All summer, Charli XCX has been ruling the club scene with her harsh green club pop record “Brat.” Her synth-pop, acid and EBM inspired record took the internet by storm with its June 7 release; for months you could open any social media and see trend after trend and thread after thread discussing “Brat.” Though, all good things come to an end. Months later, the hype has died down, and “Brat Summer” is over. Though, when something good ends, there is always a new beginning — welcome home “Indie Sleaze Fall.”
On Sept. 6, The Dare released his freshman album, “What’s Wrong With New York?,” on streaming services. The album is like a gender-bend of the themes that “Brat” gave us all summer, an album full of raunchy, pop club bangers.
“What’s Wrong With New York?” has a runtime of 27 minutes 24 seconds, spanning across 10 tracks. While this record may be short, it is nothing short of fun. The opening track “Open Up” brings a pop-rock sound reminiscent of early The Arctic Monkeys, with overdrive fuelled guitar, meshed with a synth beat.
While all of these songs are high-energy, sleazy pop songs there are two that stand above the rest, and of course, the first of those songs is “Girls.”
“Girls” is the hit-single from The Dare’s 2023 release “The Sex EP,” and it is a fast-moving, danceable song. The entire track is comprised of The Dare singing about the kinds of women he likes, with the main chorus leading with “I like the girls that do drugs / Girls with cigarettes in the back of the club,” and closing it with “I like girls who make love, but I love girls who like to f—ck / That’s what’s up.”
The second track that holds the limelight is “Elevation.” It is the only song that has more of a somber tone as compared to the rest; it has this emotional factor that the majority of the album does not have. The main chorus has The Dare singing, “When this elevation, elevation / Elevation’s done / There’s still no erasing / No erasing us.” These lyrics have more oomph than the rest of the album. While in other tracks, he has fun discussing his promiscuity, this song shows that other side. Maybe he is sick of the lifestyle he lives and his inescapable feelings about someone.
The entire album is enjoyable; there is not much to say other than that. The lyrics are catchy and the beats are infectious, but excluding “Elevation” there is not much substance past that. This is not an album that is going to make you think, and it probably will not have a profound effect on pop culture for years to come. That is fine though, not all art has to be some profound motif that will inspire the next generation. Sometimes you just want to sing about what all drives the world — sex, money and drugs.
