Though their band seems to have a turnover rate the size of Wal-Mart’s, Dance Gavin Dance has, once again, persevered with their fifth studio album, Acceptance Speech.
After hearing Downtown Battle Mountain II, I was a little sad because they had originally stated that they would be finished after that album. However, I thought it would feel right, considering the original singer, Jonny Craig, would record the album, and everything would feel right.
I loved that album and all, but when I found out they dropped Jonny once again and picked up Tilian Pearson for Acceptance Speech, I was a little skeptical, but also excited.
As a fan of each one of their albums for its own reason, I began listening to Acceptance Speech and had mixed feelings. The first song, “Jesus H. Macy,” has a signature DGD guitar riff, as well as an absolutely wonderful scream from Jon Mess. However, the very first note you hear from the lead vocals is so high you’ll probably think “oh no.”
I powered through it and after listening to the rest of the song, Pearson’s voice began to grow on me. It’s so melodic. With Craig, you get that soul-type feel that completes the neapolitan sound that is DGD. On the other hand, with Pearson, you receive a more melodic vocal, one that enhances the powerfulness of Mess’ screams, and the instruments that back him up. The vocal is powerful yet calming, dominant yet tranquil.
After listening to the first track, I still had mixed feelings. It’s a strong track, but it doesn’t really showcase the powerful effect that Pearson can have on these songs. The next song, titled “The Robot with Human Hair, Pt. 4,” won me over. Pearson’s vocals fit absolutely perfectly with the track. His singing in the chorus made me so excited for the rest of the album.
Next, we hear the track “Acceptance Speech.” Mess absolutely kills it with his trademark lyrics, which never really make much sense. The song is definitely alright, until the bridge. Again, Pearson destroys it with his melodic voice. Honestly, that bridge alone makes the track a must-listen for any DGD fan. That, along with Mess’ screams in the early stages of the song make it such a great balance. Not to mention the ending that really doesn’t fit but somehow completes it, if that makes sense.
“Carve” hits you almost immediately after trying to figure out what the rap ending was about. Again, Mess uses his screams to build up to the wonderfully wonderful vocals of Tilian Pearson. It’s so powerful. “Doom & Gloom” actually begins with Pearson, where he winds up actually singing background to Jon Mess.
“Strawberry Swisher Pt. 3” is next and is quite the song. It does kind of remind me of “Strawberry Swisher Pt. 2” off of their album Happiness (weird right?). However, the two vocalists are totally different. Both are great tunes, but part 3 is one of those songs you go out of your way to listen to.
After that, however, the album drops off a little bit. By a little bit, I mean a two-storey house with a chimney to a two-storey house. “Honey Revenge” is a good track, but it doesn’t really seem very DGD-esque to me. “Demo Team” and “Death of the Robot with Human Hair” seem to use autotune, which I’m not a huge fan of. Don’t let that scare you away, though, “Demo Team” is alright and “Death of the Robot with Human Hair” is a little bit better.
“The Jiggler” has almost a Pearl Jam-type riff at some points, which is a little cool. Though the song is definitely meant for the latter half of an album, it’s worth a listen.
The last song, “Turn Off the Lights. I’m Watching Back to the Future, Pt. 2,” is the hidden gem. I find it’s kind of like “Uneasy Hearts Weigh the Most” off of their self-titled album in the sense that it’s the track a lot of people will like, strictly for the vocals. There’s significantly more screaming in this song than in “Uneasy Hearts Weigh the Most,” but they both give me a similar feeling (though “Uneasy Hearts” is a lot better).
In a conclusion, Acceptance Speech is a must-listen for any post-hardcore fan, as well as any Dance Gavin Dance fan. My advice would be to listen to the first two songs, and if you don’t like what you’re hearing, you could probably turn it off.
A LOT of people would disagree with me on this one, but I actually think this album is better than their self-titled. Before you bite my head off, let me start by saying that I appreciate melodic DGD better than whatever you would call their self-titled (though three of my top 10 DGD songs are on that album). Seems like everyone reviewed Dance Gavin Dance to be their best album, even though I’d say it’s a close fourth to Acceptance Speech, with Downtown Battle Mountain taking first place and Happiness in second.
I enjoy it all though. Pretty much all of the albums are interchangeable, as they are all special for their own specific reasons.
The only thing missing from this album are the bass lines that blow your mind that are in Downtown Battle Mountain. Though, they’ve been a little absent since then in general.
If you’re feeling a little mixed about trying out this album after hearing they had a different vocalist, let Tilian Pearson himself tell you what not to do by singing “The Robot with Human Hair, Pt. 4” to you:
“Don’t be f**kin’ cynical.”
Not Your Average Hipster 