There’s nothing new that will stand out to a seasoned music listener, but the Canada-formed pop-punk band Dangercat’s new album To the Moon delivers solid songs about the joys of partying when you hate yourself. There’s power chords, occasionally melodic guitar work, scratchy, earnest singing and a fair amount of f-bombs. If you’re looking to have a few beers and let loose some frustration, all soaked in a sense of wistful melancholy, then To the Moon will set the mood for you.
Kicking off the album, “Fear & Drugs” gives the listener a good sense of what the rest of the album has in store. It has a Blink-182 style pop-punk sound put through a filter of Strokes melodicism and contemplative prettiness. But it’s nothing that hasn’t been done many, many times before.
The lyrics are fairly cheesy and fall into the same trap. “I feel like I’ve had enough/ I’m wearing myself thin,” begins “Fear & Drugs”. It’s sung so earnestly that you might cringe. But as the music kicks in, you might find you can’t help but get on the song’s wavelength.
The next song, “Basement,” starts off somewhat awkwardly similar. Once again, the music eases the cringe that comes with the intro.
As the album goes on, a few songs venture into slightly heavier territory. “In My Way” starts with a fuzz bass riff that sounds like Nirvana placed in a quicker, pop-punk rhythm. “Shit Bad Luck” follows the same formula with its chord progression. “Killing Time” is a pop-metal song with the most vocal variation on the album. The last song, “See You in Hell,” is a catchy, Clash-like anthem.
Dangercat could improve greatly if they tried to do something more unique, instead of recycling past pop-punk formulas verbatim. However, To the Moon delivers what it seems to set out to do. One gets a sense that a show with these guys would be a blast, but until they become more innovative, Dangercat is simply solid mood-music to get the listener into a mindset of feel-good pop-punk melodrama—and there’s certainly a place for that.
Rating: C+
