The Dare | |
|---|---|
.jpg) The Dare performing inSydney, 2024 | |
| Background information | |
| Also known as | Turtlenecked |
| Born | Harrison Patrick Smith March 19, 1996 (1996-03-19) (age 29) |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 2015–present |
| Labels | |
Harrison Patrick Smith (born March 19, 1996),[1] known professionally asthe Dare and formerly asTurtlenecked, is an American singer and musician. He is best known for his single "Girls", released in August 2022,[2] and for producing the song "Guess" byCharli XCX from the deluxe version of her 2024 albumBrat.
After performing indie music as Turtlenecked in thePacific Northwest, Smith moved toNew York City and began writing songs as the Dare. Following the releases of the singles "Girls" and "Good Time", Smith signed withRepublic Records and on May 19, 2023, releasedThe Sex EP to mixed reviews. In 2024, he releasedWhat's Wrong with New York?, his debut studio album as the Dare, to largely positive reviews.
The Dare is associated with theindie sleaze revival[a] andDimes Square.[6][7]
Harrison Patrick Smith was born inWest Hollywood, California,[8][9] and grew up inWoodinville, a suburb ofSeattle.[10] His mother is a psychotherapist, and his late father was a medical devices salesman.[11] As a child, he played violin and guitar and read about fashion.[3] He later moved toPortland,Oregon to attendLewis & Clark College, where he studied English literature.[12]
In 2014, while attending Lewis & Clark College, Smith formed a musical project called Turtlenecked, which developed a cult following in thePacific Northwest.[13][3] His debut album,Pure Plush Bone Cage, was released in August 2016.Pitchfork's Ian Cohen rated their second album,Vulture (2017), a 6.0/10, saying that Smith is "capable of penning voice-of-a-generation quotables" while also criticizing some of his lyricism as "insufferable".[14] On April 27, 2018, the group released anEP,High Scores of the Heart, whichNPR's Jerad Walker praised for being "so polished that you might be surprised to find out that he is still just anundergrad."[13] Smith moved to New York City in 2017, where he continued performing with Turtlenecked.[3] He also worked as a waiter and guitar teacher in the area.[7]
AfterCOVID-19 pandemic restrictions eased, Smith resumed performing gigs with Turtlenecked.[3] Until December 2022, Smith worked as a substitute teacher at a private school in theWest Village neighborhood of New York City.[3] He moonlighted as aDJ, hosting a semi-weekly party called Freakquencies at the Lower East Sidedive bar Home Sweet Home,[3][5] and hosted afterparties for fashion brandsCeline andGucci.[5] Smith released his final projects as Turtlenecked, the albumKapow! and the EPCherish, in 2020.[12]
During the pandemic, Smith created self-described "goofy" songs to send to his friends. One night, inspired bythe Rolling Stones albumSome Girls, Smith created the song "Girls", which would become his first single as the Dare.[3] He played it at Turtlenecked shows, and noticed that the crowd received it well even though it was more frenetic and thematically light than the indie music he typically made.[3] Smith officially released the song in August 2022, calling it "a rejection of the last five years of music" which he felt had become overly serious.[3]Jon Caramanica ofThe New York Times named "Girls" as the fifth best song of 2022, calling it "[e]pically silly and epically debauched".[15]
In March 2023, Smith released a second single, "Good Time".[16] The next month, after a bidding war with several major labels, Smith was signed withRepublic Records.[3]The Sex EP, Smith's first EP as the Dare, was released May 19, 2023, to mixed reviews.[17] In June 2023, it was announced that the Dare would join the U.S. west coast leg of artistYves Tumor's international tour.[18] He announced his latest single, "Perfume," in an interview with Animal Blood Magazine.[19]
In June 2024 the Dare joinedCharli XCX as the opening act of her three-date North American tour in support ofBrat.[20] In August the remix of Charli XCX's song "Guess", featuringBillie Eilish and produced by the Dare alongsideFinneas, debuted at number one on theUK Singles Chart.[21]The Dare's debut studio album,What's Wrong with New York?, was released on September 6, 2024, via Republic andPolydor Records to positive reviews.[22][23][24]
English singerCharli XCX praised "Girls" in a 2022 interview, saying it "goes off at parties";[25] the two later collaborated on "Guess" for the deluxe edition of her 2024 albumBrat.[26] The Dare later performed as the opening act for the Brooklyn date of Charli XCX'sBrat tour in June 2024.[27] His musical style has frequently been compared toLCD Soundsystem,[b]the Rapture,[c] andPeaches.[d]
In a critical review inPitchfork,Sophie Kemp compared the Dare toLMFAO and claimed his schtick "looks better on a T-shirt than in a song, where its snarkiness is a little exhausting".[28]
As of July 2023, Smith lived in an apartment inEast Williamsburg, Brooklyn. In a profile forGQ, Samuel Hine described him as "a little shy", unlike his stage persona. Smith calls himself a "huge music nerd" and said he struggled with anxiety andhypochondria when he moved to New York City.[3]
As the Dare
As Turtlenecked[32]
