POZ Review: Dance Gavin Dance - Acceptance Speech - PropertyOfZack

10/27/13 12:39 AM

POZ Review: Dance Gavin Dance - Acceptance Speech

While it may seem a bit demeaning to bring a bands former member changes and embattled past into a piece that is supposed to discuss the successes and/or failures of their newest release, there is a certain obligation to Dance Gavin Dances improbable path to their fifth full-length, Acceptance Speech. This is not because the constant revolving door of vocalists has held the band back in anyway. In fact, the band has continued a steady rise in popularity ever since the cult of Downtown Battle Mountain began to form. After the release of DBM, Dance Gavin Dance parted ways with the enigma that is Jonny Craig, and in came Kurt Travis, whose dark lyrical themes helped to create gems on the bands self-titled album and 2009s Happiness. However, Craig seemed to be on a path to redemption, which prompted the band to boot Travis and reunite with their original clean vocalist (and the rest of the DBM lineup) to create the sequel. The result, unfortunately, was not the scenes Empire Strikes Back. If anything, it was along the lines of Saw 3, 4, 5, 6, or 7, Batman and Robin, or Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. Downtown Battle Mountain 2 often felt like a force effort, with Jonny Craigs vocal performance as mailed in as they come. Turns out, the singers demons had come back yet again, leading to another less-than-amicable split. Again, DGD were at a crossroads. Clearly never the type to give up and call it quits at the first sign of bad luck, the band enlisted frontman-for-hire Tilian Pearson (ex- Tides of Man) for Acceptance Speech, and the patience has paid off. Acceptance Speech is, in every sense of the phrase, everything you would expect from a Dance Gavin Dance album. Though there has always been a merry-go-round of members around them, guitarist Will Swan and drummer Matt Mingus, the bands two main musicians, are still as unique and as talented as ever, which gives the album an immediate presence and identity. The sounds the two come up with are nothing too different from what youre used to hearing, but throughout the albums eleven tracks, theres nothing that seems too similar or recycled from the bands older material. The bands peculiar song titles, and their peculiar habit of creating sequels to those song titles, also remains. It is a pleasant surprise, however, that these sequels provide some of
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POZ Review: Dance Gavin Dance - Acceptance Speech - PropertyOfZack

10/27/13 12:39 AM

the best tracks on the entire effort. The ongoing saga of the bands discography, The Robot with Human Hair, gets two more parts, including the death of this oddly-follicled character. Part 4 implements Pearson early and often, and boasts a chorus that moves smoothly and is one of the catchiest moments of the bands career. The crashing bridge towards the end of Part 4 is one of Pearsons best moments, as he effortlessly soars over the guitars of Swan and Josh Benton, with Mingus destroying his cymbals in the background. As the band lays the robot to rest in Death of the Robot With Human Hair, they do so with a five-minute effort (not exactly the norm for a Dance Gavin Dance song), which explores the loud-quiet dynamic of Pearsons high-pitched clean vocals and Jon Messs harsh screams. Swan, who turned in an MVP-level performance on Happiness with some screams (and raps) of his own, also joins in towards the middle of the track, before an electronic outro puts a strange spin on the song that youd only expect to hear from Dance Gavin Dance themselves. Aside from the Robot saga, Acceptance Speech also features new editions of Strawberry Swisher (Part 3) and Turn Off the Lights, Im Watching Back to the Future (Part 2), the six-minute album closer that begins sounding like a cut from Pearsons solo project before Mess enters the fray. The vocalists take the last minute of the song off, giving the instrumentalists of the band their time to round out the album, before Mess comes back for one final screamed musing. This certainly feels like a vindication of sorts, as the band truly puts together a well-rounded, cohesive musical effort, a complete turnaround from the disjointed Downtown Battle Mountain 2. While a good deal of the attention will initially be placed on the sequel tracks, the rest of the album will eventually make its mark with listeners as well. Album opener Jesus H. Macy serves it purpose wonderfully, while the title track features an excellent riff from Swan to accent Messs fast-paced opening verse before Pearsons long-winded chorus, followed by Mess adding to a crushing breakdown. Immediately following the title track is Carve, which begins with a frenzy and never lets up on the gas. Doom and Gloom slows the pace just enough to hook the listener into a hypnotic melody from Pearson, before the band break things open yet again.

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POZ Review: Dance Gavin Dance - Acceptance Speech - PropertyOfZack

10/27/13 12:39 AM

While DBM2 fell into a rut of taking too much of the edge off, theres plenty to go around on Acceptance Speech, thanks in part to the big strides Jon Mess has made as both a vocalist. Messs screams have continually improved since he rejoined the band after a brief exodus (which lead to Swan providing the screams in Happiness). This time around, he takes on more of a frontmans role, and the result is his best performance in the bands career. His chemistry with Pearson, despite the hired gun feel of the situation, produces some of the bands most interesting material, due in part to Pearsons pop sensibilities serving as a direct contrast to Messs harsh howl. Though there may not be enough on Acceptance Speech to sway the bands detractors, those who have followed the band through their many phases will be pleased with the bands output yet again. The bands talent and personality, whether you like it or not, is on full display, and Pearson proved to be the spark the band needed to set their career back on the right path, making Acceptance Speech the bands most focused, structured effort. That structure goes a long way in setting up the band for many big moments across the albums 44-minute run time. Because the constant changing of the guard at their clean vocalist position has kept them from truly finding their identity as a band, well probably never figure out who the real Dance Gavin Dance is. What makes that so interesting is that weve now seen many different interpretations of what the band could be. This time around, the lazy, resting on our laurels feel to Downtown Battle Mountain 2 has been tossed aside in favor of feverish ferocity, with Mess taking over as the main vocalist. Tilian Pearsons voice is obviously too great to be ignored, and while he seems to take the same sex appeal approach that Craig did, it somehow seems more genuine (and even better) than Craig was able to deliver last time around. The debate will rage about where this version of Dance Gavin Dance stands, but Acceptance Speech certainly has enough bravado and moxie to help it stand out among the rest.

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