The Dangerous Summer

Named after the Hemingway tale and equipped with surprising poise on their debut EP, the Dangerous Summer are worth keeping an eye on. On If You Could Only Keep Me Alive, the band — themselves fresh out of Maryland high schools — temper their youthful enthusiasm with measured songwriting and unexpected patience. Accordingly, TDS’ ninth-wave emo anthems — big-boned and deliberate upon initial listens — eventually reveal enough subtlety to warrant extra attention. Nothing quite explodes from the speakers but malleable rock anthems like "Home” and an overall tendency away from simplistic song structures suggest that the Maryland quartet’s ultimate creative ceiling is higher than it sounds upon first spin. It’s too soon to bullrush the bandwagon now but it’s also worth forgiving one mini-album of tongue-y hums and sophomoric lyricism. The Dangerous Summer’s instincts aren’t bad, so long as they hone them.