Disco is destroying me

Here come The Dare. Some thoughts.

The Dare - Johnny Brenda’s - 9/12/24

Don’t try to find a lot of deep meaning in The Dare. If you do, you’ll wind up becoming one of those overthinking and joyless hipster music website writers. Just surrender to the grooves and the energy and the undeniable fun of this dance-rock indie sleaze(?) thing that singer, songwriter, DJ, producer, and analogue gear playing Harrison Patrick Smith has put together on his debut lp, What’s Wrong With New York?

About two weeks ago I had no idea who this guy was, or what the buzz about the ‘22 jam, “Girls,” a (sort of?) tongue-in-chic, undeniably catchy dance jam was about. But last weekend, after listening to the 27 minute, 10 song lp four times in a row, I was in. Way in.

Here’s the deal: The Dare’s debut is snarky and snotty, its arrogance is charming, its boasting is fun, the electro pop beats are tight and meticulous, and seeing it live - as I did a couple nights ago at The Dare’s Philly debut at the (fantastic) hipster Fishtown indie club spot Johnny Brenda’s, I was even more convinced. I witnessed a couple hundred of mostly 20-somethings lose their shit, shaking their groove things, phones in the air, singing along to every word of every song. Especially the “Girls” punch line: “I like girls who make love, but I love girls who like to fuck.”

Well, ok.

It’s interesting to read all the comments on the “Girls” YouTube video. There’s many references to being taken back to a certain period of time…the early Oughts, 1979, the mid Oughts, back to the 70s again.

While the lyrical depth of the songs is not intended to shed much light on the human condition, the point - as Daft Punk has said - is to lose yourself to dance. Sure, there’s some pointed cultural reflection about 20 & 30 somethings baked into Smith’s songs. But as a music fan (of and for many decades), what I am struck most by is how Smith weaves all these familiar musical sounds from different decades into something so disarmingly fresh. Fans reference LCD (true), Peaches, Death From Above 1979, Calvin Harris (“The Girls”), even Cake - which I heard almost immediately because of the way Smith phrases talk-sings the lyrics.

But who this Smith really sounds like is Mark E. Smith, the genius front man of post-punkers The Fall. While the sounds of this record are heavy on the LCD vibes (a band I absolutely fucking love), in songs like “I Destroyed Disco,” “All Night,” and “Open Up,” I hear touch points of Beasties, Rick James, Yaz, Bodyrox, LMFAO, Ladytron, Afrika Bam, ESG, James White (“Contort Yourself”), even Sir Mix’s “Baby Got Back,” with lots of grooves and bleeps and psycho-key fills and punk spirit. And I can’t wait to see this show again.

So dig in if any of this is calling you. And with the Charli XCX touch, things are very much on the up and up for Mr. Smith. Electro-pop and dance connections abound. Here come are The Dare.