New York’s reigning prince of indie sleaze and dance-punk maximalism The Dare returns with ‘Tambourine’, the lead single from his forthcoming EP, Freakquencies: Vol. 1, out August 22 via Polydor/Republic Records. Known for his sleek style, bawdy lyrics, and genre‑mashing flair, The Dare (aka Harrison Patrick Smith) is fresh off the sweaty glow of his viral debut The Sex EP, sold-out DIY parties under the Freakquencies banner, and a catapult to international fame with his work as a producer on Charli XCX’s hit ‘Guess’. With coverage in The New York Times, Dazed, and NME, and a raucous global fanbase in tow, this next chapter signals a new kind of club renaissance for the electroclash savant.
The Dare is equal parts provocateur and pop antihero. His sound is a whiplash blend of electroclash, French touch, early 2000s indie, and sticky downtown attitude; a tongue-in-cheek revival of the bloghouse era, deftly dancing the line between sleek and filthy with a flippant swagger.
‘Tambourine’ veers deeper into club territory than the feral anthems that define The Dare’s first EP. Gritty glam is traded for darker, percussive club hypnosis, with enormous, oozing bass, filthy sawtooth stabs, two-step rhythms and glitchy vocals ricocheting through the fray. This is a track built for strobe-lit communion and afterparty comedowns – a promising propulsion of his sound and tasty teaser of what is in store with Freakquencies: Vol. 1.
