Afterburner | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | April 24, 2020 | |||
Recorded | August–October 2019 | |||
Studio | Interlace Audio, Portland, Oregon | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 48:38 | |||
Label | Rise | |||
Producer | ||||
Dance Gavin Dance chronology | ||||
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Singles from Afterburner | ||||
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Afterburner is the ninth full-length studio album by American rock band Dance Gavin Dance. Released on April 24, 2020, on Rise Records, the album serves as a follow-up to the group's eighth studio album, Artificial Selection (2018). Recording sessions for the album took place over a three-month period between August and October 2019 with producer Kris Crummett at Interlace Audio in Portland, Oregon, while the vocals were recorded with producer Drew Fulk in Los Angeles, California. The album is considered a musical progression for the band, as the group experimented with funk, Latin, rap, and metalcore which accompanied their post-hardcore and experimental rock styles. It is the group's final studio album to be released during bass guitarist Tim Feerick's lifetime before his death in April 2022. [1]
In support of the album, the band released the lead single, "Prisoner", on February 21, 2020. The second single, "Strawberry's Wake", was released on March 12. Two more singles, "Lyrics Lie" and "Three Wishes," were released in April. The album debuted at number 14 on the US Billboard 200, with 24,000 copies sold in its first week. Originally, the group announced a 2020 spring tour in support of the album to take place in North America and Europe, but it was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. [2] They embarked on the Afterburner Tour which took place in September and October 2021 with support from Polyphia, Veil of Maya, Eidola and Wolf & Bear. [3] An instrumental version of the album was released to digital and streaming services on December 25, 2021. [4]
Dance Gavin Dance released their eighth studio album, Artificial Selection , on June 8, 2018, via Rise Records. [5] Promotion for the album included a spring 2019 tour with support from Periphery, Don Broco, Hail the Sun, Covet, and Thousand Below. [6] Dance Gavin Dance also toured in support of Underoath on their fall 2018 headlining tour, [7] and headlined the inaugural Swanfest music festival in San Francisco. [8]
On March 22, 2019, the band released "Head Hunter", a stand-alone single, accompanied with its music video. [9] Another single, "Blood Wolf", was released on October 11, along with its music video. [10] In October 2019, the band's vocalist Tilian Pearson confirmed that these two singles will not appear on the band's ninth studio album, nor are they indicative of the album's sound. [11]
On May 31, 2019, the band released an instrumental version of Artificial Selection. [12] They began a pattern of releasing an instrumental version of their studio albums on the last Friday of every month since, with Mothership , being released on June 28 and so forth, concluding with Downtown Battle Mountain on December 27, 2019. [13] On August 30, 2019, the band released a remastered version of their 2013 album Acceptance Speech , accompanied with the instrumental version. [14]
In January 2019, Dance Gavin Dance lead guitarist Will Swan revealed on Twitter that he was recording new material in Portland, Oregon, at Kris Crummett's recording studio, Interlace Audio. [15] In July 2019, Tilian Pearson revealed he was writing for the band's upcoming ninth studio album. [16] Crummett tracked guitar with Will Swan and Secret Band guitarist Martin Bianchini in September. [17] [18]
In an October 2019 interview, drummer Matthew Mingus disclosed that the new album will be "very technical" and that fifteen songs were recorded. [19] In November, Pearson confirmed he had completed recording vocals for the album with record producer Drew Fulk in Los Angeles, California. [20] Mixing for the album was completed by Kris Crummett in December 2019. [21]
The album features a list of guest appearances, including Strawberry Girls guitarist Zachary Garren, Eidola vocalist and guitarist Andrew Wells, Veil of Maya guitarist Marc Okubo, Secret Band guitarist Martin Bianchini, Royal Coda guitarist Sergio Medina, and former Attack Attack! vocalist Johnny Franck (credited as his current band, Bilmuri). The album features two guest vocal appearances, including Wells appearing on "Lyrics Lie" and "Nothing Shameful" and Franck appearing on "Into the Sunset". Royal Coda drummer, and former A Lot Like Birds drummer, Joseph Arrington, is credited as a co-writer on "Prisoner". [22]
Afterburner has been labeled post-hardcore, [23] progressive rock, [23] pop rock, [23] funk, [23] Latin rock and metalcore, . [24] [25]
The album artwork for Afterburner was illustrated by Swedish artist Mattias Adolfsson, who previously created the artwork for every Dance Gavin Dance album since the band's debut studio album, Downtown Battle Mountain (2007). The album cover depicts a robot minotaur figure, named Gavin Afterburner, [26] in the center with creatures seemingly cowering around the figure whilst the environment around them is engulfed in flames. In an interview with Rock Sound , the band expressed that they had received the artwork prior to writing sessions so they could create a more cohesive album, similar to their past two studio albums. [27] A mural of the album cover was painted by Duce One on the side of the Flame Club in Sacramento, California in February 2020. [28] On March 18, 2020, Jon Mess shared the reference painting for the album cover art. [29]
The album's title "afterburner" itself has several different meanings and ideologies. An afterburn, the psychological term, is defined as the period of time before a past event is assimilated. The band's lore within their album covers tell a universal story which continues to be portrayed on this album's cover and is considered a continuation of the album cover for Artificial Selection .
The band announced Afterburner, its track listing, album cover art and release date along with pre-order bundles on February 21, 2020. The album was released to digital download and streaming platforms on April 24, 2020, through Rise Records. Due to complications related to the COVID-19 pandemic, physical editions of the album were postponed to July 10, 2020. [30] The Target special deluxe edition features a second disc containing an instrumental version of the album.
On February 21, 2020, Dance Gavin Dance released the album's lead single "Prisoner" accompanied with its music video. [31]
On March 12, "Strawberry's Wake" was released as the second single, along with its music video. [32]
On April 9, "Lyrics Lie" was released as the album's third single, along with a music video. [33] The track features uncredited background vocals from Eidola guitarist and vocalist Andrew Wells. [34] The video for the song is a time lapse of artist Duce One painting the mural of the album cover on the side of The Flame Club in Sacramento, California. [35] [28]
On April 16, the fourth single, "Three Wishes", was released. The music video for "Three Wishes" features a montage of fan submitted videos of themselves being cleanly in abstract and creative ways. [36] The video also features members of the band.
On July 14, 2020, the group premiered an animated music video for the song "One In A Million". [37]
On February 21, 2021, the band announced the postponed tour dates for the Afterburner Tour, scheduled to span from September 7 to October 20, 2021, with Polyphia, Veil of Maya, Eidola and Wolf & Bear. [38] Originally, the group had announced a spring tour that would span from March 12 to April 25, 2020, however was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. [39] A string of tour dates in the US with Crown the Empire and Bilmuri, [40] Europe and the UK, [41] in May 2020 were also cancelled due to the pandemic.
The band performed a live concert on Twitch to promote the release of Afterburner on July 17, 2020. [42] On December 19, 2020, they broadcast Tree City Sessions 2 , a fan-voted concert-streaming event that was filmed on the Tower Bridge in Sacramento, California in November 2020.
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Discovered Magazine | 9/10 [43] |
Distorted Sound | 9/10 [44] |
Kill Your Stereo | 95/100 [25] |
New Transcendence | 8/10 [45] |
Wall of Sound | 9/10 [46] |
Afterburner was released to critical acclaim. Alex Sievers of Kill Your Stereo wrote that the album is "intricate, catchy, emotional and deceptively complex" while being the band's most consistent album to date. [25] "It is simultaneously the most Dance Gavin Dance record that you could expect these days, whilst containing plenty of fresh ideas and different genre influences that tastefully boost their progressive post-hardcore sound with funk, rap, Latin, and pop vibes." [25] Wall of Sound gave a positive review of the album, saying what "they’ve delivered is an innovative album that sounds like classic DGD and yet not at all". [46] Andy Katz of Scene Daddy went so far as to say that "this is the best record of Dance Gavin Dance’s career". [47]
Afterburner was not without some criticism, even within positive reviews. Connor Welsh of New Transcendence wrote "while it might not have the replay value or nostalgic appeal some of their previous records have, Afterburner sees Dance Gavin Dance working cohesively—a creative unit with all cylinders firing—and creating a strong, solid—albeit safe—contribution to their airtight discography." [45]
No. | Title | Length |
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1. | "Prisoner" | 3:46 |
2. | "Lyrics Lie" | 3:56 |
3. | "Calentamiento Global" | 3:58 |
4. | "Three Wishes" | 3:28 |
5. | "One in a Million" | 3:41 |
6. | "Parody Catharsis" | 3:41 |
7. | "Strawberry's Wake" | 3:37 |
8. | "Born to Fail" | 3:28 |
9. | "Parallels" | 3:36 |
10. | "Night Sway" | 2:52 |
11. | "Say Hi" | 3:51 |
12. | "Nothing Shameful" (featuring Andrew Wells) | 4:01 |
13. | "Into the Sunset" (featuring Bilmuri) | 4:30 |
Total length: | 48:38 |
Dance Gavin Dance
Additional personnel
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Weekly charts
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Dance Gavin Dance is an American rock band from Sacramento, California, formed in 2005. It consists of vocalists Jon Mess and Tilian Pearson, lead guitarist Will Swan, rhythm guitarist Andrew Wells, and drummer Matthew Mingus. The band formerly included lead vocalists Jonny Craig and Kurt Travis and the lineup has changed numerous times since their inception. Swan and Mingus are the only band members who have appeared on every studio album.
Kurt Travis is an American singer, musician, and songwriter from Sacramento, California. He is currently part of the post-hardcore bands Royal Coda and Push Over and the math rock duo Gold Necklace and was formerly a vocalist in the rock bands Dance Gavin Dance and A Lot Like Birds.
Acceptance Speech is the fifth studio album by American rock band Dance Gavin Dance, released on October 8, 2013, on Rise Records. The album serves as a follow-up to the band's fourth studio album, Downtown Battle Mountain II (2011), and is the band's first studio album to feature clean vocalist Tilian Pearson, bass guitarist Tim Feerick, and guitarist Josh Benton. It is the band's only studio album to feature Benton on rhythm guitar, who departed shortly after the album's release. The album was produced by Matt Malpass, which marks the band's first and only studio album to not be produced by Kris Crummett, who has produced all of the band's previous releases since Whatever I Say Is Royal Ocean (2006).
Instant Gratification is the sixth studio album by American rock band Dance Gavin Dance, released on April 14, 2015, on Rise Records. The album serves as a follow-up to the group's fifth studio album, Acceptance Speech (2013), and is the first release since the departure of guitarist Josh Benton, who joined as a session member in 2013 and left the following year. The album also sees the return of producer Kris Crummett, who produced all of the band's previous studio albums except for Acceptance Speech.
Tilian Pearson, also known mononymously as Tilian, is an American singer-songwriter, musician and record producer born in Clearwater, Florida. Since 2012 he has been the third clean vocalist for the post-hardcore band Dance Gavin Dance. Pearson began his music career as the lead vocalist and guitarist in the progressive rock band Tides of Man, releasing an extended play and two studio albums before leaving in 2010.
William Swan is an American songwriter and musician born in Sacramento, California. He is best known as the lead guitarist and co-founder of the American post-hardcore band Dance Gavin Dance and as the founder and owner of record label Blue Swan Records. He is also a guitarist in the metal band Secret Band, progressive rock band Royal Coda, and was a guitarist in the now defunct Sianvar.
Sianvar was an American progressive rock band from Sacramento, California, formed in 2013. The group currently consists of lead vocalist Donovan Melero, guitarists Will Swan and Sergio Medina, and drummer Joseph Arrington. The band is signed to Swan's independent record label Blue Swan Records. They released their debut self-titled EP on January 5, 2014 and their debut full-length studio album, Stay Lost, in August 2016. The band announced an indefinite hiatus on April 8, 2019.
Artificial Selection is the eighth studio album by American rock band Dance Gavin Dance, released on June 8, 2018, on Rise Records. It is the follow-up to the band's seventh studio album, Mothership (2016) and is their third consecutive studio release with the same line-up. The album was produced by Kris Crummett, Erik Ron, and Dryw Owens, and was self-produced by Dance Gavin Dance, making it the first release by the band to feature more than one producer.
Royal Coda is an American rock band based in Sacramento, California, founded by lead guitarist Sergio Medina. They are known for their amalgamation of progressive rock, psychedelic rock, and post-hardcore. The band currently consists of lead vocalist Kurt Travis, guitarists Sergio Medina and Will Swan, and bass guitarist Steffen Gotsch.
The Skeptic is the third solo studio album by American singer-songwriter and Dance Gavin Dance vocalist Tilian Pearson, released on September 28, 2018, through Future Friends and Rise Records. The album is a follow-up to his second studio album, Perfect Enemy (2015), and is his first solo release on Rise since departing with Vital Records. The album was produced by Kris Crummett, who performed drums and percussion on the record, while Pearson performed guitar, keyboards, and bass guitar.
Eidola is an American rock band from Salt Lake City, Utah, formed in 2011. The band consists of lead vocalist, composer and multi-instrumentalist Andrew Wells, guitarist Sergio Medina, bass guitarist James Johnson, guitarist and unclean vocalist Matthew Dommer, and drummer Matthew Hansen. They self-released their debut studio album, The Great Glass Elephant, in 2012. The group signed to Blue Swan Records in 2014 and released their second and third albums, Degeneraterra (2015) and To Speak, To Listen (2017). In December 2017, lead guitarist Brandon Bascom left the band and was replaced by Royal Coda guitarist Sergio Medina.
Wolf & Bear is an American post-hardcore band from Sacramento, California. Formed in 2013, the band consists of vocalists Marcus Cisneros and Tyler Watt, guitarists Cameron Nunez and Louie Baltazar, and drummer Jacob Koval. The band originated in the Central Valley hardcore punk music scene, later signing to Blue Swan Records and releasing a split with post-hardcore band Adventurer in May 2016 and their debut studio album, Everything Is Going Grey, in October 2017.
"Head Hunter" is a song performed by American rock band Dance Gavin Dance. It was released as a single for digital download and streaming on March 22, 2019, through Rise Records. It serves as a stand-alone single and will not be featured on the group's recent ninth studio album, and is the first piece of new music since the band's eighth studio album, Artificial Selection (2018). It was written by the band's vocalists Tilian Pearson and Jon Mess, with the music composed by the band with additional guitar and vocals from Eidola guitarist Andrew Wells.
Compassion is the second full-length studio album by American post-hardcore band Royal Coda. It was released on November 7, 2019, on Blue Swan Records, and serves as a follow-up to their self-titled debut studio album. It is the band's first album to feature guitarist Will Swan and was produced by Kris Crummett.
"Prisoner" is a song by American rock band Dance Gavin Dance. It was released to digital download and streaming services as the lead single from their ninth studio album, Afterburner, on February 21, 2020, by Rise Records. The song features an uncredited guest appearance from Royal Coda and Eidola guitarist Sergio Medina.
Tree City Sessions 2 is the third live album by American rock band Dance Gavin Dance, released on December 25, 2020, through Rise Records. It serves as a follow-up the group's 2016 live album Tree City Sessions and was mixed and mastered by Kris Crummett.
The American post-hardcore band Dance Gavin Dance has released ten studio albums, three live albums, one extended play, 45 singles, 26 music videos, one remastered album, and 9 instrumental albums. The band was formed in Sacramento, California in 2005 by guitarist Will Swan, drummer Matt Mingus, and bassist Eric Lodge. Unclean vocalist Jon Mess and clean vocalist Jonny Craig were recruited shortly after. They self-released their debut EP, Whatever I Say Is Royal Ocean, that year, and re-released the EP in 2006 after signing to Rise Records. Their debut studio album, Downtown Battle Mountain, was released May 15, 2007 on Rise.
The Architect is the fourth full-length studio album by American rock band Eidola, released on September 17, 2021 through Blue Swan Records and Rise Records. The album serves as a follow-up to their third studio album, To Speak, To Listen (2017), and is their first to not feature rhythm guitarist Brandon Bascom, who departed from the band in December 2017 and was replaced by Royal Coda guitarist Sergio Medina. It is also the band's first release since their record label Blue Swan Records partnered with Rise in February 2021. The album was produced by Ian Cooperstein and Kris Crummett with recording sessions taking place at Interlace Audio in Portland, Oregon.
"Synergy" is a song by American rock band Dance Gavin Dance. It was released as the lead single from their tenth studio album, Jackpot Juicer, to digital and streaming platforms on March 24, 2022, on Rise Records. It was written by the band with additional guitar parts from Louie Baltazar of American post-hardcore band Wolf & Bear and features guest vocals from Rob Damiani of English rock band Don Broco. It is the band's first release to feature Andrew Wells of American post-hardcore band Eidola as an official member since joining as a touring guitarist in 2015 and is their final song to be released before Tim Feerick's death.
Jackpot Juicer is the tenth full-length studio album by American rock band Dance Gavin Dance, released on July 29, 2022, on Rise Records. It serves as the follow-up to their ninth studio album, Afterburner (2020). Produced by Kris Crummett, the album was recorded at Interlace Audio in Portland, Oregon, between April and July 2021 and is the band's longest album to date consisting of eighteen tracks and a runtime of one hour and three minutes. It is the band's first studio album to be credited as a sextet since Acceptance Speech (2013) as well as their first to feature Andrew Wells as an official member since joining as a touring guitarist in 2015. It is also their final release to feature bassist Tim Feerick who died on April 13, 2022.
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