The Dare: Suits Me Just Fine

When I first heard The Dare's first single "Girls," in November 2022, I, like most people, had never heard of Harrison Patrick Smith (jesus, even the name is James Murphy-esque) and really just thought it was a good song that reminded me of LCD. Within a few months, the single exploded on TikTok, and by May 2023, the Sex EP was out. I had spent my spring semester deep diving into every band mentioned in the documentary adaptation of Lizzy's Goodman's "Meet Me in the Bathroom" (I only read the book early this year) and was nyc-bound for the summer. With my head full of LCD and the Strokes, the connection to the Dare's new material was immediate--and I was fucking stoked.

I thought: Here is a current artist I actually like, that, even if he sounded like every LCD song with a dance beat, he was new and in new york fucking city and understood what came before him. And he didnt take himself too seriously. No one who comes out with a song about fucking a hole in the wall can be too concerned with their own image right? 

Needless to say, my hopes were high. I awaited the album patiently, with increasing agitation at its internet appeal.

Like most music snobs, my first thought at an artist I like going viral is usually some variation of the words"FUCK" and "NO"rather than a more reasonable--and artist-supportive-- response. As his first EP and following singles were pushed on TikTok, and he produced Charlie XCX's "guess" remix with Billie Eilish, I feared the indie sleaze persona was not so indie in practice. Then imagine y surprise when "Girls" began running its second course of TikTok fame. Somehow, people have just now come across it? Again? Am I delusional? Was this not popular two years ago? Enter the "industry plant" debate. 

The Dare's full album, What's Wrong With New York? has been out for about a month now, and with his recent ascension to the 9th circle of pop music heaven, nose-to-coke-covered-nose with Charlie and Billie, I don't know what to think.

According to those follower-proclaimed cultural tastemakers, whose goal in life seems to be parsing out the "real" artists from the posuers, the record companies have picked up on the indie sleaze revival, this time with side parts featured less prominently,  and have inserted The Dare, persona and all, as an LCD reincarnate, or in the opinion of Tabi-wearing Bushwick residents, a James Murphy Zombie reanimated via Marlboro Golds and CDJs. The LCD references extend to a point of copying-- I mean c'mon, the suit? It's straight from the This is Happening cover and somehow an amalgamation of all four Interpol members. "Girls" feels like a slightly less derogatory "Drunk Girls," and even the song with the literal same name, "Movement", sounds like the LCD version. Over all, the album feels like a lengthened, simultaneously watered-down and coked-up, version of "Daft Punk in Playing at My House." I'm not saying the whole album is unoriginal, but James certainly walked so Harrison could run. The awkward, music nerdy LCD sound laid the foundations that are allowing Harrison to become a bit of sex symbol, according to the women of the internet. 

But I'm getting carried away. I could sit around all day making LCD-Dare parallels. I'm not saying Harrison is God's gift to the music world, I just think he can't be dismissed just because the record industry thinks he is. He is attacking subject matter that has been covered a million times with his own brand of awkward Producer/DJ. And who cares what people think of this shit as long as it's fun? It's unpretentious, which is something that can't be said for LCD (sorry, James) and the production is not something to be overlooked. The tracks are short and sweet and echo the hyper pop electronica of acts like NEW YORK, MGNA Crrrta, and The Hellp. They are sexy but in a messy, sticky-floored way, poking fun at the NY club scene with a loving embrace. This is Brooklyn bedroom DJ culture-infused pop, drenched in cigarette smoke and New York swagger. 

My point in all this dribble is this: listen to the Dare if you like his music but I suggest you spend just as much time digging into the LCD Soundsystem discog. It cuts deeper. And if you're like me, it'll do more for you.