Album Review: The Dangerous Summer - 'Gravity'
The Dangerous Summer’s latest album orbits greatness with another solid chapter in their weighty, alt rock discography.
The Dangerous Summer are one of those bands that you probably haven’t heard of, but definitely should have. With the current line-up consisting of AJ Perdomo (vocals and bass), Josh Withenshaw (guitar) and Christian Zawacki (drums), their 2009 debut, ‘Reach For The Sun’, burst the group onto the scene with a fantastic and heartfelt indie rock album, packed with explosive choruses, instantly iconic riffs and addictive hooks; it was brilliant. Fresh.
Then came 2011’s successor, ‘War Paint’, full of a very familiar sounding array of anthemic choruses, standout riffs and fantastic hooks. Fast forward a few years, and you’ve got 2019’s ‘Mother Nature’, an incredible album — but one that, again, fails to stray too far from that winning formula that made them such an alt-emo mainstay. Despite this, however, the growth in vocals, instrumentals, and general candour is obvious.
No truer is that than on the band’s latest album, ‘Gravity’; a heady, hearty, and intoxicating forage into the heart of The Dangerous Summer. It’s not revolutionary; rather, for fans past and present, it feels like going home. From AJ’s post-hardcore screams in the chorus of opener ‘I Feel More Like Myself When I’m Losing It’, frustratedly shouting into the void — “This won’t be the album anyone wanted”, he tells us, weariness dripping form each syllable — to the soft, heartfelt closer of ‘Into The Stratosphere’, crooning falsetto over the gentle squealing of Shoegaze-y guitar riffs, ‘Gravity’ tells the story of a band grappling with who they want to be; and what they want to be is unapologetically themselves. The gentle chorus of the title track, AJ’s impassioned singing over a gentle guitar riff, goes hand in hand with the acerbic, accusatory tones of ‘Wild Ones’; the instant, contemplative classic of ‘You’ll See It All Coming’ and the emotional, phone-flashlight-moments of ‘Clouds In My Eyes’, full of crescendoing instrumentals, grapple with the foot-stomping-yet-forlorn nature of ‘Turning Love Into War”; the round bridge of ‘What’s An Hour Really Worth’, meanwhile, promises a live performance that’s both frantic and final.
And then there’s the personal standout of ‘With My Pen’. With an electronic klaxon and droning guitar leading into rocky riffs and the frustrated and resolute tone of AJ, there’s a tangible feel to the vitriolic spittle dripping off of each line ripped from his throat; the dichotomy between the pained despondency and the dogged determination in the vocals, and the melodic tones of the chorus create a truly fantastic track.
‘Gravity’ is a great album. It doesn’t necessarily do anything new, but then it doesn’t really need to. For The Dangerous Summer fans, ‘Gravity’ might just seem like a new take on the same sounds they know and love — and, let’s be honest, it is — but it’s still great; it might wear the traditional, tonal hand-me-downs of the albums that came before, but it happily stands on its own two feet. AJ’s distinct, huskily-hoarse vocals are in full force over instrumentals that reflect a band a little more contemplative than their past selves; but it’s still unmistakably them, full of arena-ready anthems and roaring instrumentals.
Catch them this September, with support from Broadside and happydaze, and enjoy ‘Gravity’ live.
Words by James O’Sullivan
