Prince Edward Island’s The Danks put out a doozy late last year in Samples EP (QRO review), seven songs of alt-pop sweetness that was still just billed as a taster before the March 31st 2009 release of their first full-length. Unfortunately, Are You Afraid of the Danks? came out three months behind that schedule. However, while not as pitch-perfect as the concise Samples, Are You Afraid is definitely worth the extra wait.
In some ways, The Danks’ LP feels a little less diverse than the EP, as an alt-pop press married to riffs & jangle pervade the record, starting with opener “What We’re Doing”, but the band does that sound very well. There is some variation on this theme, such as the fuzzier, more ominous “The Squealer”, or the road-expanse in “In Alright”, but they’re still following the same basic vision. Better is when they just add an element, like the actually neat stop-scratch to “No Radio”, or the restrained, slightly rough vocals that work well on the following “Die Young”. And it’s still when The Danks go for the catchy alt-pop press & jangle that they’re at their best, like on “Die Young”, “Planet Beach”, and “Treaty Connector” (the opener to Samples – but the only Samples track on Are You Afraid).
Finisher “374” goes louder, more garage-jangle that’s so popular these days south of the (Canadian) border, and it kind of poses a conundrum: do you want The Danks to grow from their very solid alt-pop press base, or is it so sweet you can’t ask for anything more? Are You Afraid of The Danks getting bigger? Most bands would be lucky to have this problem…
