REVIEW: The Dangerous Summer – “War Paint”

The Dangerous Summer / War Paint / Hopeless Records

“I told you ‘Life’s not fair’,” AJ Perdomo sings on the third track that gracefully helps open War Paint. In all honesty, he’s right. On their second stab at a studio full-length, The Dangerous Summer do many things well but predominantly take buried emotions and set them free, making the pop punker in all of us cringe as each hook, line and transition leaves a flesh wound on our sensitive side. Much of that is attributed to Perdomo sharing what most normally bottle up inside of them and rarely let out. His voice is familiar enough to relate to, as his lines of dealing with sadness (“Everyone Left”) and finding yourself in your own hate to persevere (“War Paint”) are vague enough to be tied to our own emotional issues. The way it connects is due to the way it’s presented, which is a more coarse, less-pop Hopeless Records approach.

“No One’s Gonna Need You More” employs surging rhythms and “Parachute” divides resonating chords with a lustful vocal melody, saturating The Starting Line grooves with pain and bitterness. Those profound feelings also show up in other parts of War Paint; they tremble in The Dangerous Summer’s guitars (“Siren”, “I Should Leave Right Now”) and flutter from each kit knock (“Work In Progress”). Most of all, they trace back to Perdomo and how he escapes by being an open book, making works like “Miscommunication” more than just a transcription of confused, genuine thoughts. “I was staring out to things I don’t want to face / I need back inside your veins,”; his words may just be his way of being expressive, but they also show the group has grasped an important concept. Music isn’t about filler; it’s therapy that, with War Paint being a perfect example, can floor your ears and the organ beating in your chest.

Download: “Waves”, “Parachute”, “Miscommunication”

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