/quiet dynamic and genuinely reining in the instrumentation to let a vocal hook, or lyric, find room.
There's no doubt that the Dangerous Summer could be huge. 'Golden Record' is packed with enough quality to send them crashing through the ceiling into theatre venues if it finds an audience, but to really hit home they've got a couple of creases to iron out. That's not a bad thing.
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