Album: Wolf & Bear - Bloodletter [2023]

Bloodletter has been one of the most fun albums to come out of 2023. Discovering them as a contemporary of swancore founders Dance Gavin Dance, partially due to late bassist Tim Feerick's involvement in both bands, it was a bittersweet but tributary record to find.

It took a bit to grow on me, but once I got past the initial hurdle of getting used to their style, I got addicted to this album. It really does remind me of how I fell in love with Dance Gavin Dance's music in the first place, and I guess it does have that same touch to it. Wolf & Bear embodies everything so special about swancore but does it in their own way, and within that subgenre they sound worlds apart.

In many ways they are similar to Dance Gavin Dance: the two vocalist setup, the embellishments in the riffwork and drumwork, the genre influences and even some of the lyricism. I realised they resemble early Dance Gavin Dance the most, especially with the soul vocal style of Marcus and the rawer harsh vocal style of Tyler matching up with the pre-Tilian era.

What I love most about them is where they differ from Dance Gavin Dance though. Although most of the cuts on this album wouldn't feel completely out of place on a Dance Gavin Dance album, they'd definitely be the weird one by far. Even songs like K. RESORT and FOOL'S GOLD, that sound the closest to Dance Gavin Dance, still have a distinct sound. I think it boils down to three things: the pacing, the vocals and the funkiness. Wolf & Bear moves around a bit more frantically than Dance Gavin Dance does, there's not a lot of wordless moments and the instrumentals rarely stand alone in the mix. The clean vocals are done quite differently too, there's a lot of production choices that stylise it distinctly, I noticed a lot more background adlibs and vocalisations, a lot more overlaps and echoes. The vocal delivery itself is also a lot more rooted in funk and soul influences, which gives a lot of identity to the songs too. Speaking of funk, the riffs and drum grooves are super funky, whether it's the chorus of QUICK SIP 84, the verses of CHAD B. KANG or the entirety of POOFY, they just got a completely different vibe down on lock.

They've also got a formidable selection of great choruses and great riffs, some that honestly surprised me. The chorus of FOOL'S GOLD and QUICK SIP 84 was were instant hits, PAINTED LADY's chorus took my breath away and the choruses of K. RESORT of CHAD B. KANG are just sexy. The riffs underlying the choruses of FOOL'S GOLD and QUICK SIP 84 are so tasteful, the guitarwork for POOFY is so dreamy and summer-y and the dissonance on BONSAI B. is undoubtedly fun.

To put it simply, Bloodletter is an excellent album from the swancore side of the world. I'm amazed at what else this genre still has to offer for me, even though I've already soaked myself in the entire discography of Dance Gavin Dance for so long already. Wolf & Bear really stole the show this time around, and it looks like I'm a fan now.

Rating: 9/10

Tracklist:

1. INDIGO

2. K. RESORT

3. FOOL'S GOLD

4. POOFY

5. CHAD B. KANG

6. BELLADONNA

7. THERE'S NO DUST IN THE CITY (feat. Andrew Wells of Eidola)

8. QUICK SIP 84

9. PAINTED LADY

10. COUNTING CARDS

11. BONSAI B.

12. DREAM SNATCHER

Album: Dance Gavin Dance - Afterburner [2020]

Afterburner is Dance Gavin Dance's 9th record, and in the aftermath of Mothership and Artificial Selection, the standard has already hit an all-time high for the band. Despite that, they managed to deliver another solid record and slowly refining their sound even further.

When you look at their discography as a whole, Mothership to Afterburner feels like a trilogy of a similar sound, albeit in different flavours of intense chaos. Afterburner feels like the slightly more levelheaded sibling of the trio, featuring more cohesive tracks but not lacking in any wild bangers. I think the best way to put it is that they've introduced a bit more of modern post-hardcore influences while remaining mostly swancore.

It's as fun as the band has always been, whether it's Tilian singing in Spanish over a latin-infused Calentamiento Global, a subtle diss track on Born To Fail, a Secret Band-esque heavy banger Say Hi, Tilian screaming on Lyrics Lie while the guitars go crazy, or Jon Mess' lyrics on literally every track. They haven't lost any of their energy and have only improved in the catchiness department.

There are some real highlights on this record. One in a Million and Strawberry's Wake are some standouts of the band's entire career, and then there's also Nothing Shameful. What a beautiful work of art, no doubt with the help of Andrew Wells, finally as an official vocal feature too. Dance Gavin Dance doesn't do love songs that often, but Nothing Shameful hits a spot I don't really know how to describe.

Afterburner is a great record, but if I'm being honest, I don't come back to it as often as I do the others. It's a little dull in comparison to juggernauts like Mothership and Jackpot Juicer, but it still has a bright shine of its own. Nothing to hate about it, just another quality selection of songs served up by the five-piece swancore outfit.

Rating: 9/10

Tracklist:

1. Prisoner

2. Lyrics Lie

3. Calentamiento Global

4. Three Wishes

5. One in a Million

6. Parody Catharsis

7. Strawberry's Wake

8. Born To Fail

9. Parallels

10. Night Sway

11. Say Hi

12. Nothing Shameful (feat. Andrew Wells of Eidola)

13. Into The Sunset (feat. Bilmuri)

Song: Dance Gavin Dance - Evaporate [Artificial Selection, 2018]

Evaporate is a very special song in Dance Gavin Dance's discography, and for many of their fans as well (me included). I'd like to think that they made this song to commemorate how far their band has come, and to celebrate all that they have made and done.

The first part of the song isn't anything out of the blue, it's what you'd expect from Dance Gavin Dance. Jon Mess doing his screams and weird lyrics, Tilian doing his angelic highs. Something noticeable is that there's a subtle lack of swancore riffage, which quickly gets explained with the secret guest spot.

I love that they had Andrew Wells as a surprise on this track. Andrew Wells has been their touring guitarist and backup vocalist for a long time, and from what I've heard fans grew fond of him (so did I, eventually). It seems he was quite essential to their live sound, and for many fans, he was considered a defacto member of the band. Giving him a unique verse on this song was awesome musically, but also terrific fan-service. He has a distinctly different vocal texture that diversifies their sound greatly, and adds so much versatility to the sound that they can deliver.

From the moment Andrew comes in, the iconic Dance Gavin Dance swancore sound comes in fully, with Will's lead lines and a guitar solo that I can only assume is Andrew's. The chorus is hooky, the riffs are scrumptious and the energy is high. The dropout calm section that builds up to the final section of the song is equal parts elegant and exciting.

Let's talk about the grand finale, because it's undeniably the best part of the song. They put together a medley of their own songs from all throughout their discography, stretching all the way back to Downtown Battle Mountain. I even saw someone say that the riff going on in the back is a callback to Burning Down the Nicotine Armoire, but it seems more like coincidence than an intentional choice. Regardless, it's such a touching and sentimental section to have, especially for those who have followed the band since it started. Even for me, a person who didn't really listen to anything before Instant Gratification at the time, could pick out lines from We Own The Night and Me And Zoloft Get Along Just Fine. It's so well put together too, and makes for one of the best album closers in history.

I go back every now and then to listen to this song, mostly just for the ending. Even without the medley sentiment, it's a impressively monumental-sounding section. Having listened to more of their discography now, I can appreciate most of what this small section represents for the band. This mashup of iconic songs is a rare thing to find, the only other example I know of being What A Catch, Donnie by Fall Out Boy. It also reminds me a lot of Pop Danthology in essence, which was something I loved when I was younger.

Evaporate is definitely a milestone for them in many ways. Marking the end of their 8th album, 12 years of being a band, many songs to their name and even more fans. It showcased the best of their work over the past few years and, in a way, was a retrospective view of how their sound has changed over the years. Numerous line-up changes, changes in style and genres, and seeing them become better musicians in writing and in production quality. It's a musical masterpiece.

Rating: 5/5

Song: Dance Gavin Dance - Nothing Shameful (ft. Andrew Wells) [Afterburner, 2020]

Nothing Shameful is one of my all-time favourites of Dance Gavin Dance, and my top track of Afterburner. It's one of the most intense, euphoric tracks on the record with a blissful feature to boot. The song structure and melodic design is impeccable and the vocal dynamic is top tier. There is literally nothing not to love about this song and personally I think it's the peak of this new era of Dance Gavin Dance.

It throws you straight away into the chorus, which I have to say is unbelievably catchy. The pre-chorus features a satisfying instrument-vocal sync rhythm that is tastefully call-and-responded by ecstatic swancore licks. The chorus is one of the best lines Dance Gavin Dance has ever written, both in lyrical prowess and melodic design. I cannot begin to explain how much love I have for that one singular line.

Even for a song as sappy and emotional as this, Jon never fails to be himself, even if he does switch his tone a bit to match the seriousness. Whether his seemingly nonsensical lyrics have hidden layers in this song, I have yet to tell, but I can never discount the amount of joy his screams bring to the table.

Andrew's inclusion is a blessing and a highlight of this song. He brings in such an emotional tone to the song that I honestly don't think Tilian or Jon could do, a bittersweet tone with a slight grit to paint the angst. I love that the instruments give way for his vocals to enter the scene, and subsequently amp up to strengthen his vocals when he amps up the intensity of his singing. I also adore the atmospheric vocals that Tilian does while Andrew sings, it's nothing new from him but it always does the job perfectly of adding so much character and sentiment to the music.

The outro is a perfect blend of the best of Dance Gavin Dance, with Tilian reprising the magnificent chorus, Jon chipping in with a great scream verse and then their final duo scream-sing outro of the main lyric. It feels grand, it oozes finality and it is just wonderful to the ears.

The whole damn thing feels thought out and well designed, like a confession in motion. Andrew's emotional tonality mixed with the perfect chaos of Dance Gavin Dance has always brought about wonderful music, and this is yet another masterpiece. It's also rare to see this band touch on more on the ground, human topics like love and loss, heartbreak and heartache like this, and especially in such a pensive, deliberate and earnest timbre. As much as I love their ability to be playful and lighthearted in many of their songs, I always do find myself falling hopelessly in love with the more sentimental and emotional ones, and this song has a place in my heart.

Rating: 5/5