DNA – Passenger

Bands should always challenge themselves to push beyond musical boundaries.  Without pushing known boundaries we wouldn’t have many of the genres we now take for granted.  Folk-punk, hardcore, grunge, hip-hop – these were all started when someone tried something new.  After listening to Los Angeles, CA three-piece DNA’s debut, Passenger, I get the impression they’re trying to be one of those bands.DNA mesh together the genetic code of pop, R&B, and pop-punk, in an effort to create something new.  But personally, I don’t find the result to be anything worth writing home about.

Passenger feels like an odd marriage of All Time Low and some sort of smooth R&B artist like Usher.  Vocal duties are shared between Alexei Misoul and Dan Book, who each trade off and share backing, choral, and fronting duties pretty evenly.  Stylistically they provide a familiar pop-punk whine but with overpowering electronic touch ups (ie. Hellogoodbye).  In the end of words feel like stand alone compositions spanning the entire vocal spectrum – and it feels entirely unnecessary.  To their benefit DNA moves between styles pretty comfortably, and never really favour one over the other.  However, none of their songs really do anything for me.  They all sound too familiar and fail to offer any real lyrical personality beyond repeating “oh baby” too much.

Musically the band over-uses their electronic drum machine to a nauseating degree.  Every second beat is either an electronic hand-clap or a stock R&B soundboard blip.  Occasionally, on tracks like “Take Your Time,” the band reminds the listener of their “rock” influence by featuring an extended guitar solo or two, but these are short-lived moments, and only really remind the listener that Passenger could have sounded far less lifeless that it does.

I have a feeling that general pop-enthusiasts and top 40’s goers will welcome this with arms open though.  They might not care about the band beyond a single or two, but songs like “the Realist” and “Almost Perfect” represent the type of thing that gets radio play without anyone actually acknowledging what they’re listening to (aka background music).

Top 40’s enthusiasts might enjoy a song here and there, but both punk and R&B fans should look elsewhere.  DNA’s failed attempt at “Punky” R&B is formulaic, predictable, and above all boring.  There’s really nothing remotely punk or R&B here, so I hope this isn’t a sign of things to come – in either genre.  There’s already enough generic power-pop masquerading as punk out there – there’s no need for it to invade other genres.