by izzy petraglia
The attention on Harrison Patrick Smith, famously known as The Dare, has only skyrocketed since the release of his 2022 single, “Girls.” Smith produced the hit song “Guess” by Charli xcx and joined her at her Boiler Room in Ibiza, garnering attention on him from every which way. However, as a gifted and knowledgeable musician, Harrison goes beyond his connection to the pop star. His highly-anticipated debut album, What’s Wrong With New York?, has just been released — and it is far from disappointing.
After listening to The Sex EP and singles “You’re Invited” and “Perfume,” I had high expectations for this album. It’s clear that Smith’s musical background from being in an indie-rock band called Turtlenecked, to substitute teaching, and DJing set him up for success. In a world where many artists strive to make listeners analyze deeper meanings within their songs and album releases, The Dare puts everything right in your face — almost obnoxiously. The album, with its crude and straightforward lyrics, is pure fun — something music has desperately needed for a while now. Harrison’s encyclopedia-like knowledge is demonstrated strongly in this album, especially in its production of bass lines and synth hooks that won’t fail to draw you in.
I never doubted his vocal abilities, but honestly, I hadn’t focused too hard on the way he sounded as much as I did on his production skills or lyrics. The part of the album that took me by surprise was the change in his lyric delivery — specifically in “Elevation” and “All Night.” After hearing the lead singles and The Sex EP, I became familiar with the semi-blunt, monotone tone of voice he’s delivered in his previous tracks. Hearing Smith’s range as a vocalist made the listening experience for this album extremely enjoyable and refreshing in a way that exceeded my expectations — and to accomplish this in a debut album is not an easy task.
I’ve been reading Meet Me In The Bathroom lately, and I’m obsessed with the amount of influence you hear from several bands featured in that book. What’s Wrong With New York? feels reminiscent of these bands that piloted the 2000s rock revival and it has everything you love about hedonistic electroclash in the 2010s. I couldn’t help but pick up on some elements of funk as well. We’ve all seen the comparisons to LCD Soundsystem, but contrary to popular belief, The Dare is not trying to be James Murphy. His influences go beyond the band — citing New York artists such as The Rapture and Lou Reed among others as his favorite musicians. Listening to this album re-ignited the love I have for not only all these artists, but some of my favorite DJs like The Chemical Brothers and Justice. I also loved the fact that his viral hit “Girls” was made while he listened to Some Girls by The Rolling Stones — another one of my favorite bands.
“I Destroyed Disco” and “All Night” definitely stuck out as personal favorites on the album for me. In “I Destroyed Disco,” there’s almost an extra layer of cockiness laced within it, especially when Harrison name-drops himself with “What’s a blogger to a rocker? What’s a rocker to The Dare?” The combination between this and the outro to this track is what truly sold it to me. I can definitely see listeners who were fans of “Guess” enjoying this song specifically as well.
As I said before, I went into listening to What’s Wrong With New York? with high expectations, but after several listens, nothing could have prepared me for what an insane debut album this is. I can tell from this point forward, it’s only up for The Dare — and I can’t wait to see what’s to come for him.