Go far enough back and the didgeridoo was the most famous indigenous instrument and it could be argued that the British settlers encouraged the development of folk; into what would be described as bush-music; with the famous song Waltzing Matilda being a prime example. However, trace that line to more modern times and ignoring pop princess Kylie Minogue, Australia has spawned the likes of the rock orientated INXS, verging on heavy metal AC/DC and the garage punk of The Vines. Now coming to these shores are Dangerous with their debut album ‘Teenage Rampage’.
Even before you listen to the music and ignoring the opening paragraph you should be able to guess where Dangerous are likely to be basing their music influences. You do not call an album ‘Teenage Rampage’ and then fill it to the brim with sweet ballads, nor do you include a figure on the front painted white like a skeleton – this is definitely full on ballsy music.
The only downside to this release by Dangerous is that it is so full on, you need plenty of energy to appreciate what is on offer here. From the opening notes of ‘Not One of You’ the immediate energy of the band hits you; the track being a massive blend of drums and a cacophony of guitars. The chorus is both passionate and broken up with screams, swearing and razor splitting intonation – some maybe offended by the liberal use of such coarse language, but in this context of such aggressive teenage rampage it is definitely excusable.
‘Movers and Shakers’ is the most radio friendly that Dangerous get, with the band realising the potential of this one track, by creating a ‘clean version’ to ensure sufficient airplay from the more timid of producers. ‘Big Muff’ is so fast that it compares with The Hives for lyrical wizardry, although the title itself surely sits tongue in cheek with many of Bon Scott’s greatest moments.
The opening of ‘Poppies’ is surprisingly understated, but it doesn’t take the band long to pick the pace up, yet it does demonstrate that the band have the abilities to craft songs without always going straight for the jugular, with the guitar and drum riff bringing back those memories of The Vines at their punkiest. Meanwhile ‘Nightmare’ has a chorus that could have stepped out wearing spandex.
The last track on ‘Teenage Rampage’ is ‘D! or Die’ which at ten seconds short of four minutes is the longest track on the album by quite some distance, although what did you expect from high octane punk influenced music? ‘D! or Die’ is undoubtedly the strangest track on the album, vocals that start as punkish rasp, lurch into verging on Guy McKnight (Eighties Matchbox..) in style, leading the band to seemingly musically trip over themselves as they open up into an ethereal moment of wanting to “let me go”, before metal growlings throw everything sideways. It feels like everything has been thrown at the end and as the feed of the guitar draws the track to a close, silence once again resumes.
Head back to late 2004 when The Vines’ Craig Nicholls was diagnosed with asperger’s syndrome and the band took a hiatus in 2005. For all The Vines are still here and have recorded music since, there is something of a small gap that someone may wish to penetrate and that someone could well be Dangerous, they certainly have all the credentials to be the next aggressive Antipodeans to crack the British market. The fact that the band’s website features video footage of a TV with the words Teenage Rampage on it being smashed with a skateboard tells you a lot more about the band than any part of this review!
