On
180,
Palma Violets overflowed with youthful enthusiasm that united even the most freewheeling and shambling moments. After two years on the road and scrapped recording sessions, some maturing was inevitable, but
Palma Violets spend most of
Danger in the Club trying to find more sophisticated ways of expressing their raffishness with the help of producer
John Leckie, who helps them remain true to their spirit while pushing their boundaries. Doo wop-tinged backing vocals give "Walking Home" an extra bounce to its inebriated strut (yet this is one of
Danger in the Club's most focused songs); "No Money Honey" shows that they can do haunting almost as well as rowdy; and "The Jacket Song" is the kind of ramshackle acoustic waltz that added a weary romance to
the Libertines' music. Indeed, as
Palma Violets attempt to broaden their scope, they sometimes sound more like their influences; songs like "English Tongue" and "Coming Over to My Place" reaffirm they're a band in the line of
the Libs and
the Clash, while the title track evokes
the Bad Seeds and
the Stranglers' doomy theatrics.
Danger in the Club's most immediate tracks show that the band's strengths haven't changed much since
180. They rip into "Girl, You Couldn't Do Much Better on the Beach" and "Hollywood (I Got It)" with a fervor that rivals their debut, and the nimble way they handle the tempo shifts on "Secrets of America" and the
Motown-esque bassline on "Gout! Gang! Go!" argue that the album's subtler innovations might be even better than the showy ones. ~ Heather Phares
