BY ROXANA HADADI

What are devoted fans to do when the frontman of their once-beloved band moves on and starts another musical experiment that ends up sounding far more up-tempo, less political and maybe even a bit happier than the first? In the case of Nathan Gray, formerly of boysetsfire and now of the Casting Out, fans should worry no more - Gray has moved on to something that may not be making a big political statement, but is pretty enjoyable regardless.

With boysetsfire, Gray was known for being the frontman of a dynamic, post-hardcore group that wore its political heart on its sleeve - and did it pretty damn well for more than a decade. From 1994 to 2007, boysetsfire put out album after album - from debut The Day the Sun Went Out to final release The Misery Index: Notes from the Plague Years - that furthered a mindset critical of capitalism, militarism and pretty much everything else that makes mainstream society, well ... mainstream.

But with the dissolution of boysetsfire, Gray comes back with the Casting Out, a far less angsty outlet for Gray's musical expressions. That's not so say the lyrics aren't critical and analytical - they still sometimes are. This time around, however, they're delivered in a more uptempo package, so you can dance while questioning The Man.

When opening for Strike Anywhere and The Bouncing Souls at the Black Cat in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 29, Gray and the rest of the Casting Out displayed that dance-punk sound, a revelation that got the mostly underage kids in attendance (and their parents) nodding their heads for the band's 10-song set.

Taking the stage after first opener Gimme Drugs (who were as painstakingly clichéd as their name would suggest; see lyrics such as, "Let's fuck again/ I forgot my rubbers"), the Casting Out launched straight into songs off the band's latest album, Go Crazy! Throw Fireworks!. Opening with "Liar (and the Award Goes To...)," Gray was his normal, high-energy self, dancing and flailing around the Black Cat's stage while displaying the same balance of frenzied control that made boysetsfire so appealing. Sure, Gray may scream like some kind of possessed banshee, but he'll do it dressed in a snazzy suit and vest - nice as you please.

Next came the very pop-punk-oriented "Walk Away" and "Lullaby." But don't take pop-punk to suggest stupid simplicity a la blink-182 or Good Charlotte - instead, the songs sound more like party-punk, the kind of stuff solid house party bands would play at the most enjoyable of parties. That same sentiment continued into "These Alterations," whose bright sound was buoyed by a prominent keyboard presence and Gray's own melodic musings: "So don't make a sound/ It's all been said/ What have we found/ With so many times around?" A far cry from boysetsfire lyrics (such as "And I'll remember what you did to me/ Lying on your kitchen floor/ Burning with hate" from "Another Badge of Courage"), for sure.

It's not all happy-go-lucky dance-punk, though - "Dial 9-1...and Wait," which Gray compared to Molly Ringwald films from the '80s (a reference which, sadly, drew perplexed stares from the prepubescents in attendance), very effectively uses a melodic, hardcore-like breakdown at its end, while "May I Have This Dance" has a very classic punk, raging three-chord quality about it that most bands can't perfect without sounding douche-y. And the Casting Out seemed to channel the Offspring - another band that successfully straddles the kinda-punk, kinda-pop line - with "Don't Forget to Breathe," thanks to an "Oi!" intro and some ridiculously rapid finger-picking transitions.

Songs "I Feel Fine" and "Just Pretending" were more of the same, but the set's best came in the closer, "Quixote's Last Ride." Actually Go Crazy! Throw Fireworks!'s opener, the track is also one of the featured ones on the band's MySpace page and acts as a solid microcosm for Gray's new sound. Written as a letter to whoever's listening, the song proclaims "this world is a cesspool, and love has surely died," and commands listeners to "bleed a little every day/ And let the memories fade" - all while set against an infectiously catchy beat.

It may not change the world, but hey, we still like it.

[Photos Credit: Adam Fried]