CD REVIEW: Maryland band takes a step forward
A few times a year, a pop/punk band will break the mold and create an album that goes beyond the simplicity usually delivered by the genre.
The Dangerous Summer's latest release, "Reach For the Sun," is 2009's version.
The band, who hails from Maryland, grew dramatically from their debut EP, "If You Could Only Keep Me Alive." The music is more complex as it surrounds very deep lyrics.
Lead singer and guitarist AJ Perdomo penned perhaps the best lyrics 2009 will see when all is said and done. Few songwriters have been able to master the self doubt, questioning and ups-and-downs of growing up in one's late teens/early twenties without sounding melodramatic and whiny.
The album is very much an introspective look into his life and what he was going through between the release of the band's initial EP through the recording of their full length album.
Some of Perdomo's best lyrics show through on the songs "Weathered," "Northern Lights" and "Never Feel Alone," the album's final track. Perdomo bellows the final lines of "Never Feel Alone" with "When all I want to do is have this/I'm not strong enough to stand./'Cause I've been pushed around before./I felt the burn from every inch of my heart, but it's worth it never to feel alone."
His effort is very similar to one made by Shane Henderson of Valencia in their 2008 release, "We All Need A Reason To Believe." Perdomo was able, however, to deliver his words with more passion and sincerity.
The band takes the listener through eleven tracks of life and its struggles. The release leads off with perhaps its catchiest song, "Where I Want To Be," and continues on, delivering solid pop/punk music. The album's strength lays in the final three songs. "Northern Lights," "This Is War" and "Never Feel Alone" close out the album perfectly, with Perdomo almost singing with the urgency and sincerity that his lyrics portray.
However, there are some weak points in the album. Perdomo's deeper, raspier voice will never leave people blown away and much of the music is very similar sounding, and not in a good way. Some bands are able to create a sound that carries through track by track without sounding exactly the same. The Dangerous Summer's inability to do that was one of their few downfalls on the record. The introductions to "Where I Want To Be" and "This Is War" sound nearly identical.
While the music itself may be similar throughout, it doesn't take that much away from the fact that Perdomo was able to create an anthem for the generation of young people growing up and trying to figure out who they are.
Four out of five stars.
