Average Rating: 4.41 Rating Variance: 0.20 Objectivity Score: 39% (Poorly Balanced)
Sort by: Rating | Release Date | Rating Date | Name5.0 classicDance Gavin Dance Downtown Battle Mountain IIDidn't get the 3's for this...I feel it's one of the best albums of our time. It took maybe half a dozen listens to really get hooked but honestly I've probably listened at least a couple hundred times. I rarely listen to music more than maybe 10-15 times through even a good album.rThe layers...so many layers. I was finding new things even six months after listening. Every musician is on top of his game, the songs are so well written, production is outstanding, the flow of the back half of the album is perfect. DTBM was excellent, but they combined that more experimental sound of Happiness and the heaviness of the first album perfectly. I have no idea how they can follow up on this one.rI will say after DTBM and Emarosa I didn't really like DGD or Happiness, but after DTBM2 I went back and listened to those albums and fell in love with those two, as well as Kurt's voice. So not a snob for one singer or the other. Just love all four albums.4.5 superbDance Gavin Dance Downtown Battle MountainOn its own, it's better than 99.9% of the crap in its genre. Both for the time and a few years later, a really strong album. Songs are well written and Jonny obviously just puts it over the top. It's not nearly as experimental as later efforts, but the grooves and songs for the genre are outstanding. It's very cohesive with solid production as well. rI liked DTBM2 better than the rest, but the rest are all equally good albums and obviously anyone who loved this will like the rest of them.Dance Gavin Dance Dance Gavin DanceInitially this was a letdown after DTBM, but after some listening, it grew to be like the rest of DGD one of my favorite albums. Kurt is different than Jonny and not quite as soulful, but such a strong singer and probably more creative in his melodies. The music grew quite a bit from the first album, branching off from the more "normal" heaviness of the genre into a bit more experimental and playful.rMy favorite tracks are the Hot Water on Wool suite and Rock Solid. Absolutely love the little hat tip to the Sweater Song, but when everyone comes back for the reprise, it's chills.Dance Gavin Dance HappinessDidn't like this one for the first 5-10 listens, but it grew on me, as well as Kurt's voice. I think there are still a couple weak moments, but holy crap when it comes together, it's chills.rSwan's creativity is probably the highest on this album. And I love how it departures from the usual dark, heavy, double bass and open note cliche of the genre. It gets straight up funky. Kurt is really playful too with the lyrics and the singing. Really is a fun album.rMy favorites are probably tracks 4 and 8, 5 is great too. Don't know the names, just listen in the car. The end of 8 with all the different lyric bits coming in just harmonizing on top of each other, the brilliant guitar, that's the highlight for me.Dance Gavin Dance Acceptance SpeechGreat album overall. Tilian is much more of a clean singer that is better at doubling and layering vocals rather than belting them out center stage. Jon Mess picks up the slack with his best performances yet, both lyrically and vocally. They work together very well. Instrumentally, the band takes steps forward and backward. Many songs are as creative as ever and flawlessly performed while others dip into dumbed down standbyes like screamo breakdowns. I get the impression that there are a bunch of Secret Band and Tilian Pearson songs and riffs kind of smashed together, as if they haven't had enough time to mix their influences and see what they come up with. In terms of production, the vocals just seem like they are too loud. The guitars are not as prominent as on previous records and I'd like the drums to be a little brighter and wider. I'm not smart enough to be able to read into the lyrics or themes to really understand what they are trying to say, but it will be fun to try.3.5 greatA Lot Like Birds Conversation PieceCame across this because I loved Kurt's work with DGD. I'm also a musician, drummer and guitar, who loved Mars Volta, Fall of Troy, and Closure in Moscow, all of whom seem to be similar to this style. In that respect, the musicanship is just mesmerizing. Extremely creative and highly technical, mentally stimulating, but with solid melodies and harmonies.rI also loved Kurt's performances on this album, especially the harmonies that he did, more creative than most who just sing a 4th or 5th above the main melody.rThe two drawbacks for me were the spoken interludes, which sometimes brought the music to a complete halt or killed the momentum. I don't really care for screaming for the most part either, but that's well done when accompanied by the music.rAlso, some of the interlude or transition tracks were unnecessary and always skipped. Those and intro tracks I can't stand on albums. Just give me 10 solid songs without any filler.rFavorite tracks, the first five and 8. Sounds like they let Closure in Moscow come in and record track 9, very strange.
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