Customer Reviews

Dance Gavin Dance

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

They say never judge a book (or by extension, an album) by its cover, but that's the first thing you notice. When the cover is a cross between an anime Death Star and Minesweeper concept art, that's expected. The art direction on the outside hints at the direction of the art inside. In the case of Sacramento-based Dance Gavin Dance's self-titled, several descriptive words come to mind ("dirty," "colorless," "metallic") but the edges of the image are soft and rounded. And it's all surrounded by blank space.

"Dance Gavin Dance" is a record which certainly lives up to the 'promises' of its cover. Musically, that translates into enough variation to keep serious listeners entertained. Melody and spaciness play counterpoint to rough-hewn superchunky guitar riffage that shares borders with Circa Survive and The Blood Brothers alike. The DGG boys love them some musical shifts, too, evoking tinctures of Tool or Gatsbys American Dream. (Though thankfully not quite Mike Patton, in this case.)

Gatsby's singer Nic Newsham even lends a lung to "Uneasy Hearts Weigh the Most," a manic depressive love song that swoons between drunken bar-room fist-pumping, and sickly sweet, poppy crooning not far removed from Newsham's chick-magnet side project Red Red Blue. A few round, clear notes bloom like the start of a sweeping, heartfelt epic, to begin the track--but the guitar chokes before anything big happens, mirroring the inner turmoil of the song's narrator:

"Holy s***, she smells like heaven // Been friends since we were eleven // Oh my god, I like her // Yeah, I heard you like her // Baby, I thought that we had something // Compared to him, I'm next to nothing // And oh my god, I like her // But yeah, I heard you like her."

"Hot Water on Wool" tosses Dance Gavin Dance's hat towards the "reflective, slow, ambient" ring of this circus, but it's the oceanic "Caviar" which strays closest to Circa Survive's territory, with fellow Sacromentoan Chino Moreno's undulating Team Sleep vocals blazing the trail. The final guest vocalist, Matt Geise, steps to the plate with "Rock Solid": a predictably solid rocker, which midway swings into a spoken word, conversational skit with only a bleating guitar note and urgent wardrums as accompaniment.

"Skyhook" sees Dance Gavin Dance's new vocalist Kurt Travis trying out some great-sounding falsetto, alternately "aah-aah"'ing and screaming his way through, hinting at some hidden versatility which could come in handy replacing former Dance Gavin Dance singer Jonny Craig on future releases.

With 2008 so far being a year of anticipation and disappointment, it's heartening to hear releases like "Dance Gavin Dance" which crackle with the energy of comfortable experimentation. Backed with unspoken endorsements by past groups known for their top notch brands of unique, heavy, progressive rock (Gatsby's American Dream, Deftones), Dance Gavin Dance has potential to go far. If they can nail down a solid line-up, the fanbase will be there waiting for the foreseeable future.

A lot of people are up in arms about this album. Yes, they lost a guitarist. And on top of that, they lost Johnny, their mind blowingly talented singer that blew the top off everything he sang.

I was skeptical about this record, I didn't know if they could find anyone to fill Johnny's shoes.

And Kurt isn't Johnny, but he is better than just good. I dislike guest appearances on songs, detest them for the most part, and was disappointed to see that Dance Gavin Dance had 3 lined up for the new album.
And at first I didn't like those 3 songs (Uneasy Hearts Weigh The Most, Caviar, and Rock Solid), but they grew on me. I love Uneasy Hearts, still dislike Caviar, and Rock Solid is alright.

As for the rest of the songs, I love almost every single one.
The feel they created on Downtown Battle Mountain is still there.
The melody is still there, the great guitar work is still there, the playoffs between singing and screaming are still intricate and engaging.
I love Jonathan's screaming, it reminds me a lot of Fear Before The March Of Flames.

One thing that caught me off guard was the number of f-bombs.
I'm pretty sure there's a couple in every song, and the last track, People You Know has about 16. And it doesn't bother me, but it might some people.

All in all this album is only a slight step down from Downtown Battle Mountain, simply because of the loss of Johnny's vocals. The music is right up to par, and honestly I love listening to it, I've played it a couple dozen times and it hasn't gotten old yet.
Highly recommended.

When I first heard Johnny had parted ways with Dance Gavin Dance I had a feeling it would be the same way it was with A Skylit Drive.

Now, don't get my wrong this album is very soon, but it will take some time to grow on you if you are used to the vocal styling of Johnny Craig. The reason I said earlier "it would be the same way it was with A Skylit Drive" is because when I got A Skylit Drive's new cd it was the same way while the new vocalist Jag is very good as Kurt is to Dance Gavin Dance, he is not Jordan Blake. And I feel those are the singers that got us into these bands and there will always be a piece of each song that is missing, but I know this will not make or break me buying music from either of these bands, or going to their shows.

Over all the reason I give it 4 out of 5 stars is because it is a very well made CD but it is missing the originality of the band for me. But I would recommend this to any fans of Dance Gavin Dance, or any bands in the same genres.

I know I know, 3 years late. What can i say? needed to review and album that was a predecessor to DBM2. So obviously, we all know Jonny Craig left and DGD had to get a new singer and another new band mate. I did my DBM2 review and was satisified with the album. But when it comes down to it, I went back in time and said, "DGD was so good and different in the 2008/2010 releases." Dont get me wrong, I love Jonny, he;s the man. Everyone knows he's has the gift of a god. I am about to be that one fan who thinks a tad differently. When it comes to DGD, i think of them as two separate entities. You have the Jonny DGD and the Jurt Travis DGD. I loved Jonny in all the previous DGD albums, and DBM2. But there was someting different about the atmosphere with Kurt. Some of his work i enjoy more than Jonny's. I am not going to tell you Jonny is way better because he is the most talented singer ever, but that Kurt had some x-factor.

i was hesitant to even buy the album when it came out, becuase like you, Jonny wasnt in it. then after a few listens, i didnt care as much. I fell in love with Kurt's vocals and energy. He brought the same effort that Jonny did and really captalized on the same strengths. His voice emited DGD passion but in a different manor. Jonny has his own way of projecting his tone as well as Kurt did. Two different voices with a similar purpose. No one should dismiss Kurt as someone who "just filled in" and "made DGD ehhh." His grippig voice really made an impact on DGD and was just as important as Jonny was. But fans like myself could go on and on, debating such things. Onto the album...

For those of you who have DBM2 and havent gone back some years, i would encourage you to do so. Like myself i heard "Antlion" first without know their older work, had to know where they started. Now, with the self titled "DGD" there is definetaly a different "feel" to the work. I personally enjoy it. Jon Mess is always ontop of his game and so arent the others (will is the man). Some songs reveal Jon Mess as a prominent vocalist as well as Kurt. Each have their moments that make them the main focus, but one doesnt overshadow the other. The songs themselves are paced well and show great levels of diversity. The musicanship is expertly executed (as always) and amplifies the album's overall intensity.

1. ALEX ENGLISH (4.5/5) - a great way to kick off the album. fast paced and vocally driven by kurt and jon. It starts off with some nice guitar picking followed by jon's scathing vox. Kurt's cleans compliments how impactful Jon's voice is. The song is perfectly paced up until its conclusion.

2. BUFFALO! (4/5) - fast-paced and power driven. The guitars are beyond human. A definite listen to all DGD fans

3. ME AND ZOLOFT GET ALONG JUST FINE (5/5) - one of the best songs on the album. Kurt brings his A game and really creates such a powerful chorus. His range and tone are just something to behold. After the chorus, the instruments and Jon rifle back into DGD mode with some great songwriting. one of the best on the entire album!!!

4. THE ROBOT WITH THE HUMAN HAIR PRT 3 (4.5/5)- WIN WIN WIN WIN WIN

5. HOT WATER ON WOOL (6/5) - this is by far one of the best on the album. the rate at which this song unfolds is just surreal. this is the DGD that develops tone and really pulls audiences in. As the seconds pass by , it becomes more gripping. "I am waiting to see if it comes to me or if its tied to a safe that just hit the sea floor." Some of the best lyrics are within this song. I have to give Kurt credit, this was the one song that really made me a believer in him. It is the most infectious song (for me personally), and the best part, it has a reprise...

6. HOT WATER ON WOOL (REPRISE) (5/5) - a continuation of track 5. they roll right into eachother without any hesitation bringing back the powerful chorus to cap of the song. Such a brilliant idea...

7. UNEASY HEARTS WAY THE MOST (5/5) - just listen to it! Kurt gets to shine a bit here and really hits hard with his range.

8. CAVIAR (5/5) - one of the more mid tempo tracks on the album. Chino Moreno of deftones kills in the song. the climactic ending is one of the more direct message from the DGD album. Jon's part between Chino's is one of the best lines on the entire album. This song packs such an emotional driven message that its hard to just liesurely listen to it.

9. ROCK SOLID (4/5) - ROCK SOLID!!!!!!

10. BURNING DOWN THE NICOTINE AMOIRE PT 2 (4/5) - just listen to it!!!

11. REPROGRAMMING MENTAL PREPROGRAMMING (4/5) - one of the more fast paced songs on the album. again kurt and jon are in perfect harmony with one another. i personally enjoy the choruses.

12. SKYHOOK (5/5) - I find that this song is the emodiment of all of DGD. Kurt's lyrics progress through the song at such a blissful rate. the chorus is one of kurt's best on the self titled. it also has a particular rigid tone with the instruments, opening up to the choruses. Will Swan killing the guitar!!!

13. PEOPLE YOU KNOW (5/5) - by now we have all heard Jon's "People you Knew" on DBM2's bonus tracks. the are both extremely powerful songs that leave audiences captivated. But what a way to end an album. It is just pure relentless, energy, emotion, and Mess. The song never lets up until about half way through when it becomes an outro. I cant push the fact that Jon Mess is one of the most influential vocalists alive. The raw intenisty of his voice is something to behold. After the assault on your ears, the solemn outro begins and Kurt returns with some harmonic one - liners. "Uneasy Hearts Way the Most" is repeated as well as a high pitched repition. It definetaly leaves the album off with a distinct mood. A definite listen!!!


one of the best albums of 2008 and for DGD!!!

If they can top this one, I'll be very impressed. The sonics are unparalleled here; make sure you listen with good headphones. The layering and dueling of the guitars is great, all of the roughness from previous works has been refined. I loved 'Downtown Battle Mountain', however I unfortunately listened to it way too many times, so this album tides me over. Every song on the self-title is a keeper, a perfect mixture of harmony and discord.

I didn't think this when I first listened. You have to put it on while you're doing something idle; slowly your brain will get the pattern down and you will "get" the album. This is common with almost all of my favorite albums; I was never swept away by them the first time I listened to them. Anyway, if you give it a couple spins and keep an open mind in regards to their changed line-up, I'm confident you will like what you hear.

well, what can i say? It took a while to get used too, maybe a month to set in, but i can finally say i really do love this album. The main attraction jonny craig has left and kurt travis takes over on this album. If your a dance gavin dance fan you'll grow to like this album very much. It has a lot of progression and vocals are still one of the best. My 2 favorite tracks have to me 'me and zoloft get along fine' and 'people you know'. People you know is a powerful song screamed completely by Jon mess. A perfect track to finish the album. I especially love the guest appearances on this album, especially the track 'rock solid' which is just a completely fun track all around. This album will grow on you, it may not be up there completely with Downtown Battle Mountain, but it's up there.

First off, let me start by saying this band is one of my favorites so this review will be a tad biased.

The Ex-Vocalist Kurt Travis did a solid job on this album, and has an amazing voice,granted, he's no Jonny, but he can sing. The music like always for DGD is fun, intricate, and entertaining. The sing-scream formula is on par with their past records. However, the lyrics are awful, with the possible exception of "Uneasy Hearts Weigh The Most" and "People You Know", There is far too much cussing which would put a lot of people off. If you don't care about lyrics and cussing, and love post-hardcore music, definitely give this record a shot. Also, for me, this album still hasn't gotten old, I give it a listen or two every week.

Recommended if you like: The Fall Of Troy, The Number Twelve Looks Like You, Five Minute Ride, and Emarosa.

cd works fine for how cheap i got this for. cd cover was a little scratched but besides that i can't really complain.

yaknow honestly there is too much cussing
there is one really good song to me...
i dont think it was the best investment i have ever made tho.