I bet you weren’t expecting to see this name on the byline. No doubt some, if not most of you have seen the tweets, posts, threads, etc. chronicling the turmoil of The Dangerous Summer between themselves, their fans, and sometimes this very website. And I’ll be honest – even a month ago I wouldn’t have believed I’d be writing the review for the band’s latest release, Golden Record. I’ve always been a fan of the band’s music (War Paint was in heavy rotation during the summer of 2011), but the antics and weird shit that went on turned me off to the band. But sometimes a simple post from the offending party can act as an olive branch and you reevaluate things. Hey man, music mends broken hearts and it can also rebuild bridges. 

There’s certainly an obligation here to discuss songs and melodies and all that jazz (pun intended?). But you’ve – we’ve – done that a million times. There are hints of The Starting Line and The Graduate, there are intensely personal lyrics, there’s a certain world weariness that is both refreshing and depressing to hear from a band so young – War Paint has all these things. And it’s good! It’s a very good album. There is no debating that. But of course, there is debating that. That’s all there really is. Especially if you’re one of the listeners who found Reach for the Sun to be some sort of musical epiphany. For you, War Paint might challenge your previously held opinions on The Dangerous Summer. And me? I don’t know – I guess for a few reasons that are none of your business thank you very much, I view War Paint in a vacuum. Its merits are based only on the sounds I currently hear, not the nostalgic ones my 12-year old emo boy heart fondly remembers. Making a connection with War Paint could mean lots of things: but what I hope it means for you is that you’re not ready for this world to be the boss. Liking War Paint means it’s time to stand up, move on and improve.