Patrick Judy Reviews the dangers & other projects
The Dangers, “Promiseland” (2020)
Promiseland is the 12th album by The Dangers. It features an array of styles of music that tell stories about love lost, love found, times of uncertainty, and hope. I highly recommend that you check it out.
“Fire Next Time” – The album opens with nice fade-in. The drums and guitar are prominently featured. The singer seems to be dealing with a loss of faith and a loss of love. He says they were meant to burn for each other, but they only smoke through eternity. His faith is tested because the Lord sent a hard rain instead of a sign to keep his love alive. He says that maybe next time; their love will be what he hopes. He asks for a sign that his hopes will come true and for it not to be rain again.
“Promiseland” – The title track opens softly and then gains momentum. I love the harmonica. The song brings up broken fences several times. I believe that is a reference to broken promises. The Promiseland in the song is the United States which has not fulfilled all of its promises. It also mentions several prominent locations where protest songs were written to call out injustices. Bob Dylan has written many protest songs. It is fitting that he is referenced with the line “Stoned and naked just past Duluth” which is his birthplace. It is hoped that someday that those broken fences will be mended (broken promises rectified).
“Suddenly” – I love the Ralph’s backing vocals and the guitar in the middle on this one. The song mentions speaking a word out loud. I struggled to figure out what the word was. I thought it was freedom at first, but then I decided that it was goodbye. I believe the singer is saying goodbye because their time has come and a child is telling them not to go. The singer tries to reassure them that this is not forever and they would meet again.
“Mine To Lose” – I like the maracas giving the feeling of a clock ticking and marking the passage of time. This is about two lovers that spent some wonderful time together, but one was someone else’s love. He says that she wasn’t his love, but it was still sweet.
“Graduation Day” – This is a nice rocker. The guitars and drums really stand out. I love the backing vocals with the whole band. This is about someone who is put down throughout high school. They are trying to woo a girl and explain all of the things that they could have done if given the chance. They remained silent for a long time, but not today. He comes back on graduation day to speak his piece.
“More” – This is a gentle and soothing song. I really love the keys. I believe the singer is speaking about a love interest and the temptations of night life. He says that there is a lot out there, but he warns that it is easy to get caught up and “drift away”. He begs for them not to because he needs them.
“Amplify” – I like the slow buildup with the guitars and drums. I really like the guitars, keys and backing vocals. The song speaks about how lost and divided we are as a nation. No one trusts each other. “Clouds across the promiseland” is the uncertainty we face. The song asks the question “Can we amplify the children?”. I took this to mean that all of us should be more like children that have no hate and work together for a better tomorrow.
“First Light” – Something about this song made me think of The Band. I can easily picture Rick Danko lending his vocals to this. The guitar, keys and drums really complement each other. I feel like this is about a man who is lonely and who is possibly hungover. He goes to the bar every night and drinks and sings songs. Night after night, he waits in his hotel room and hopes in vain that someone will come to see him in the morning’s first light. He realizes the way he is living is wrong because he says, “The same mistakes forever can empty out a life”, and vows to break the cycle in hopes that the person will come. They do eventually come, but it seems that this is an illusion. I feel that his way of life has finally caught up to him because he mentions seeing the other side and only seeing the long awaited person for only a moment.
“Disappear” – I really like the strange vocal effect on this one. It gives it a dreamlike quality. The drums pop steadily throughout. This is about two people. One is in love with a girl, but she probably thinks of him as a friend. He feels like if they had more time, he could have won her over and she would have felt the same for him. The girl becomes then becomes the world. Could this mean that time has run out and the world is ending? There song mentions “A million vacant kisses over the small screens in our hands”. This could be referring to something like the pandemic we have been going through where everyone was in isolation from each other. Nearly everyone lived and worked by their computer screens for a year or so. Many lost someone during that time without being able to say goodbye. The world may not have been over, but it was definitely changed forever.
“Summer Child” – This is the final track on the album. The slow buildup turns into a nice sounding pop song with an emphasis on the drums and keys. I love the backing vocals. I struggled with trying to determine the meaning of this. The line, “Even the Cold War was something to live for”, made me think of a soldier that feels that they have no purpose since that period of their life is over. They were resigned to that, but the Summer Child brought out new emotions and showed them there was more to live for. At first, the storyteller was reluctant and says, “What do I do with these?” because these emotions were foreign to them, but they decide they want everything. Who is this Summer Child? I believe that they are within the storyteller and are brought out, possibly by God. This song also features another shout-out to Bob Dylan with the line “Was looking for shelter from the storm”.
This wraps up my thoughts on ‘Promiseland’. I may be way off in my interpretation of what some of these songs were about, but I enjoyed writing about them. Again, I highly recommend ‘Promiseland’. I also know that album 13 is just around the corner and cannot wait to hear what The Dangers have in store for us. Until next time.