Fresh off the buzz of his production credit and name drop on Charli xcx’s Brat deluxe track “Guess,” Harrison Patrick Smith, better known by his stage name “The Dare” hit the scene with his similarly sleazy debut album What’s Wrong With New York? on September 6th. Recognized by fans doing boiler room sets with Charli xcx in his characteristic black suit and sunglasses, The Dare has the look of a third (surprisingly American) Gallagher brother dressed like Matty Healy during his Being Funny in a Foreign Language era. His sound, though, is a heavy-handed electronic rock/dance fusion which many have compared to LCD Soundsystem and other indie-sleaze bands of the early 2000s.
What’s Wrong With New York? is a vulgar, often silly, wildly danceable album meant to portray the nastiest sides of New York City party culture. The lead single “Girls” took the internet by storm with its repetitive lyrical format and high intensity beat, where Smith opens the song with the line “I like the girls that do drugs” and doesn’t let up on giving the gnarliest and most unserious descriptions of concerningly “attractive” activities that he can think of. And yet, if you don’t take him too seriously, The Dare’s crass lyrics and wild persona can be a fun, high energy break from modern music and times. On songs like “Good Time” and “All Night,” The Dare succeeds in making party anthems that you could certainly imagine people moving and singing along to in a strobe-lit New York basement. Even songs like “I Destroyed Disco” where The Dare lays his aloof, cocky persona on thick over a distorted, robotic beat, have a certain catchiness to them, despite oozing with overconfidence. Clever lines like “What’s a blogger to a rocker, what’s a rocker to The Dare?” cement Smith’s persona and, despite eliciting eye rolls from some, can’t help but make you wish you were a part of the world he creates; partying and living freely as the most confident and cool version of yourself.
While most of the album reads as a blasé meditation on scummy party culture and sex, the eighth track “Elevation” takes a surprisingly vulnerable angle in both lyrics and sound, as The Dare sings over atmospheric synths about taking substances to dull the yearning he has for a past relationship. A true standout from the record, The Dare commits still to his behaviors that he establishes in the rest of his songs, but with a surprisingly raw angle that makes him seem more grounded and less like a caricature of a typical New York City cool guy. But there are songs, however, where the caricature takes over. Tracks like “Perfume” take their unseriousness too far, containing lyrics that deliver no meaning and contain absolutely no substance. Additionally, the track “You’re Invited” also fails on this level lyrically, becoming too repetitive and lacking both purpose and resolution.
Overall, What’s Wrong With New York? feels like the perfect debut album for The Dare, even with its shortcomings. The Dare, when you take him at face value, is a silly, cocky, obnoxious, downright perverted character meant to harken back to a messier side of culture that’s had a resurgence following the clean aesthetics and isolation of the pandemic period. What’s Wrong With New York? encapsulates this theme almost perfectly, an unserious album filled with borderline ridiculous lyrics and beats you can dance to. When you don’t think of it too seriously or examine it sonically, it’s a messy, unpolished, generally good time. While I don’t think it’ll be everyone’s cup of tea, The Dare can be an enjoyable artist when displayed to the right audience. So, if you ever need a break from the mundane or the hyper-serious, transport yourself with The Dare and find an answer to the question: What’s Wrong with New York?
Photo Credits from: Rolling Stone
