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Album Review: The Dare – What’s Wrong With New York? 

2–3 minutes

By Max Cartwright, Contributor 

[Republic Records; 2024] 

Rating: 8/10  

Key Tracks: “Good Time,” “Movement,” “I Destroyed Disco”  

The Dare is the newest persona by artist, Harrison Smith, an LA native who moved to New York as a substitute teacher and is now a club DJ and producer. He just released his debut album as The Dare called, What’s Wrong With New York? and it is an amazing dance/electroclash record. If you liked the production of “Guess” by Charli xcx, which he produced, you’ll definitely enjoy this album. 

This album is very cocky, confident and in-your-face. From the lyrics to the production, you are instantly hooked on this album. I think this has been some of the most unique instrumentation in recent years. “Girls” is his most popular song at the moment, and for good reason. In this track, The Dare gets erotic and messy in the lyrics, telling us what kind of girls he likes. Most notably If you are a girl who likes a good cigarette in the back of the club, you are The Dare’s type! 

Read more: Album Review: Coco & Clair Clair – Girl 

“I Destroyed Disco” was my favorite song on the first listen. It sort of sounds like your car speakers are going to blow out towards the end of the song, which I am a fan of, and his pitched-up distorted vocals are very fun to listen to.  

This is definitely an album for the club and one that you should dance with your friends to during the weekend. “Movement” is a song I could see people going crazy to and is my current favorite to listen to. The bass goes even harder in this than “I Destroyed Disco,” and I can see the mosh pits already forming on the dance floor. 

I think you probably either love or hate this album. I think right now his sound is more niche in regard to bringing back 2000s sleaze pop. I also understand that this album is not for everyone, but it’s definitely worth a listen. It may be an album that takes years to earn its flowers, as we know artists with similar sounds like the brat herself, Charli xcx, have recently had the world finally catch up with her music. 

Oh, and apparently, he found a new obsession in his song, “Perfume.” It’s his perfume. We need to know what it is, and it was only $5.99!  

Listen here: https://open.spotify.com/album/7ETvH1PHtaY35WhmpTTt7s?si=NFugw5zuSkaynH27-Go8zA  

One response to “Album Review: The Dare – What’s Wrong With New York? ”

  1. Chiara Avatar
    Chiara

    I bought a ticket for his second show in Paris just today in the presale, I’m excited to hear movement live. Hope it’s as insane of an experience as it deserves to be. Tbh I think I’d enjoy him more if he stopped yelling as unbearably aggressively (like in Good Time, love anything but the verses there) and leaned into vocals like on perfume, where proves that he can do other stuff than scream into the microphone. I think The Dare works the best when you remember that it’s a bit and that there’s some level of irony behind the persona of the hypersexual club maniac with a huge ego. I appreciate that the record doesn’t want to be more than a fun dance album, which is all it is at the end of the day.

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