The Dangerous Summer are no strangers to churning records out quickly.  Their new album, titled “Gravity,” will mark their fourth album in the last 5 years.  The band returned in 2018 with their self titled record and have been hungry to make music since.  As far as the quality of music, it’s felt like a bit of a mixed bag.  While “Mother Nature” is one of the best albums in the bands discography, “The Dangerous Summer” and “Coming Home” felt like the band missed the mark on several aspects.  I was concerned the band would have trouble recapturing the magic of “Mother Nature” since the band seemed to push out a second album so quickly after their last.  Luckily Gravity does not disappoint, it’s an emotionally driven album that captures themes such as self discovery and resilience. 

The record grabs your attention right away with the energetic opener “I Feel More Like Myself When I Am Falling Apart.”  This song features screaming, energetic vocals in a way that we don’t hear done often by the band.  It’s an attention grabber and one that immediately sets the tone that this album will have more urgency than their last.

“Gravity” excels in the use of catchy guitar riffs that are sparkled in throughout the record.   “Pacific Ocean” rips a bendy riff that wouldn’t feel out of place on Yellowcard’s Lift a Sail.  Meanwhile, songs like “With a Pen” and  “Into the Stratosphere” feature more atmospheric lead guitar parts.  It’s the contrasts of these types of parts that helps keep “Gravity” interesting where at times “Coming Home” would start to feel overly repetitive. 

“You’ll See it all Coming” and “Turning Love into War” are both two very nice left turns on the record.  The band is not known for writing songs with a darker feel, and these two songs execute this mood very well.  “You’ll See it all Coming” almost has an 80’s rock feel to it, making it a very unique song in the band’s discography.  Meanwhile, “Turning Love Into War” feels like a classic The Dangerous Summer song sprinkled with angsty guitars and vocals that evokes the feeling of the early work of Citizen. 

Of course “Gravity” contains many songs that feature the bands strength of writing catchy pop rock songs.  A highlight that comes to mind is the album’s title track “Gravity.”  Here we have a song that has a huge, catchy chorus that almost feels like the stadium rock side of Dashboard Confessional.  The use of acoustic guitar in the first chorus of the song is a nice touch as well. 

Another trick implemented throughout “Gravity” is the use of building songs by adding parts.  Many of the songs will start with just one or two instruments and vocals, before bringing in the full band.  This helps give the songs a feeling of a more linear structure that builds in intensity.  It’s yet another example where the album excels over their previous effort “Coming Home.” 

Where I feel “Gravity” falls a short is the albums length.  At twelve tracks and forty six minutes the album feels a tad too long.  There are some later tracks on the album like “Dream” and “Wild One” that while being nice songs, don’t really add anything new to the albums overall sound. 

Perhaps the most unique song on the album is the closer, “Into the Stratosphere.”  An acoustic ballad that features powerful lyrics, atmospheric guitars, and simple drums played with brushes.  The final lyrics of the song provide a great bookend for the record. “I felt the waves rip through my spine, She said crazy looks good on you, Why don’t come back to me, She said crazy looks good on you, But why don’t you come back Why don’t you come back here?” 

Overall, “Gravity” is a great addition to The Dangerous Summer’s discography. While it may feel a song or two too long, the album’s best moments show the band’s growth and ability to craft some of their best emotionally driven pop rock songs. Long time fans of the band should be very happy with this outing.  This album shows that “Mother Nature” was no fluke and that the band still has much to say.  If history is any indicator we won’t have to wait long to hear where the band goes next.  

Rating: 7.9/10

Release date: 6/21/24

Tracklist:

1. I Feel More Like Myself When I’m Falling Apart

2. Pacific Ocean

3. Gravity

4. You’ll See It Coming

5. What’s an Hour Really Worth

6. Turning Love into War

7. Where Did All the Time Go?

8. With My Pen

9. Wild One

10. Clouds in My Eyes

11. Dream

12. Into the Stratosphere

Reviewed by Bryan Williams