“This won’t be the album anyone wanted, or anyone asked for.”
As any fan of The Dangerous Summer knows, their career has been defined nearly as much by turbulence and conflict as it has been by their recorded output. The band’s history has consistently seen periods of acclaimed albums and successful tours, almost immediately followed by lineup instability, and issues both personal and interpersonal involving various band members. Lead vocalist and bassist AJ Perdomo has for some time been the only original band member remaining.
In 2019, Mother Nature pushed the group’s sound forward into exciting new sonic terrain, and was an immediate success… so naturally, it was followed by the eventual departures of longtime drummer Ben Cato and lead guitarist Matt Kennedy, and a creative lull that saw 2022 follow-up Coming Home released to a response that could best be described as: “Eh, it’s okay!”… The Dangerous Summer’s stunning resurgence had seemingly fizzled, and even many longtime fans saw little hope of yet another return to glory.
Yet with Gravity, the emo scene’s “kings of the comeback” have managed to turn their fortunes around yet again, with a return to form that is both deeply satisfying and unsurprising for those who have truly been paying attention. AJ Perdomo’s strongest gift as a songwriter has always been his ability to turn personal tragedy into universal relatability – relating details of very specific experiences in a way that can connect with listeners in a rich way. So it should come as little shock that the band’s best material often immediately follows its periods of greatest struggle.
The knowing wink of the first lines of opener “I Feel More Like Myself When I’m Losing It” seem to acknowledge the pressure of expectations, while also hinting at the deeply personal nature of the songs to follow. On the weaker moments of Coming Home, Perdomo seemed to be trying too hard to sand down the rough edges of his songwriting, aiming for overly simplified song structures and a formulaic sheen that weakened the confessional relatability that makes his best work stand out.
Thankfully, Perdomo has seemingly recognized this himself, and Gravity is an unapologetic course correction, returning at full speed to the band’s strengths. Yet the material’s consistent sincerity and passion prevents it from ever feeling like a cynical fan-pleasing move. This is the sound of a group truly reconnecting with its roots, not in a PR stunt “comeback record” sense, but in the sense of rediscovering genuine passion and inspiration.
The album’s twelve tracks pack real emotional weight, with dynamic song structures that feel much more lived-in than the sometimes stilted formulas of their previous record. Bridges used to always be a high point for The Dangerous Summer’s best songs, and here they often are, as Perdomo allows his lyrical themes to reach natural crescendos that complement the driving nature of the compositions.
If any critique can be levied against Gravity, it’s that the record does little to push the band’s sound forward into new directions as Mother Nature did. The album largely sounds like an alternate universe follow-up to their self-titled reunion album from 2018… the sound of a band refining rather than reinventing themselves.
Yet after so much instability and uncertainty, Gravity is exactly the jolt of excitement The Dangerous Summer needed. By the time the final chords of the acoustic-led “Into the Stratosphere” ring out, it’s clear that the band have delivered their strongest body of work in half a decade, and have successfully hit the reset button, ready to move into a new era with confidence. It’s exactly what any fan could have hoped for.
8/10
Gravity is out June 21st on Rude Records, and you can pre-order it here.