Dance Gavin Dance, 2020

The time has come for me to write my first review for my favorite band, Dance Gavin Dance. As someone who has listened to the band religiously for over a decade, I have seen them flourish with a consistent line-up for the past six years. The combination of soaring clean vocalist Tilian Pearson, innovative guitarist Will Swan, chaotic unclean vocalist Jon Mess, groovy bassist Tim Feerick, and grounded drummer Matt Mingus have persisted and created four cohesive albums together that are devoid of filler and full of memorable moments. My expectations are grand for the band’s ninth album, Afterburner, so let’s dive right in!

“Prisoner” was the album-announcement single and kicks off Afterburner. From the first measure, a complex dual-guitar riff immediately throws off first-time listeners. It’s still hard to wrap my head around the progression of these triplets, but that’s what we get with Swancore staple Sergio Medina working with Will on this song. Exploring the topics of religion and its subsequent confinement, the profoundness of the lyricism takes hold from the get-go. My favorite part of this song is the first post-chorus where all we can hear is yet another one of Will’s patented funk riffs that’s hard not to jive to. I distinctly remember being in my workplace when it dropped early in the morning February 22nd, dancing along at my standing desk and feeling on top of the world with this groovy piece.

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