Review Summary: A vast gap in talent between the two members holds this decent effort just above the jaws of mediocrity
Blood on the Dance Floor needs no introduction; having released seven albums and four EPs in just six years, they’re not a band with any shortage of material. Their rise to fame is mostly due to the gaudy persona known as Dahvie Vanity, who is the main face behind the band. After two albums of touring with random members, Dahvie brought along Jayy Von Monroe who has ever since been the only other official member of Blood on the Dance Floor. Originally starting off as a couple of auto-tune wielding knuckleheads, Jayy’s vocal talent quickly became apparent as the vocoder was stripped away and Dahvie’s lack of prowess became glaringly obvious in an instant. This album is the ultimate personification of that divide, as for every solid melody given in Jayy’s performance, there’s another cringe-worthy Dahvie vocal line ready to ruin the mood.
As a compilation of acoustic versions of tracks dating back as far as their second album, Blood on the Dance Floor had a great opportunity to pick some of their more serious tracks and put a new spin on them; sadly for the most part the track selection was decidedly immature. As such, the lyricism feels incredibly out of place and downright silly in some spots (never before have I heard or ever thought I would hear the phrases “twerk it bitch”, “hit me up, make me cum” or “can’t stop the tickles, they call me doctor giggles” in an acoustic format.) Some songs in this new format showcase a much needed dose of maturity; album opener and highlight “Redeemer” is the best example of how an acoustic track’s ability to drag you into its atmosphere can be enhanced if the lyricism is up to par. Jayy Von Monroe’s vocal delivery is very smooth and melodic; his baritone voice most often stays in the middle to lower registers, with a few exceptions, such as in the chorus of “Something Grimm” and in the pre-chorus of “Redeemer.” Dahvie Vanity’s vocals are mostly in a higher register and consistently sound forced and nasally in the worst way; it’s as though he has to strain his voice just to hit the most basic notes.
The instrumentals took me by surprise as well; what I was completely unprepared for was Dahvie’s surprisingly solid technical competence behind a guitar. Tremolo picking and arpeggios are frequently utilized in multiple of the songs compositions and help give each song variety and flavor, particularly in tracks such as “Scream for my Ice Cream." Along with this, dashes of piano, maracas, tambourines and a sundry of string arrangements all help form the backbone for each track. There is some electronic input in a few tracks, but they’re mostly just small and random blips that don’t do anything for the material one way or the other.
This could have been a lot worse, and this composition has made one truth painfully clear; if this band is going to advance, Dahvie either needs to stop singing or hire a vocal coach. As of right now, this band’s appeal almost solely comes from Jayy Von Monroe, and that needs to either be capitalized on, or the other end of this band’s aural spectrum needs to pick up the slack.
