“The Cry’s ‘Dangerous Game’: power pop’s Rebecca Black”
This past week, The Cry, a pop/rock-n-roll style band emerged with their new album, “Dangerous
Game” which, while the full content was not available for free, did give a number of problems which was
not hard to recognize even for those who do not follow music closely. The band consists of five men with
Ray Nelsen at the head.
The first song “Waiting Around” gives a distinctly “Grease”-feel considering the doo-wop style at the
beginning. As the song continues it picks up pace and it seems to fall into a very garage-band, annoying-
the-neighbors style of guitar and scratchy voice-over. While this might work for artists, there still raises
the question of what this song is actually supposed to signify other than nostalgia and the idea of
annoyance for those who are aching to sleep. Additionally, as the song comes to a close, it falls back into
its doo-wop style in the beginning in a vague attempt of closure that doesn’t quite fit.
The second song, “Nowhere to Go,” holds the already established feeling of garage-band meets
teenage angst. Additionally, the lyrics don’t seem to go anywhere or tell a story. It seems to continue on
the idea of there being “nowhere to go” which to their credit is the title of the song, but it seems to be the
only thing they are willing to say. The title of the song is used over ten times and eventually you wonder
how the rest of the album is going to go if this is what they think is worthy enough to be put out for free at
this time.
“Last Thing that I Do” starts out much sweeter and the singer’s voice is actually not as scratchy as it is in
“Waiting Around.” It is whimsical but the lyrics leave much to be desired. The guitar is decent and it does
keep a steady progression of the song. In between the repetition, there actually seem to be a story, even if
it is vague.
The next track, “I Think I’m In Love,” starts out energetic and maintains the garage band style. While it
is something they keep consistent through the free album that’s currently available, it also leads to some
questions of if they are willing to grow outside of this. The Cry might find a small audience, most people
have grown beyond such nostalgic ideals and would like something that is better audio quality.
In general, their songs are somewhat interesting to listen to for those who enjoy a rock-pop feel.
However, for the rest of us, this feels immature. The only thing that redeems this album is the guitar and
even that is used sparingly.
If you’re looking for something that almost reminds you of “Friday” from Rebecca Black with its
tiresome lyrics and lack of new material, you probably want this.