The Dare - What’s Wrong With New York?: Afters (2025)

The dream of the mid-2000s is alive in New York City, where Harrison Patrick Smith (better known as The Dare) has become the figurehead for a revivalist movement of a certain Myspace-era jouissance. The DJ, producer and one-man electroclash band blew up in 2022 with “Girls”, a raunchy throwback to DFA Records’ heyday in feverish celebration of the ladies of the demimonde: “I like the girls that do drugs/Girls with cigarettes in the back of the club.”

His first full-length as The Dare refracts the touchstones of the indie-sleaze era: Blog Haus’ sawtooth synths, LCD Soundsystem’s sardonic punk funk, Peaches’ unrepentant horniness, Benny Benassi’s electro scuzz. “I’m in the club while you’re online!” Smith crows on “Good Time”, a Lower East Side jock-jam that doesn’t skimp on cowbell; “Open Up” and “You’re Invited” further extol the healing powers of touching grass. Glimmers of “Guess”, the Dare-produced Charli xcx bonus track, echo through the charmingly louche “Perfume”. Now, throw on your best vintage American Apparel and don’t come home ’til sunrise.