Now and again a release appears from nowhere and clears out all the cobwebs. Dangers Of Love’s debut, self-titled EP is one of them. Channeling The Replacements, The Clash, Sharks and even Oasis across the six tracks, the band – led by Great Cynics’ Giles Bidder in brilliant songwriting form – have delivered an absolute belter with this release.
Opener “Holsten Pills Blues” kicks things off in with a brilliant riff then two minutes of snotty, middle fingers up, melodic punk tracks. The dynamic shifts and harmonies throughout “Why Would You Run” keep the energy up before the release (and band’s) eponymous number deliver the big highlight. “Dangers Of Love” has everything that’s great about indie, punk and (yes) britpop in three minutes of magic, and is one of the best songs to come out of the UK scene in a long time.
The back half of the six tracker keeps up the fine work, with a Get Cape, Wear Cape-esque vocal delivery on “Hyperactive Imagination” telling the listener they can “tell them to fuck off” in a big singalong moment for a band on release one. Even with the gloom in the subject matter of “Aries”, Dangers Of Love keep it energetic, and by the time “She’s Coming Over” closes the EP down a two minute long blast of throwback (almost street punk) refrains, the release is screaming out for another play.
Dangers Of Love have done something really brilliant with this release. It’s snotty, angry, raw at the same time as being positive, uplifting and fun, and hopefully it gets the attention it deserves and leads them onto an album. An absolutely essential release.
4.5/5 Stars