Album Review: Acceptance Speech by Dance Gavin Dance

Dance Gavin Dance – Acceptance Speech

08 October 2013

Rise Records

Rating: 8.7

FFO: Post-hardcore, which apparently isn’t over.

Written by Ben Curttright

After the 2011 release of Downtown Battle Mountain II, Dance Gavin Dance was a band in disarray. DBMII had seemed like a turning point for Dance Gavin Dance, as both original vocalists were back for the first time since the original Downtown Battle Mountain. It turns out, some things just can’t be recreated, and DBMII turned out to be a bit of a joke. Though the trio of screamer Jon Mess, guitarist Will Swan, and drummer Matt Mingus seemed enthusiastic to work together again, it was clear that vocalist Jonny Craig wasn’t taking the project seriously, and his second stint fronting DGD didn’t last. After Craig’s first departure, the band remade itself behind Kurt Travis. Could Dance Gavin Dance do the same again?

Surprisingly, yes. New vocalist Tilian Pearson (ex-Tides of Man) was never going to be Jonny Craig, and he will never replace Craig in the heart of old DGD fans. But, he didn’t let Craig’s massive shadow stop him from turning in a strong, unique vocal performance on Acceptance Speech. Pearson has neither the R&B smoothness of JC nor the direct forcefulness of KT; his voice is thin and melodic, and he boasts an incredibly high and fluid range.

The instrumentation is up to Dance Gavin Dance standard. Once again, a new rhythm guitarist is featured; this time, it’s Josh Benton complementing DGD stalwart Will Swan. The guitar work verges on math-rock at times, but manages to stay accessible. Stylistically, it’s hard to describe this as anything other than post-hardcore, as it’s energetic, groovy, but hardly ever enters into the overdone realm of breakdowns.

The lyrics on Acceptance Speech, whether delivered in Pearson’s trill or Mess’s low growl, are either extremely metaphoric or vaguely nonsense, which is fairly typical of Dance Gavin Dance’s work. It will take more time with the album than any listeners have had yet to unpack their meanings, especially in some of the more serious sections.

That isn’t to say that Acceptance Speech is a completely serious offering in the DBM vein. It maintains just a bit of the self-referential jokingness from DBMII, especially in the end section of the title track, where guitarist Will Swan raps (yes, raps) for about ten seconds about “the clowns trying to remake DBM.”

Ironically enough, that’s exactly what Downtown Battle Mountain II was supposed to be in the eyes of their fans: a long-awaited remake of DBM. And, it didn’t work. It took moving forward to produce the wonderful creativity of Acceptance Speech, which is Dance Gavin Dance’s strongest effort since 2007.