Perfuma

Item: Humans Are Dangerous
Rating: 7
Author: Greg

Humans Are Dangerous (2004)

Greg

Do you ever get a craving for one band and spend the next few days listening to their entire catalogue, then move onto another band? During this fixation on whatever band it is, I tend to think "Man, I should start up a band like this!" Then I move on to another band, and the process repeatsâ¦I want to be in a dozen different bands apparently. That doesn't happen to you? Okay, I'm a dork. Anyway, I think the guys in this band can back me up on this occurrence, because all I hear when I listen to this EP is how much each track sounds like it has been done before, like they wrote each song after being immersed in the style of one of their favorite bands. And yet, it's all done so well, and their influences are great so I can't help but like it.

For example, the first track "I Miss the Real Me" made me instantly think of Piebald, with its upbeat tempo and edgy pop, as well as the goofy first line "Time out / I broke my skull / and it hurts so badly!" The bridge threw me off a little by adding a hip-hop synth line and then Thursday-style screaming, but otherwise it's Piebald all the way. Then "C'mon Throw a Dead Bird at Me" starts with a riff that I'm sure was utilized by Hey Mercedes at some point. But then again, the pre-chorus and chorus vocals are stuck in my brain, so I say go with it. "The Story of Michael" could have been on Stay What You Are, from the guitar tone to the breakdown chorus which even contains the words "your majesty," except this song is a story about an abusive father.

The title track ballad is the weak link here, but it's really not all bad. Closer "Sleeping + Screaming" picks the tempo back up and throws in a nice little electric piano backing. My favorite moment is when they burst into a screaming match and then suddenly are back to pretty harmonies and cute handclaps. It seems like it's all in fun, and I dig it.

Humans Are Dangerous is a rock-solid debut, but let's see how they do with the LP format. Even though Perfuma may cause me to think of other bands, it's all good baby.