Review Summary: Instant Stagnation
I still remember the day I discovered Dance Gavin Dance. Instant Gratification had just been announced, their second outing with Tilian Pearson. I remember listening to “Awkward” and thinking it was like nothing I’d heard before, I was at a stage in my life where Green Day and My Chemical Romance were my favourite bands so hearing this band with their noodley funky post hardcore was mind blowing to me. It seems like yesterday, not 7 years ago.
And yet, here we are, 4 albums later and the magic seems to have completely worn off.
Jackpot Juicer shows signs of a band who have completely settled into their respective groove. There is nothing on this album that distinguishes it from the last, nor the one before that and so on. Despite the band stating Afterburner was the start of a new era for the group, it did little to alter their established sound and Jackpot Juicer feels very much like a continuation of their ever stagnant post-hardcore wankery.
The album starts off with an instrumental which harkens back to the untitled intro for Downtown Battle Mountain, but it’s purpose here is unclear. It’s entirely made up of strings, and other than being an obvious callback it really does nothing to enhance your experience. Cream of the Crop starts off with a bang! And it’s immediately evident the band are doing what they’ve done since Mothership. By no means is the song bad, by no means is any of this album bad, but it is infuriating to hear them playing on autopilot. The addition of strings in this track is genuinely great, but it’s not enough. Synergy is a decent lead single, Rob Damiani’s vocals are a nice change of pace even if he features for what could be considered barely a verse. If it isn’t evident to the listener at this point that the album has NO surprises in store, this song hits it home with a THWACK. From this point I struggle to tell what song is what, they sort of merge into one long disappointment.
For the Jeers features Andrew Wells providing some hooky vocals, and I’d be lying if I said this song didn’t get stuck in my head, but other than his “I’ll never fail”, the rest of the song follows the standard DGD structure to the nth degree. Polka Dot Dobbins is the only highlight for this reviewer from here on out. It’s under 3 minutes, and really lets Jon Mess shine. This album does little else, but what I will say is Jonathan Mess gets far more to do here than he has since 2015. The lyrics to this track in context of the allegations against Tilian don’t feel too great, but who listens to these guys for lyrics?
Pray to God for your Mother features some interesting guitar work, and the lyrics are oddly touching and personal. But that’s really it. The album closer feels like it could be anywhere else on the album, and I doubt it was put at the end for any other reason than it was the last on the list of songs to commit to wax.
Jackpot Juicer sees Dance Gavin Dance having a midlife crisis of sorts. They’ve established themselves in the scene, they have a dedicated fanbase who will praise anything they put out to high heaven, and their music has become more and more successful with each release. This appears to have caused the band to come to a standstill. Their albums have always sounded unique to one another, but ever since Tilian Pearson took the reigns the band have gradually stopped experimenting. Now with Tilians future in the band uncertain, perhaps a change of singer will reinvigorate the group. Needless to say, this reviewer certainly hopes so.
It’s a shame Tim Feericks final work on this Earth is so blasé, but without his talents this album surely would have suffered far worse. His bass work is something to truly behold, it has been a highlight of each LP, including Jackpot Juicer. This album may be forgotten in the near future, but Tim’s legacy and contributions to not just Dance Gavin Dance but every band he has ever worked with will be remembered for decades to come.
