Sleazy Slithering: The Dare at Electric Ballroom

In three words: new noughties nostalgia

Dish the goss: Staccato synths. A startling ‘yoooow’. Then, the lyrics: ‘I like the girls who do drugs, girls with cigarettes at the back of the club…’

Could it be a Calvin Harris track from 2007? It could be, but it’s not. It’s Harrison Patrick Smith, aka The Dare and he’s the Next Big Thing. Two years and 134 million TikTok tags after the release of ‘Girls’, the Californian singer and producer has single-handedly revived the noughties hipster aesthetic which became known as ‘indie sleaze’.

Having an open mind is key when listening to his debut album What’s Wrong with New York? – almost every lyric is tongue-in-cheek, but his drawling voice carries conviction, and his electroclash, cymbal-heavy sound is alluring. I’ve bagged myself a ticket to see him thanks to a last-minute venue change, and I’m desperate to see if he performs as confidently as his recordings.

He’s on storied ground at least, Camden has the highest concentration of music venues in London, most of which are legendary (KOKO, Jazz Café, The Roundhouse, to name a few). This gig was at Electric Ballroom, a typical Camden joint in every way: rough around the edges, and the middle, and the front and back. It’s wedged between a souvenir shop and a dessert stall flogging a certain monstrosity called a bubblepop waffle. Inside, I’m surprised by its vastness and unusual octagonal bar where staff go dizzy dealing with 360 degree demands for pilsner.

The capacity is under two thousand, and most punters gather underneath a rickety mezzanine, whose flimsy railings appear unchanged since the 1940s. Back then it was The Buffalo Club, a favourite haunt of the Irish community, having been renovated by the County Kerry entrepreneur Bill Fuller.

I find myself in a bright young crowd of men wearing shirts, and women in skinny ties. They scream every lyric with gusto: ‘missiles blowin’ up the motherfuckin’ club from New York to San Francisco’. Somehow, it works. The Dare’s stage presence is intoxicating. When he’s not got one assertive leg up on a speaker, he slithers about like an eel. I herald him as being one of the few things to reconcile Gen Zs and millennials. Yes, that’s right, I have fallen under his sleazy spell.

To keep up to date with The Dare, please follow his instagram
The Dare is performing at O2 Forum Kentish Town on 26 and 27 November. For tickets and more information, please visit their website

This article was originally published by LONDNR as part of The LOWDOWN newsletter. Sign up at londnr.substack.com/

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