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One of the most anticipated albums of the year, The Dare somehow over-delivers on his debut dance-punk project, What’s Wrong With New York?

Over the last few years, The Dare has become an emblem of himself. With a signature suit and tie and sigh of exasperation, he’s been able to intrigue the entire world with his sex-charged nonchalance. Promising to revive indie sleaze, the 28-year-old breakout artist is the force behind breakout singles like “Girls,” which garnered over 17 million streams, as well as electrifying DJ sets in downtown New York. He’s mastered a niche that’s been dormant in our bones for too long—messy sex pop that shocks the body alive and gets us drunk on lust and inhibition.

“Open Up” is a starting pistol, wasting no time easing us into this project’s explosive pulse. “It’s just rock and roll, you won’t die” are the very first words we hear The Dare utter, a tempting invitation to see what happens if we just let this project undo us just a bit. 10 tracks deep, we then descend into sweat-drenched magic. As if we’ve blinked and landed in 2009, The Dare hand delivers the raunchy electroclash we can only come to him for.

“I Destroyed Disco” exhausts a dizzying build-up that mirrors his work on Charli XCX and Billie Eilish’s “Guess.” It’s a silly poke at the critics who deny his right to claim space in the new rave realm, as if he isn’t singlehandedly reshaping it.

The seventh track on What’s Wrong With New York?, “All Night” is fun and boneless, a playful electropop single with the catchy chorus "New York to LA / LA to New York / All the other states.” It’s an immediate anthem for every hottie on a redeye who’d rather be broke in a big city than rich in a forgettable one.

Set for his first headlining North American tour, one can only hope that The Dare somehow maintains the intimacy and sense of exclusivity of his sweaty basement sets when bringing What’s Wrong With New York? across the country.

Listen to What’s Wrong With New York? below: