Dance Gavin Dance - Artificial Selection (June 8, 2018) Album • Page 46

DBM1
I would be lying if I said any other track. It's Safe To Say... is easily my favorite track on this album and always has been. But I have my reservations about saying that due to the fact i'm not a fan of some of the lyrical content in it now that i've grown up. Looking past that, the arrangement of this song is super impressive between all of them. Even more so when you think about how old they were when they wrote this. Will's guitar part from exactly 1:00 minute in to about 1:52 is absolutely bananas and remains one of his most impressive parts/leads to this day for me. If you put some good headphones on where you have plenty of distinction it's amazing to hear.
Least favorite is Lemon Meringue Tie cause this song is actually a lemon. Everyone thought this to be a lead song from the album years ago, but it's actually one of their simpler and (to me) boring songs.

Deathstar
Top track is a tie between the first and last tracks on the album, Alex English & People You Know.
Least favorite is Buffalo! even though i'm pretty sure this is titled in reference to the amazingly dumb drinking game I play with my friends since high school.

Happiness
Top track is Carl Barker for me.
Strawberry Swisher Pt. 1 is a god awful song. There are others on here I dislike, but mostly because they are all cool parts that when taken apart appeal to me, but created directionless songs when together that just sound messy. And Kurt lacks approachable lyrics/melodies.

DBMII
Spooks/Swan Soup easily the best imho.
Thug City has some trash lyrics and doesn't flow well, but Need Money instrumentally gives me a headache and I rarely make it to the end. Also, Blue Dream has some amazing verses but quite possibly the worst DGD chorus of all time.

Acceptance Speech
Favorite tracks are Honey Revenge & Turn Off The Lights... Pt. 2
Least favorites are Carve & Death of the Robot...

Instant Gratification
Something New, On The Run, Eagles Vs. Crows, & Death of a Strawberry are all equally loved by me.
Not crazy over Shark Dad orThe Cuddler.

Mothership
Floss Dickie Bounce remains the only song I don't like on this album and with it's removal I would gladly call this album perfect for what it is.

Artificial Selection
I really, really love Count Bassy & Hair Song. I knew upon the first few times I heard these tracks they would become favorites.
The Rattler & Story of my Bros are a damper on this album, along with some other middling tracks.

 

Buffalo! rules

amazing guitars. zac is missed.

 

I put lemon in my top 3 bc even tho I agree much of the song is boring, the chorus is too overwhelmingly good. I have a video on my phone from a recent show and the singing between the crowd and Tilian puts a smile on my face each time I watch it.

Also I took honey revenge off my 3 bc of the lyrics but damn if that isn’t top tier catchiness.

 

Lemon Meringue Tie is def my favorite on DBM and it’s largely bc the hook is legitimately perfect.

 

Fight for you this WAY AY AY AY AY

 

Just gave this my first listen and it's fucking great. I am now inspired to revisit the rest of their discog throughout the week

 

Do it

 

Easily in my top 10 of DGD songs.

 

Downtown Battle Mountain:
Favourite - still is New Times Roman
Least favourite - Turn off the Lights..

Death Star:
Favourite - probably a tie between Uneasy Hearts and Alex English
Least favourite - People You Know

Happiness:
Favourite - I’m Down with Brown Town
Least favourite - Self Trepanation

Downtown Battle Mountain II:
Favourite - tie between Elder Goose and Heat Seeking Ghost of Sex
Least favourite - Purple Reign

Acceptance Speech
Favourite - Acceptance Speech
Least favourite - Turn off the Lights.. (again lol)

Instant Gratification:
Favourite - Lost and Death of Strawberry
Least favourite - The Cuddler

Mothership:
Favourite - Chocolate Jackalope
Least favourite - Deception

Artificial Selection:
Favourite - Slouch
Least favourite - it hurts me to admit this but it’s Shelf Life.

I’m sorry Kurt- you’re still my boy!!!

 

I don't think Lemon is a bad song, but I don't think it tops a lot of the other songs on the album i'll add. Will is pretty modest on it.


As for the reference to Honey Revenge's lyrics, I had thought Tilian explained his thought process about his lyrical content to make it seem like it wasn't to be taken at face value, but I don't really remember. Either way, I get it, and the lyrics are eyebrow raising.

 

Oh perhaps he had and I didn’t see it. I thought I remembered someone clarifying lyrics to another song but idr it well. Still, it’s a weird song to play when others might be listening haha

 

Chocolate Jackalope used to be my least favorite once again due to Will's part, but my gosh the second half is so good I can overlook that now.

 

I'm really loving Shelf Life, and i'm the one who's not nuts about Kurt haha.

Really enjoy the build up to the chorus, and Mess's delivery is great.

 

Tilian Pearson of Dance Gavin Dance talks Artificial Selection | Substream Magazine

 

Yeah even tho Shelf Life’s novelty wore off fast I don’t think it’s the worst on the album by any stretch.

 

I hope they play Shelf Life on the solo Tilian/Royal Coda tour

 

ive been listening to their whole discog for a week straight and can now give a top three from every album

dbm: backwards pumpkin song, suprise! im from cuba, open your eyes and look north
s/t: alex english, people you know, rock solid
happiness: carl barker, happiness, powder to the people
dbm2: thug city, pounce bounce, heat seeking ghost of sex
acceptance speech (easily the hardest to narrow down): jesus h macy, turn off the lights pt 2, strawberry swisher pt 3 (doom and gloom and carve pretty close too)
instant gratification: we own the night, variation, lost
mothership: betrayed, young robot, man of the year
artificial selection: son of robot, count bassy, evaporate

 

Its a bit dissapointing release overall

 

I’m extremely happy with it /shrug

 

One particularly impressive thing this band accomplished with ArtSec is, with Story of My Bros, wrote the best ever song with the word "Bros" in the title.

Because there's a lot of competition there.

 

I also like this album a lot and am very happy with it - took a little while for me to warm to it for sure, but it really is fantastic. Those opening 5 tracks are phenomenal, and I currently feel like they're perhaps the best stretch of tracks in their whole discography!

 

i feel like all their albums take a few listens to really sink in especially this deep in the tilian era its not as easy to tell what sets it apart from previous tilian albums initially, when they were switching vocalists all the time it was easy to see what set one album apart from another. that doesnt mean they arent growing or evolving, i think they undoubtedly are with only instant gratification being a "stagnant" album in terms of growth (still a great album). mothership tried a bunch of new stuff and this is trying a bunch of new stuff too, i think arse is way different from mothership sonically which is exciting.

 

I agree they’re evolving and that it takes a bit longer to see the separation in the Tilian area but i always saw IG as the “singles/hits” album and now ArSe as the stagnant one/it feels like a diluted mothership almost to me. That said love em all, love this band, long live DGD.

 

I wish they didnt choose to pursue the pop punk and metalcore genre stylings. Idk how doing that stuff is growth.

Otherwise. Yes completely. Son of Robot and Count Bassy is some very interesting writing and progression.

 

I think the sound theyve done the best of their entire career would be exemplified on this album by Care’s bridge sections.

No one else has ever done that sacharine poppy prog whatever funk whatever. Its piecemealed sparingly all over the Tillian stuff and Happiness. They keep making it catchier and catchier too but sometimes its just relegated to a part of a song.