REVIEW: Dance Gavin Dance's Jackpot Juicer off of Rise Records
Look, I’m not going to write an intro on Dance Gavin Dance. You either love this band or you hate them. To be honest? I almost feel like I shouldn’t even touch this record seeing as I cannot forgive Tilian Pearson’s treatment of women and the band’s treatment of some of its members. Alas, I listened to roughly six hours of these songs and I have things to say that have to come out of me somehow, so if you’re interested.
My first impression of Jackpot Juicer was that it’s a bad record, the first in the entire discography I didn’t like. While I don’t really feel that way I do feel like most of these tracks are utterly forgettable with only a handful of standout moments amongst its seventeen full songs. At the end of the day this band has always released records that inch in progression little by little but leave you a stand out element or two to write home about. The return of an original line-up, the unveiling of a new frontman or secret weapon co vocalist or a whole song in another language. There is nothing like that to be found anywhere on here and that is my biggest disappointment at the end of the day. It’s just a band going through the motions.
A major gripe I have, call it petty if you will, is the criminal under utilization of Andrew Wells as a collaborator of this band. I do understand Wells’ desire to remain mostly an outsider, wanting to focus his creative energy mainly toward his own band in Eidola. However for everyone, Wells included, to act like this record was his true coming together with everyone else as a creative force citing even that he was much more involved in the songwriting process and featured vocally on over half of the songs invites my criticism. There is nothing new sonically to be found here and all of Wells' vocal contributions either feel wasted or like vapid fan service. “For the Jeers” is his strongest vocal showing here and even that goes over as a poor attempt over a worse song. But hey, it’s just like Andrew himself says on the track;
Gotta give the people what they want.
There is also Pearson’s abysmal lyricism and ridiculous gotchas with lines about how his critics live with their parents or questioning how social progression could come from “smashing that like.” We have never had lyrics this self righteous, this downright stupid and we had two EPs and two full lengths with Jonny Craig himself. A lot of this record's themes on that front just seem to be a man building a case for himself in a scene that was getting closer and closer to turning on him at a moment’s notice. Well Tilian, it’s come, what do you have to say for yourself? Signed a music critic that lives thousands of miles from her parents.
All in all Jackpot Juicer has its moments, has its songs even, but nothing really wows me here. It’s a shame really, this was my favorite band in the genre for most of my life and while I tried hard to resist the turning tide over the past couple of years I can no longer ignore the vast waste of musicians before me. Maybe it’s time for a fourth vocalist or maybe ten records is enough.
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