The Dangerous Summer holds an interesting place in my heart. I was 19 and confused. I played in a sugary indie-pop band, but I was mainly listening to sad indie rock like Interpol and Death Cab for Cutie. At the same time, I somehow couldn’t separate myself from loving the anthemic emo records from the late 90s and early 2000s. Amidst all the neon pop-schlock and generic quasi-folk that was prominent in those days, one record came out of nowhere for me. When The Dangerous Summer released their debut full length, Reach For The Sun, it became that one magical record that didn’t quite match what I thought I loved, but in reality, was everything I needed to hear.
Sometimes, I feel strange admitting what a landmark album it
was in my life – the obvious answer when referring to groundbreaking emo albums
would be something like Something to
Write Home About from The Get Up Kids or Stay What You Are by Saves the Day. I love both of those albums,
but if I’m being honest with myself, I doubt Reach For the Sun would land anywhere on a SPIN magazine top 20 list. It was unabashedly “emo” in a
time when the genre was almost universally dismissed, and I almost found myself unfairly
ignoring it solely for the connection to their bratty pop punk contemporaries. It wasn’t until my friend showed
me the blistering “Surfaced” that I realized I had made a mistake. If nothing else, their
intensely relatable lyrics were enough to sell me – it’s like my life was being
read to me by a stranger.
I’m now almost 24 and it has been more than four years since Reach For the Sun. The Dangerous
Summer is now on their third full length, Golden
Record. Band members have come and gone just like people have
come and gone in my life. And yet, although a lot has changed for both of us, some things have definitely stayed the same. Songs like lead single and album opener “Catholic Girls” mixes an
understated drum beat with lead singer Perdomo’s inconsolable rasp, and it ends up being one of the most memorable TDS songs to date. When Perdomo sings, “Innocence
was hard to stand by, even with those catholic girls we loved, they gave it up,
life goes on,” it hits so close to home that it’s almost scary. “Sins” is another stand out, and Perdomo
reaches what I can only imagine is the height of his catharsis. TDS is oftentimes very talented at taking their songs “one step further." Even though every time a massive explosion of emotion is
on the horizon, it seems like there is no way they could possibly make it work... they always do. Four tracks
in, during the sharp (har har) guitar lines of “Knives,” the band’s algorithm for
songwriting begins to become clear – brutally honest songs that feature lost-in-space guitars and huge
vocals sung with a heavy heart.
“Honesty” is another TDS classic, taking a busy snare drum pattern
and pairing it with delay-driven walls of unrelenting guitar sound. Next, “We Will
Wait In The Fog” builds off of a gentle, yet unfortunately forgettable electric
piano riff and this is where this
album starts to fall a little short (even though this is probably where The
Dangerous Summer thought they were really succeeding). When TDS is at their best, the band shows
off their nearly infinite range – their songs slow down, speed up, and hit
every tempo and level of intensity in between. Golden Record, on
the other hand, could probably pass for one long 40-minute song, even with the aforementioned stand out tracks. By the time you get to songs like “I’m So
Pathetic,” it’s hard to know where one song stops and another begins. You soon realize there hasn’t been a break from Perdomo’s incessant emotional assault
since the album started. It gets to a point where you wonder if Perdomo injured himself singing – his voice sounds painfully raw, which could be a beautiful thing. But you
know what they say, “everything in moderation.”
Don’t get me wrong, Perdomo's sincerity is the reason this band is so
relatable. His lyrics and vocals are still markedly better than most of his
contemporaries. But when you fill each and every one of your songs with the
same level of vocal shrapnel, it gets to a point where you can’t tell what’s
filler and what’s, well, golden. Halfway
through the record, things start to feel paint-by-numbers, like the band
figured out what they were good at and tried proving to their listeners that
they were “REALLY INTO EVERYTHING THEY WERE SINGING.” Somehow, Golden Record actually loses a
lot of its intensity due to its relentless emotional pace. That’s not meant to outright dismiss the
band as they close the album with the fantastic “Anchor,” which is full of
introspective riffs and gentle verses, and is exactly what this album needed – a break.
That being said, the Dangerous Summer is still a band that strides markedly
ahead of their contemporaries…They
just need to realize that they don’t have to prove it with every last breath.
GRADE: B-
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