Band: Danger Radio
Album: Used and Abused
Genre: Pop Rock/Dance
Label: Photo Finish

Tracks:
1. So Far Gone
2. Things
3. One More Chance
4. Kiss N’ Tell
5. Your Kind [Speak To Me]
6. Slow Dance With A Stranger
7. Used and Abused
8. Alive For The First Time
9. You All Believe
10. Broken Man
11. Think About It
12. Another Lesson In Love
13. Where I Started

Today, July 8, 2008, is the release date of the highly anticipated full-length album by 6-piece Seattle “disco-rockers,” Danger Radio. We here at Under The Gun Review managed to get a copy of the album about a week ago, in order to review before the release date. Obviously, I’m a bit late in my review, but all for good reason. When I first flipped my IPOD to Used and Abused, which is the title of the full-length follow-up to the Punch Your Lights Out E.P., I literally got confused. Danger Radio has always had a unique sound but this album takes it to a whole new level. After about five listens, I finally began to understand that Danger Radio’s mix of pop, emo, disco, rock and funk is what sets them, and their new album, apart from the current music scene.

The album opens with, “So Far Gone,” which, at first listen, sounds like a drum pounding anthem. About 10 seconds later, the keyboards kick in. The song take a whole new direction, sounding something like one would expect to hear in an on-screen version of some comic book. It has that type of heart-pounding, prepare-to fight in the hippest way possible sound to it. Lyrically, however, the song takes on a more “emo” approach and seems to be about…. Wait for it… a girl.

The rest of the album seems to follow the same general trend Danger Radio sets in the first song. For having six people in the band, the instruments are obviously going to be pretty heavy. In my opinion, five people is the maximum a band can usually get away with having before the music starts to sound like mush. Danger Radio is an exception. Every individual instrument brings a new genre to the table. It’s awesome. This album is guaranteed to draw in crowds from all different musical areas.

My favorite song is, “Kiss N’ Tell.” With a light piano intro, played quietly behind 2 vocalists that manage to hit every range possible within the first 20 seconds, this song definitely shows the best of Danger Radio. After the intro, the song movies into a more upbeat, horn-infused verse, which could make the members of Chicago dance. The music is catchy on all fronts. The lyrics are well-written and are easy to sing along with. The vocals are, in one word, amazing. The main aspect I managed to take away from this song is that these guys have some serious talent for song writing.

The title track, “Used and Abused,” is another piano-driven, vocally experimental song, that is likely to land a spot on Adam Levine’s (Maroon 5) playlist. The next track, “Alive for The First Time,” sounds sort of like a video game. “Broken Man,” sounds like something out of the 70s and well, you get the point. Danger Radio can create all sorts of musical sounds and they seem to be pretty good at them all. I believe this band is on the verge of creating an “emo-kid” scene that actually dances at shows! Imagine *NSync combined with Cute Is What We Aim For and The Cab and you’ve got Danger Radio. If you’ve ever liked pop, emo, disco, funk or ska, or have any sense of rhythm, pick up a copy of Used And Abused. You’ve just found your guilty pleasure album of the summer.

*Written By: Meaghan Allen*
GRADE: 8/10

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James Shotwell

James Shotwell is the founder of Under The Gun Review. He loves writing about music and movies almost as much as he loves his two fat cats. He's also the co-founder of Antique Records and the Marketing Coordinator for Haulix. You should probably follow him on Twitter.

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