Album: Dance Gavin Dance - Mothership [2016]

Dance Gavin Dance is one of those rare phenomena where intentional chaos and randomness can turn out to be good, albeit divisive. They're understandably not a band for everyone, and with what Punk Rock MBA called the "widdly-widdly gene", it feels like they should be some sort of a impossibility, with all signs pointing to "this shouldn't be so good but it is". Regardless, I love it to death and beyond, and the fanbase generally agrees, this being regularly stated as their best album to date. It's hard to disagree, considering the level of refinement and style achieved in this masterpiece of an album.

The Tilian era has undoubtedly been the impression that I got of Dance Gavin Dance, considering my first taste of the band was with Instant Gratification, and as much as I love that album, after listening to both an equally insane amount of times, I have to admit that Mothership triumphs as their best work. The guitarwork continues to impress with this unique style that's all over the place yet catchy that I've come to know as the affectionately named swancore genre. The drums control the intensity of the songs so precisely throughout the album, anything from throwing on a laidback pop punk groove for a flowier part or laying down some insane metal-esque double kicks for the heavier sections. Admittedly I've never paid much attention to bass (not like I do anywhere) but when it shines, it shines very bright (like Count Bassy in Artificial Selection).

The dual vocalist dynamic has never been more impressive than with Tilian and Jon Mess. What would be a generic lineup and performing style with a clean and unclean vocalist is so creatively transformed into a pseudo-instrument of its own, comfortably using vocals to enhance the rhythm and melodies. While most bands write well with only having one vocalist sing at a time, Dance Gavin Dance masterfully peppers in sections of overlaps, call and response type beats, or even use one vocalist as a background element while the other goes all out. Not to mention, both vocalists on their own are absolute gods of their style, Tilian's vocal range and cleans are angelic and Jon's screams are so uniquely gritty and consistent, neither need to go to the extremes of their range to sound great but sound amazing when they do.

We can definitely credit Jon Mess for the band's seemingly random lyrics most of the time, but you gotta admit it's fun and enjoyable. Even then, their songs don't all mean nothing, and tracks like Inspire The Liars tell such meaningful stories its shocking that they sit next to tracks like Petting Zoo Justice. My all time favourite from the band has to be Man Of The Year, I just feel that this is where they peaked in every aspect that makes Dance Gavin Dance, Dance Gavin Dance. The rest of the tracks still hold their own, even the lesser known tracks have enough bite to leave an impression for a long while.

I've spun this record way too many times on my Spotify, but it's yet to lose its steam and I'm very happy to continue listening to it until the sky burns out. Dance Gavin Dance just happens to be a band that's so unique and excellent, and every element of the music goes beyond expectations, whether it's technique, skill, writing or performing. A personal all-time favourite, and I'll die on this hill even knowing not everybody will, that this is near perfection.

Rating: 10/10

Tracklist:

1. Chucky vs. The Giant Tortoise

2. Young Robot

3. Frozen One

4. Flossie Dickey Bounce

5. Deception

6. Inspire The Liars

7. Philosopher King

8. Here Comes The Winner

9. Exposed

10. Betrayed By The Game

11. Petting Zoo Justice

12. Chocolate Jackalope

13. Man Of The Year

Song: Dean Lewis - Stay Awake [A Place We Knew, 2019]

Stay Awake is another of those special songs laced with sentiment from a particular time. A song about a relationship falling apart felt really personal and important when I was at the brunt end of it.

Love songs are cliché, that's no lie, but humans fall in and out of love all the time, why else are love songs so universal? Stay Awake felt like the fruition of Dean Lewis's retrospection and reflection on a past relationship, and I'm glad I found it when I did. It had that tinge of desperation and hope that clings on at the very end of a relationship and even after, that things could still be okay (even if it isn't). And I'm always a sucker for songs that don't present a happy ending, it always feels more genuine when artists acknowledge and appreciate the sadder things in life.

I do love the guitar riff in this song to death, it's so simple yet catchy and manages to be upbeat while fitting the theme for a song that isn't happy. It happens to be the first thing I tried to learn and play on a guitar, so it definitely has extra sentiment points from me. The instrumentals are amazing, stellar usage of horns in the final chorus to make it just that much more real and final. The pre-chorus and bridge are so well built as well, they dip in the soundscape like smooth valleys and hold the atmosphere to a calmness that makes the intense parts hit harder.

I love the extra touch of energy in the final chorus's "If the feeling's gone", it feels like a final attempt at convincing, and the hint of resignation throughout the song disappears just for the moment, looking for a glimmer of hope that sadly doesn't show. Although this song is about a past relationship, you can tell it's written with recollection and afterthought, like looking at a memory through a window. It's nice to know that, for both Dean Lewis and all those who felt a connection to this song, it represents not just the pain of falling out of that relationship, but also knowing that we've pulled through and made it out.

Heartstrings get tugged hard with this track if you've been in those shoes, it's not the most popular of Dean Lewis's tracks on A Place We Knew but it definitely is my favourite. Being human is one of the best things about music, and he knows how to write it out.

Rating: 5/5

Album: Loathe - I Let It In And It Took Everything [2020]

I had I Let It In And It Took Everything in my to-listen list for a long while, having seen the name everywhere and assuming it had to be a good album to be so talked about. I don't remember when or why I decided to first listen to it anymore, but I do remember how confusingly likeable it was. It didn't come across as an album that I would be falling into at first listen, considering how non-conventional their style was and, to a certain extent, how chaotic it was, but I found myself intrigued. There were some moments I wish I could relive for the first time, now that I appreciate metal music so much more, just to see what kind of a first impression it really would've had, but my first impression is honestly a blur.

What isn't a blur, however, is how much I love this album. Loathe has made such a big and good impression on me with just one album, which is quite hard to do. Within fifty minutes, they managed to show off their versatility with heaviness and softness, their unique style and musical ideas, and their ability to present it all in a seamless, otherworldly experience. They combine their masterful use of ambience, both in focus and in background, to craft a tracklist that flows into each other, but in a way that you won't complain about not knowing when one song ends and the next starts. They know how to put insane, high-intensity moments like the breakdown in New Faces In The Dark and Red Room without compromising the immersiveness of the album as a whole. In fact, any band that can put something as emotional as Is It Really You? and A Sad Cartoon next to the heaviest tracks Gored and Heavy Is The Head That Falls With The Weight Of A Thousand Cuts is really something.

As it stands right now, I have yet to dive into Loathe's earlier material, and it is possible that it isn't as high-quality as I Let It In And It Took Everything is, but that would be a good thing, because it would affirm to how Loathe is a band that only ever gets better. But having heard their new 2022 single, Dimorphous Display and their collaborations with Teenage Wrist and Sleep Token, I think it's safe to say they won't be getting worse.

Rating: 10/10

Tracklist:
1. Theme
2. Aggressive Evolution
3. Broken Vision Rhythm (feat. Harry Rule of God Complex)
4. Two-Way Mirror
5. 451 Days
6. New Faces in the Dark
7. Red Room
8. Screaming
9. Is It Really You?
10. Gored
11. Heavy Is The Head That Falls With The Weight Of A Thousand Cuts
12. A Sad Cartoon
13. A Sad Cartoon (Reprise)
14. I Let It In And It Took Everything... (feat. Vincente Void of Darke Complex)

Song: EDEN - Wake Up [End Credits EP, 2015]

This was a song that popped up when I was at one of the lowest points in my life. This along with a few other special songs redefined my outlook on life and let me feel things in a way that I really needed at the time, so they hold a special place in my heart, but Wake Up arguably is the most important of them all.

The lyrical content wasn't too word-for-word what I was dealing with at the time, but EDEN's ability to inject so much emotion and authenticity into his music made it so that it didn't matter too much what he actually wrote it about. To me, Wake Up is a song about finally letting go of something you should've but didn't want to, and finding yourself. What strikes me more about this song is surprisingly not the lyrical content itself, but the instrumental that it's presented in. Something about the way EDEN masterfully uses electronics to his advantage, completely voiding it in places where the soundscape needs to be calm, and ramping it way up in places where you need to be feeling things. I remember hearing the second chorus for the first time, soaking in the electronics accompanied with three separate ongoing vocal tracks (which I found out way later on were interpolations of other tracks on the same EP, End Credits), and the euphoria was unreal. Another would be the electronic explosion nearing the outro. It's not anywhere where you can find controlled chaos like this, and only here where you can find it this high quality.

Of course, I love the lyrics. My favourite line is the double entendre (kinda) "who said you're one in a million?", which presents a different meaning the second time he says it with an additional "you're so much better than that" after. The flow of his second verse also happens to hit a sweet spot that I can't exactly place, but reeks of amazing musicianship. A song written with such focused intention is rare to find, but the whole song, start to finish, presents a story so well that it's hard to believe it's only less than 5 minutes.

I can't deny that partially why I love this song is sentiment. Then again, I'm sure it's a strong factor for anyone. But even without it, this track stands its ground with its use of electronics and generally wonderful writing.

Rating: 5/5

Album: Spiritbox - Eternal Blue [2021]

Eternal Blue was one of my most anticipated albums of 2021 by far. I personally missed the release and hype from Holy Roller because I was barely into metal music at that point, but I was definitely catching the name Spiritbox flying around by the time Circle With Me released. I had time to fall in love with their few previous singles such as Rule of Nines and Blessed Be, but like the rest of the community, we were all just waiting to see what the final product would deliver, with the hype rising after each single.

This is no doubt a debut album like no other. Spiritbox showed us in just 12 tracks how much quality, versatility and awesomeness they could manage all at once. I especially loved how the first three tracks flowed into each other, dialing up the immersiveness tenfold. The tracklist wasn't afraid to alternate between heavy bangers and softer songs either, which I could appreciate. Although there is a title track, I'd like to think that, musically, Circle With Me is the poster child of this album, seeing how it's the most "Spiritbox" song on the track. Overall, it's definitely an album best experienced as a whole, and a great album at that. The bar is set really high with this LP, but I don't doubt that Spiritbox can outdo themselves if they wanted.

Rating: 10/10

Tracklist:

1. Sun Killer
2. Hurt You
3. Yellowjacket (feat. Sam Carter of Architects)
4. The Summit
5. Secret Garden
6. Silk In The Strings
7. Holy Roller
8. Eternal Blue
9. We Live In A Strange World
10. Halcyon
11. Circle With Me
12. Constance