Review Summary: The Hives + The Vines + ADHD = Dangerous!
You know, one of the most annoying trends in music today is the unnecessary punctuation in band names. For example,
Against Me!,
Attack! Attack! (both of them),
Chunk! No, Captain Chunk! and worst of all @$%#@*&(*#. Okay, I made that last one up, but you see where I’m going with this. There should be no reason to have punctuation of any sort in a band name, save for apostrophes, which is why I was hesitant to listen to the debut album by Aussie rockers
Dangerous!. After a quick listen, I didn’t mind it so much, because damn, these guys are loud and furious.
Not One of You opens the album with a harsh scream and a very Vines-y riff. Competent musicianship backs up the song tenfold, as it injects your eardrums with adrenaline and makes you want to completely smash the nearest object. The furiosity (is that a word? I think so…)
never lets up on this half-hour of power (Sum 41 pun not intended). The drums blast away relentlessly, throwing in a fill or two every once in a while. Granted, they never try anything too complex, but
Dangerous! does what they know, and they do it pretty damn well. Bass is practically inaudible, unsurprisingly. But the guitars, make up for that fact. A lot of the riffs are well written and catchy, and I actually found myself humming along to the guitars more so than the vocals. With that being said, the vocals aren’t for everybody. You’ll either love them or hate them. Personally, I don’t mind them, and the vocalist can switch beautifully between clean(ish) singing and harsh screams. This is nicely demonstrated on
Nightmare.
The lyrics, from what I can make out, are relatively common issues dealt with by the majority of people on the internet nowadays. An example of which comes from the first verse of
Movers ‘n’ Shakers.
Sitting in a traffic jam on the way to work. Think about the good times and spill coffee on your shirt. Realize you’re wasting your time on this earth and there's no god damn satisfaction. Short, sweet and to the point, without using any metaphors.
It’s this simplicity of being so blunt that makes
Teenage Rampage work. Before, I end this review, I just need to point out comparisons to fellow Aussie garage band
The Vines. It’s obvious they’re a huge influence on this band, and it shows. Hell, if
Dangerous! got a different vocalist, it would be incredibly easy to pass them off as a Vines cover bands, but I digress. This is a great album to vent your anger and break sh*t to. It’s not mellow, and it’s definitely not subtle, but it’s fun as hell, and you’ll have a great time listening to it.
Pros
- Intensity never lets up
- Some great riffs
- Relatable lyrics
- Surprisingly catchy
Cons
- Not much variation
- Inaudible bass
- Vocals may bother some people
Recommended Tracks
Not One Of You
Movers ‘n’ Shakers
Nightmare
Leper
