The Dangerous Summer – Reach for the Sun
  1. The Dangerous Summer
  2. Reach for the Sun
  3. Hopeless Records
  4. myspace.com/DangerousSummer

The Dangerous Summer – Reach for the Sun

Somewhere around 2002, a lot of bands started teetering on lines that were previously uncrossable: the lines between pop-punk, emo, and indie rock. A whole generation of music fans made great artists like The Starting Line or The Early November the soundtrack to their high school years. After a few years, the sound started to grow old and many started looking for new trends, until Cartel came along and temporarily breathed new life into this tremendously catchy style. And now, in 2009, the sound is tired once again. Or at least that’s how this reviewer felt until he finally heard The Dangerous Summer, a band that knows how to carefully balance these lines and how to do it right.

There’s a lot of fun energy, but never silly energy. There’s a lot of strong emotion, but never melodrama. The guitars and drums have tight work going on, and the vocals are strong and powerful, lacking all of the whininess that can appear in this type of rock. The smart complexity is illustrated well by the chorus of “The Permanent Rain,” which is one of the catchiest and most upbeat hooks on the record even while singing out “Where the hell’s my hope?” and speaking of trying to have strength through situations that seem too difficult to handle. Some may be troubled by the use of strong language, but by my standards it isn’t used flippantly. Each occurrence is intentional and helps to emphasize a point. It’s never used childishly or in the silly rebellion of teenage angst like it is in a lot of other pop punk, so unless you have convictions against listening to music with strong language, you should be able to appreciate or at least understand some of the more mature lyrics on the album.

This is pop punk for people who want more than power chords. This is emo for people who want the heartfelt introspection without all the wussiness. This is indie rock for people who want something that is still generally accessible. The lyrics are both intelligent and personal, and the music is diverse and slightly technical while maintaining a strong energy throughout. For those who miss the days when Drive-Thru Records had cool bands, take a moment to give The Dangerous Summer a chance.

8/10