Second Dan

THE DELI MAGAZINE
CMJ, Oct 08

SECOND DAN played some of the more polished offerings I'd heard so far; singing infectious hooks and his band-mates creating dense layers of instrumental melody that ran the gamut from power-pop to harder rock.
By the end of the set, they had the CMJ festival go-ers coming to stage and bouncing their heads lock step with the band to their powerful new tune "We Can" (a shout out before the election that is almost here!). This set was sure to win them over to some new fans.; - The Deli Magazine

Given the title of their debut album - 'Bringing Down Goliath' - you could be forgiven for painting the band in something of a fabled 'David' role. In truth, there's nothing small-time about this former Australian band or their urgent, all-conquering sound. Influenced by stadium-filling bands the likes of Oasis and the Foo Fighters, Second Dan trades off of a collection of anthemic tunes packed to the brim with adrenaline and vigour. There is little question that this band is destined for bigger stages the world over and it's their infectious, approach to music that provides audiences with a hedonistic pomp so rarely experienced in the realms of live music.

©Joel Crane, NME, Q, Mojo
- Joel Crane,

Second Dan – Bringing Down Goliath
I know I’ve been saying this a lot lately, but Bringing Down Goliath is a great album. There's nothing better than getting an album and never wanting to stop listening to it. It's rare that it happens even occasionally but I've been lucky enough to have it happen a few times in the past month. Bringing Down Goliath is one of those albums, in case I wasn't clear about that.
The band Second Dan comes to us from front man Dan Rosen, who won the prestigious award Unearthed in his native Australia. Backed by New Yorker Adam Wolfe Lerner, and couple of Southern boys no less Daniel Reisbick and Sonny Ratcliff, it has been said that Ratcliff channels the ghost of Keith Moon while sitting behind the kit. If that doesn't get your curiosity up nothing will.
Bringing down Goliath is the bands first full length album, like I said before, it's great I thoroughly enjoyed every song on the album, musically it pure pop rock, and sometimes when I hear something like that on a CD I'm instantly turned off but lyrically it's more than pop, the album has layers, man. Songs that range from love to loss to urging global change.
There's a line in the track Everything is Good that goes “with your lips interrogate me”, that's an awesome line, I want to use that line. I can't really put into words how cool this album is both musically and lyrically. Once these guys hit they're going to blow up and possibly shape the music scene into something interesting again.
- Lithium Radio

Second Dan was the second band to play at Ausfest and I really enjoyed their sound. The band's bio describes their music as "combining the pop sensibilities of Foo Fighters and Janes Addiction with the passion and world-view of U2 and countrymen Midnight Oil" and this is a pretty accurate description. The band is currently finishing their debut CD, "Bring Down Goliath", which is due to be released later this year and their are a couple tracks from this release streaming on the band's MySpace page (link below). - The Daily News - New York

Live from New York, it's Indie Round-Up! This week I'm taking a break from reviewing CDs to talk about some recent shows. First up: Second Dan, Tuesday night at Mercury Lounge. Led by Australian import Dan Rosen, whose Down Under vocals and bad-ass-Hebrew looks make for some notable charisma, the band played an energetic and enthusiastically received set mostly taken from their upcoming CD, Bringing Down Goliath. Lead guitarist Adam Lerner called on the U2 and Radiohead playbooks for evocative guitar sheen, and wild-man drummer Sonny Ratcliff provided the important role of second visual focal point (something a lot of bands could use).

With the faint, edgy raggedness of a band that's been rehearsing but not touring, the band wrung everything they could out of their most infectious rockers, "You Make We Want To" and "Running Out of Feelings." The brooding "Forget to Remember" was another highlight. And the band showed its political side in a couple of songs, including the punked-up, socially conscious "The Elephant Fell To Earth." Pumped up, skilled, and most of all, charging out of the gate with excellent songwriting, this New York City band stands out in the crowded League of Alternative Rock Gentlemen.
- Indie Round up

Crickey!

Last night's Aussie Assault at CMJ was jam packed with good bands and even better accents. I secretly wanted each band to just stand up on stage and speak rather than play. I'm just a gal who's a sucker for the aussies. Jocelyn and I managed to get drunk by about 8:30, which made DJing the rest of the night quite interesting. I must say: Jocelyn has got the dance moves. Next time you see her out, just ask her to do her robot move. To Weezer. It's great.

All of the bands were pretty good, and having not known a thing about them before last night, it was sorta what my SXSW should have been like. (But I think I had more fun anyway). But like Wes would say, none of them were very memorable.

Of the five bands, Second Dan was my favorite!!! The lead singer is the only aussie of the group (they are now based in NYC) so even though Jocelyn thinks that was false advertising, I'm okay with it. - The Underrated Blog

Bringing Down Goliath is the debut album from New York City based indie-rockers, Second Dan. The album doesn't just have good songs, they have the potential to be anthems. Like hearing U2 for the first time in the early 80's, Second Dan's album captures that mixture of intelligent songwriting with infectious music reminiscent of The Replacements with a nod to Brit-pop Oasis and early Radiohead.. - We Like Indie

Second Dan
Bringing Down Goliath
Rola Pola, 2008
7.6
Album Reviews
Written by Ted Chase
Monday, 07 April 2008
Second Dan hit it on their first try with their debut full-length, Bringing Down Goliath. While this foursome hails from New York’s Lower East Side, their sound is far wider, traveling as far as singer/guitarist, and Aussie transplant, Dan Rosen. Sometimes their driving power hews too closely to the pop-simple side of the road, but their anthemistic quality can’t be denied.

Goliath opens with the catchy ooh-la-la of “Color Of My World” (Rosen’s gone native – he spells ‘colour’ without the ‘u’), which carries the listener along. Things get more pressing on the following “Forget To Remember”, some expansive, stadium-filling rock. In general, Second Dan is strongest on their biggest pieces, veering more towards the catchy power-pop near the end, with “Make Me Want To”, “Love and Innocence”, and “Duwachuwant”. However, those tracks do show off a simplicity that can feel a little thin at times. Most bombastic is middle number “Running Out of Feelings”, where driving meets catchy.
Click here for photos of Second Dan at Bowery Ballroom, New York, on March 30, 2008 in the QRO Concert Photo Gallery

Second Dan does vary it up somewhat on Goliath as well. “I Met a Girl” has a catchy, sweet strum (though maybe a bit too sweet), while finisher “How You Getting On?” plays it pretty and high in its flow. The band goes funky with “The Elephant Fell to Earth”, dance-bop with a catchy chorus. But maybe tops of these excursions is the relaxed and wistful “Everything Is Good”; you can feel the last days of the summer breeze (whether that’s in August or February…).

Currently readying to tour the States, Second Dan have an indie-arena sound that hews to the Commonwealth. There’s a raw, unaffected power in their music, enough to bring down any goliath. - QRO Magazine

So, here’s the latest stuff that I reckon sounds pretty damn good.

Second Dan is a band that I’d never heard of until I was contacted by their publicity guys the other day. After doing a bit more digging, I was surprised to discover that there have been two incarnations of Second Dan, the first of which won the Triple J Unearthed competition here in Australia in 2003 with the frenetic track ‘Running Out Of Feelings’. After listening to their gear, I am not at all surprised that they won.

After enjoying some success in Australia, the two original members of Second Dan, Dan Rosen and Dan Karni (band name mystery solved) decided to move to New York. However they broke up when Karni decided he wanted to head back home. A chance meeting between Dan Rosen (vocals) and ANOTHER Dan(ny) Reisbeck (bass) led to the current lineup – Adam Lerner (guitar) and Sonny Ratcliffe (drums).

Second Dan play indie rock that’s right up my alley – slightly retro sounding with catchy hooks and playful backup vocals. The standout track for me is ‘The Elephant Came Down To Earth’. Two seconds in, I was hooked. Great keys, infectious riffs and a change of tempo right toward the end, with a few shoo-do-dos thrown in for good measure. Thank goodness for digital music – this is one track that would wear down a few record needles.

The debut album is Bringing Down Goliath and you can catch them live in New York in July and August, though it would be good for them to come back here to Oz some time. I’d definitely be nabbing me a ticket! - Monoxide

It was May of 2007 when I was handed an advanced copy of Second Dan's CD, "bringing down Goliath". I instantly connected with the band's straight ahead rock & roll with pop sensibilities. The album didn't just have good songs, they had the potential to be anthems. Like hearing U2 for the first time in the early 80's, Second Dan's album captured that mixture of intelligent songwriting with infectious music.

"Bringing down Goliath", has received frequent plays on Lazlo's Den (as well as in my own CD player), and every time I played it on the Den I raved that soon you would be able to own this gem of an album for yourself.

At long last that time has come, with the April 25th, 2008 release of "bringing down Goliath". Finally, you too can own this brilliant album and hear for yourself why I love it so much. - Blow Up Radio