NYC DJ THE DARE CAN PULL A CROWD TO HIS RESIDENCY AT HOME SWEET HOME, BUT HIS FIRST NON-SINGLE RELEASE, “THE SEX EP,” FALLS SHORT OF THE HYPE.
WORDS: Josef Dunlap
PHOTO: Shannon McMahon
Indie sleaze is back (at least according to Spotify) and at the forefront of this resurrection is NYC DJ Harrison Patrick Smith. Under the moniker The Dare, he recently released “The Sex EP,” his first non-single release, which has already faced a bit of controversy. The EP has garnered some reactions about the cover as well as the music. The cover of the EP has two pairs of people in sexual positions (fully clothed), which is apparently pedophilic, according to some “news” outlets like The Daily Mail. They claim that the girls on the cover are “obviously children” because one of them is wearing a “school-style” skirt. This along with the fact that Smith used to be a substitute teacher seal the deal for The Daily Mail and other randos on twitter. It’s pretty obvious that the women on the cover are not children, and that there’s nothing nefarious going on. The Dare’s only acknowledgment of the controversy is a tweet that says “just checking twitter for the first time in a while, i wonder what everyone’s talking abou—.” There is no story to this, just people trying to get offended over nothing.
In regards to the EP, it really leans into the silliness and provocativeness of its first single and opening track, “Girls.” When “Girls” released last August, it very quickly blew up on TikTok and The Dare’s success was pretty much instantly guaranteed. In a little under a year, “The Sex EP” was somehow released on Republic Records, but it doesn’t really seem like it was worth it.
The Dare was really promising at first. “Girls” was popular for a reason and that’s because it was unique without being too alienating. It’s incredibly catchy and the lyrics are… let’s say “rudimentary.” The song is well produced though, and Smith’s experience as a DJ and as a producer for other artists is clear. This song isn’t made by just some guy who pirated FL Studio: it has a clear vision and meets it. But it’s kind of a one and done sort of deal. “Girls” is a novelty. It’s energetic enough that people can get into it, and it’s explicit enough that immature young adults think it’s clever. And maybe it is, but with the rest of the EP really riding on the successes of the one song, it gets repetitive and overdone.
One of the two new songs on the EP is “Sex,” which speaks for itself. It’s “Girls” again, but a little more clubby. If you didn’t know that Smith is primarily a DJ, this song lets you know. It’s fun, I’ll give it that, but by the end, I find myself waiting for him to give up this “woo! sex and drugs and partying!” gimmick. Thankfully, the next song on the EP is “Good Time,” which is about sex and drugs and partying. It’s once again, pretty much the same thing, but if you told me it’s a 3OH!3 song I’d believe you. It’s not as in your face, and it would make for a good closer to the EP. The first three tracks are all very similar, which makes for a pretty cohesive work, if it weren’t for the real closer, “Bloodwork.”
“Bloodwork” is a four-minute track that’s purely instrumental. It’s not bad, but it’s not really good either. It’s out of place on the EP, since it doesn’t really say anything, literally and metaphorically. After the three loud energetic explicit songs, “Bloodwork” stands out by slowing down the EP. It’s the complete opposite of going out with a bang. I’m sure he had fun making the song, but I don’t know if it should have been on the EP.
In terms of music, “The Sex EP” is fun I guess, but it’s overall just kind of awkward. “Girls” was a fine single—we didn’t need an entire EP of the same thing plus a random drum loop. It wants to be a lot more than it is. The Dare has potential to be a lot more interesting, but right now, he’s just some DJ who’s trying to be cool and edgy and provocative in a scene that’s full of people doing the exact same thing.
Grade: C-