Dance Gavin Dance - Artificial Selection (June 8, 2018) Album • Page 29

not a fan of Care but I only heard once and I had to stop listening before the bridge came on

 

After listening to the album a few times I've formed my opinions

An album like Mothership happens to very few bands, and only happens to them once in a career. It cemented them in the Alt Press/Warped Tour scene, meanwhile boosting them to Metal Radio/Rockfest prominence. It was very much a rock/post-hardcore album first and a DGD album second.

Artificial Selection isn't that album. It's weird, and unapologetic. Very much aimed at old fans (Shelf Life, Evaporate) somewhat vulgar (Flash, Story Of My Bros) and pushes in all directions of DGD (The Rattler vs. Care).

Aka, I doubt it'll attract new fans. Warts and all, it's a DGD album. Sounds like DBMII on steroids in it's essence. But it's new DGD, what am I gonna do, not like it? It's great either way, and as long as you're a fan of DGD you'll like this album.

(Also: Tilian has a lot of noticable lyrical motifs:
-His reputation being attacked/changing
-His fanbase
-Lying/faking)

 

dbm2 on steroids?

should I be worried lol

 

Not at all. I think he means instrumentally. I got the same vibes on some songs. Jonny is what really brought dbm2 down imo. Instrumentally it was a really great record.

This album is really solid. And the Kurt track and Evaporate are fantastic. Great closer, gave me chills.

 

Man I dig this record a lot.

On a different note, I found this funny:

 

I can’t wait til Friday.

 

Idk what that guy is talking about

 

my first impressions of this arent very good :/

 

much like mothership this album is too fucking long

 

y'all are really listening to this bad quality leak? Is there something better out now that I'm missing?

 

Apparently 320 it's out there, but I haven't looked for it

 

I remember a bunch of this being mid tempo. and not groovy.

gonna listen again at work tomorrow.

 

Where did you see that?

 

I caved and listened to this early. Shelf life, count bassy, suspended in this disaster, and evaporate are some of my favorite songs this band has ever written. if I had to pick a least favorite it would probably be hair song, but not because it’s a bad song, just didn’t vibe with me the way the rest of the album did. It was really nice to see Kurt still making music with these guys, even if it was only for a song, his presence on this album was greatly appreciated. I was initially nervous about the presence jon mess would have on this album but he killed it as always and he seemed to always be a driving force in each song, especially in the rattler. Overall this is probably my favorite release and I’ll be spinning this in my room once it comes in Friday

 

Won't listen until friday but some of the opinions on twitter have me lolling if I'm honest - someone posted a criticism saying that the album sounded like "a mix of We Own The Night alternatives and their Bruno Mars cover", like having it sound like a top-3 DGD song ever and a song that is (imo I guess) instrumentally beautiful was supposed to be a bad thing

 

Song-By-Song Review:

-Son Of Robot: Solid intro song. Nothing groundbreaking, and the mix sounds a bit too bright/sterile tonally but it's still a fun song. Really like Tilian's parts especially, and Jon's verse is so fun. (8/10)

-Midnight Crusade: The understandable single for a band at this point in their career. A little more rock-based and a solid introduction to the album, but by the second verse it just feels like going through the motions. (7.5/10)

-Suspended In This Disaster: The guitars are so funky, Jon's parts are so great and funny, and Tilian's voice is spot in. Love Tilian's verse and Jon's "Let's make this dinner a classic" part. This song will be an immediate fan favorite live. (9/10)

-Care: The fun ballad of this record. I like how they were willing to give Jon a stronger part, and the way they switch off lyrics is really cool and special for this song. Tilian's melodies are spot-on as always, and come on: the outro is pure gold. (8.5/10)

-Count Bassy: Not really my thing tbh. The prechorus should be solid, but it sounds a bit too forced for me, and the Chorus just seems too cliche, which sucks cause I want to love this song as it's clearly a fan favorite. Jon's part is cool though. (5/10)

-Flash: Oh my god, that chorus. It's so infectious. Jon's parts are hilarious as always and actually feel like they fit in the song, and Tilian's little Bridge part is so fun. The guitar is super cool again here too. (8.5/10)

-The Rattler: The Jon song of this record. Kinda reminds me of Shark Dad instrumentally. Tilian's part sounds so big and dark, and reminds me of early-2010's Warped-metalcore. That bridge is such a weird break from the rest of the song, but damn, I love it. And that bass tho. (8/10)

-Shelf Life: Kurt Travis' voice really elevated this track. He probably contributed to the songwriting too cause even without nostalgia talking (I'm a newer fan) I can notice his impact on the song. He's just such an emotional vocalist/lyricist, and and wow, those guitars are lush. (9/10)

-Slouch: Pretty fun. Love the bass, and the chorus. Sounds like a DBM II song to me. Especially Tilian's vocals, but not too memorable. (7.5/10)

-Story Of My Bros: Pretty fun and upbeat. Tilian's bridge is pretty good, but I'm ambivalent about the verses. Jon's part Story Of My Bros' chorus is simutanelously catchy as fuck and completely disgusting. (8/10)

-Hair Song: Not too memorable, but it's a good song. A tad too mid-tempo, and it doesn't have a solid identity. I like the guitar though, and Jon's refrain. (7/10)

-Gospel Burnout: A bit samey, especially after the last song, but I like Tilian's melodies/voice a lot. Jon's parts seem to be randomly interjected, but it grew on me. (7.5/10)

-Bloodsucker: Pretty fun. Sounds a bit like a Mothership B-side. Dark and moody and heavy like Petting Zoo Justice or Philosopher King. Also reminds me a bit of Pierce The Veil in the layering of it's harmonies and influences of its clean parts. (7.5/10)

-Evaporate: Perfect. All of it. The melodies, Andrew's voice, Jon's lyrics, Tilian's bridge, the climatic nature of the guitars and of course: The outro sends chills to all fans of the band. (10/10)

 

tried to download the full album last night, it ended up being the sampler, and Spotify on my laptop wouldnt sync with my phone, which was a frustrating enough of an experience to make me wait until Friday or whenever it's officially streamed.

 

From wikipedia:

"Bloodsucker" does not feature Will Swan on guitar and rather features Martin Bianchini and Andrew Wells on lead and rhythm guitar, respectively. This is the first song by the band to not feature Swan, making Matthew Mingus the only band member to appear on every track in the group's discography"

Damn!

 

Matt Mingus stays the most underrated member of DGD

 

There are a couple duds on here for me that without would have made for a better album. That last song is aces though.

 

Count Bassy was one of my favorite tbh. I don't think there's any real bad songs but it does start to drag as it goes on and I think that has more to do with sequencing and there just being too many damn songs than the songs themselves

 

My initial order was all over the place, I listened to shelf life right after count bassy and it made me cry a tad

 

@Everyone worrying Evaporate hints at the end of the band: Jon said the other day he sees the band continuing in it's current form at least another 5 years.

 

I fuck with the rattler

 

story of my bros tho