ALBUM REVIEW: Dancer – 10 Songs I Hate About You
Dancer are a Glasgow-based band who have presented their full-length album, 10 Songs I Hate About You. It’s a swaggering debut dipped into a condiment of emotion and good humour. The songs are caressed by jittery rhythms and searing guitar-isms that dive into passages of melodic wool and warmth. This heaving audio mass is structured beneath the awesome vocals of Gemma Fleet, whose narrative and lyrical savvy paints a hundred colourful pictures in words. Examining and exhuming fragmented memories of the '90s, the technological breakdown of our modern age, and the simplicity of love in a time of madness, all with a trademark panache and a voice like no other.
Her lyrics are witty, insightful, and absurd, and whilst the delivery is often evocative of slam poetry, her vocals are brimming with effortless melody and, in their peppier moments, are great for a singalong. There’s also something enduringly endearing about how she casually announces the song title at the beginning of each track in her Home Counties accent.
Album highlights include the dreamy synth lines of ultra-catchy “Change”, the mathy guitar and oddball lyrics (“how now, brown cow, big wow”) of playful ripper “Make a Decision”, and the chorus of surreal “When I Was A Teenage Horse” – its melody delightfully borrowed from The Equals’ chart-topping hit “Baby, Come Back”.
My favourite is the meditative closing track, “Passionate Sunday”, which maintains Dancer’s penchant for wobbly, off-kilter guitar-based pop songs, though the bass steals the spotlight on this one. “I won’t forget, I don’t need to regret,” Gemma Fleet sings on the chorus, matching the music’s balance of catchiness and raw, unkempt immediacy. It evaporates into a pretty little finale, too.
They create a sonic tapestry that feels just right. Seamlessly weaving together the raw energy of post-punk, shimmering melodies of jangle pop, and the introspective lyricism of indie rock. 10 Songs I Hate About You is fun, memorable, and unabashedly eccentric. It stands as one of the best debuts I’ve heard recently.
10 Songs I Hate About You is OUT NOW!
