Review by Shannon Shumaker
Los Angelics’ new EP Land of the Brave and Dangerous is a youthful, fun burst of energy. Kicking off with spacey synthesizers and commanding vocals, “Dangerous” is super catchy and starts the album off right. “Dangerous” hosts some amazing vocal harmonies (which remind me quite a bit of Tegan & Sara) and a chorus that is worth dancing to.
If you’re looking for something serious, Land of the Brave and Dangerous isn’t for you. These songs are upbeat and dancy, just in time for summer, but aren’t necessarily life changing by any means. At the heart of it, these songs are fun – that much is apparent with the catchy choruses and the dreamy, upbeat synth parts. “Bottle Of Pills,” stuck right in the middle of the EP, is easily one of the strongest songs due to the little explosions of sound in between the relatively quiet and catchy verses. The chorus in “Bottle Of Pills” is huge, while the verses are somewhat simple, and the contrast is amazing. The following song, “Living In A Dream,” is strong for similar reasons, as well. “Living In A Dream” hosts some huge choruses carried by cool synth parts and incredibly strong vocal work.
I think the only few complaints I have about this EP are in the volume of the vocals, which sometimes seem to overpower the rest of the band, and in the almost cheesy sounding moments in the synth parts in some tracks. The scream toward the middle of “Growing Young,” for instance, didn’t sit well with me, and the lower vocals toward the end of the song are verging on the cheesy end of things.
The core of Land of the Brave and Dangerous is fun. This album is lighthearted and catchy, a very easy and fun listen just in time for summer. Each song on the EP has its own vibe and own little quirks that make it unique (such as the great harmonies in “Live Like Kings (Mexico)” and “Dangerous” or the big choruses in “Bottle Of Pills” or “Living In A Dream”) which makes all five songs well worth listening to. If such versatility is possible in just an EP, I’m definitely interested to see what Los Angelics do with a full length.
Rating: 3/5
Listen to “Living In A Dream”