Out Here All Night

Album Review

Damone's sophomore release, Out Here All Night, would sonically serve rather well as the soundtrack to those late summer nights spent driving aimlessly around with friends searching for that random party — you know, the rowdy one at some haphazard place that only picks up well after dusk when every last person you know or have at least seen around town has shown up. The straightforward revelry steering "Outta My Way" even has random party banter popping up in between all the glam rock attitude posturing to further drive the point home. Lyrically, however, the album leans more to the darker side of the aforementioned party — the self-doubt, lost love, and just trying to figure those carefree nights out in the grand scheme of things. For a musical comparison, insert any uplifting arena rock band into the blank with ringing guitar leads and powerful riffs, but put a tough female singer boasting a sweet, soaring voice up front to control the pop-punk masses. The album plays as the next logical step forward from the band's 2003 debut — surging choruses and tight playing bolstered even more with sporadic string-infused arrangements and production work so clean you could practically eat off it. As stated earlier, though, things aren't all the bright fun of songs like "Tonight" and "Now Is the Time" (the latter whose chorus is practically crying to be the theme for a WB drama). "Stabbed in the Heart" uses plaintive strings and potent guitars for an emotional buildup that — not to sound redundant — would fit well in a key love scene retrospective during a Hilary Duff movie, while "On Your Speakers" is the song that would no doubt result had lead singer Noelle actually been Bon Jovi's daughter. Throughout all the nocturnal merriment, Damone are seldom found short on enough attitude or six-string power to carry listeners into the early morning hours with ease — no matter how the night actually winds up turning out.