Review Summary: “I couldn’t wait to tap into the brain of my cat and let him know he’s my little baby meow meow boo.”
“What did I just listen to?” Was what I asked myself after my first impression of Dance Gavin Dance’s 8th release and 7th full LP,
Mothership. Dance Gavin Dance is a band that has been at the helm of post-hardcore music since their breakthrough in 2007 upon the release of their first record
Downtown Battle Mountain--and their growing fanbase and quirky take on the genre has solidified them as a juggernaut in the scene ever since. They’ve always been a band that’s known to have some fun with their music and they've always had a different approach to the post-hardocre genre then their peers and contemporaries. In some ways they almost seem like an exaggerated parody of the genre that they inhabit. They’d mix funk, soul, and pop with post-hardcore in a myriad of different ways throughout each of their releases, often juxtaposing over-the-top, melodramatic singing and lyrics with screams that are goofy or make little sense.
Mothership continues this trend, cranking up what’s defined their music to maximum. This album shows an embrace of Dance Gavin Dance’s parodied approached to post-hardcore music. It’s their strangest release yet and that only solidifies their iconic status.
Mothership is something difficult to wrap your head around. Mix the flavor of popular 70s and 80s disco or pop with the instrumentation and versatility of progressive metal acts like Dream Theater or The Fall of Troy and you have this album. Putting these genres in any close proximity to each other is a recipe for disaster. Dance Gavin Dance know this, so instead of trying to make any semblance of serious music, they mix each genre together in a fashion that’s borderline ridiculous in every way possible.
It’s easy to see that the band wants to go full-out weird on this album with the genre blend alone, but on top of this they try to find any possible way to make
Mothership the zaniest album in their discography. With song titles like ‘Petting Zoo Justice,’ ‘Chocolate Jackalope,’ and ‘Flossie Dickey Bounce’ they show pride in letting the listener know up front that they’re just trying to have fun on this record, and that’s what
Mothership is; Dumb fun.
Mothership will appeal to your basic, primal synapses and probably nothing more. This album is the definition of ear candy--almost the musical equivalent of fast food--but that doesn’t hold it back from being great at what it does. The guitars, vocals, drumming, and bass are all stellar, technically proficient, and hard-hitting throughout each of the songs. The band’s screamer, Jon Mess’ continues to be abrasive and strong. Whereas the band’s singer, Tilian Pearson, not only continues showcasing his trill and soft voice, but explores more aggressive vocal territories on this record--even going as far as to scream a bit. There are many catchy, infectious guitar riffs laden throughout this entire record too. Also, the production on this album is as well groomed as ever and mixed with how well the music is performed it makes their sound immediately ear grabbing.
This is the type of album where you’ll find a track that has a verse or bridge that you really like, and you’ll play it on repeat until it makes you sick. They play to ths strength, by trickling the most addictive portions of their songs in key moments throughout each song and by making their music as entertaining and unpredictable as they possibly can. Seemingly random sequences, riffs, and lyrics are all jumbled together in many tracks like ’Chocolate Jackalope,’ ‘Inspire the Liars,’ and ‘Young Robot’ and these elements show Dance Gavin Dance being bolder--and weirder--than they ever have before.
The song ‘Chocolate Jackalope’ is a key example of this. The track opens up with a potent and climbing guitar riff that bleeds into a mountainous vocal performance by Tilian. The song transitions into crunching verses by Mess--who delivers his most nonsensical and amazing lyrical performance yet with lines like:
“I couldn’t wait to tap into the brain of my cat and let him know he’s my little baby meow meow boo.”
Or
“I’ve been living a lie since 2005. I’m not even a man, I’m just a cat in disguise.”
The thing that tips this song off is the autotuned rap verse by the band’s guitarist, Will Swan--the verse even makes references to Drake's ‘Hotline Bling’ of all songs. It’s absurd, it’s hilarious and it’s one of the most enjoyable things to listen to if you don’t take it too seriously.
That’s the thing the listener needs to have in mind before goin into
Mothership. This is an album for an audience who can have fun with music. It's for those who don’t care about it needing serious and grand topics or powerful, emotional lyricism and songwriting that follows established structures. Whether it be with the growling chants of “Cocaine cringe-fest” on a--honest to goodness--song titled ‘Flossie Dickey Bounce,’ the danceable disco interlude on ‘Inspire the Liars,’ or Jon Mess’s random listing of various animals on the song ‘Petting Zoo Justice’ it’s obvious that Dance Gavin Dance want you to fall in love with the crazy and absurd music on
Mothership.
There’s no escaping the fact that this album and band have gone to jump the shark in the most endearing and celebratory way--they jumped a shark that exploded, if anything. They’ve become a staple for unpredictable oddity in the post-hardcore scene and
Mothership shows them embracing of this part of themselves. In a genre that is oversaturated with ultra-serious and emotional bands and artist, Dance Gavin Dance lighten the mood. They aren’t afraid to let go and have fun and that makes
Mothership all the more rich.
