DGD’s Afterburner will light up your quarantine

If there’s anything that living in the age of COVID-19 has taught me, it’s that there really is no shortage of creativity in the human spirit. Look on any social media page and you’ll find people at home using milk gallons as barbels, students holding virtual commencements through Minecraft, and parties taking place via Zoom. But perhaps the true testament to human creativity and adaptation has been the continued efforts of those in the music industry. 

One such band which has been known for evolving to meet less-than-ideal circumstances  is Dance Gavin Dance, or DGD. This post-hardcore band has seen its fair share of lineup changes and drama in their fifteen-year run thus far, with several members of the band leaving, rejoining, going to rehab, or getting into trouble with the law. This, however, does not change the fact that they have consistently put out passion-driven content in spite of such turbulence. 

Their April release, Afterburner (2020), is a sort of sequel to 2018’s Artificial Selection that includes similar themes of fiery love, existential crises, and mental illness, but Afterburner takes these topics a step further by casting them in a more intense light. Dance Gavin Dance has always been known to create stories through their music, so their choice to label Afterburner as a continuation of Artificial Selection, though interesting, is not uncommon for them, and thus adds a new level of richness and appreciation when listening to it. This album is a whirlwind that will leave new fans asking why they hadn’t listened to DGD before, and will leave long-time fans with the oh-so sought after satisfaction that comes with approving of a band’s stylistic changes.

Right off the bat, this album packs a punch with the opening track, “Prisoner,” which sonically mimics the feeling of being in a daze. With several audio effects, such as layering, echoing, and modulations, this track aims to hypnotize you with the rhythms and grooves Dance Gavin Dance is known for. As an opener, it was a smart move to utilize this track because it communicates the idea that listening to the album is an experience rather than a mere action. 

This track then leads to “Lyrics Lie,” an upbeat, mellow song full of catchy melodies, which is overall pretty representative of DGD’s typical style (post Downtown Battle Mountain II [2018], at least). Clean vocalist Tillian Pearson shines through on this track and reminds you early on why DGD has stuck out so much over the years rather than blending into the post-hardcore scene. Pearson’s soft, high-pitched voice juxtaposes with Jon Mess’s screams, adding a new take to the familiar style of clean vs. unclean vocals seen in post-hardcore. Their uniqueness is only compounded through the consistent use of stylistically-complex instrumentals, such as guitarist Will Swan’s crazy-complex riffs.

While Afterburner has provided us with plenty of reminders of their style, this release is also filled to the brim with songs that push the envelope, specifically third track, “Calentamiento Global.” This song is definitely one of my favorites off the album, not only because it’s such a banger, but also because this number does almost everything one would never expect from DGD. Pearson sings the entire song in Spanish, with the lyrics focusing primarily on how a particular girl’s body could “cure global warming,” and the entire feel of the song has strong Latin influences. This, combined with the fact that DGD has never recorded a song in a different language before, makes this the most stand-out song on Afterburner (not to mention the fact that the song itself is catchy as hell). The combination of this song and the fourth track, “Three Wishes,” creates a melodic masterpiece that is sure to be stuck in your head for hours on end. 

“Strawberry’s Wake,” a continuation of the “Strawberry” saga that has been seen on the majority of DGD’s past albums, provides a warm sense of familiarity in the midst of drastic changes. The track is upbeat, despite the grim title referencing Strawberry’s death seen on Instant Gratification (2015), serving as the turning point in the album’s tone. Up until this song, the album is groovy, varied, and happy, but after this track, a shift from joy to melancholy is seen; this is where the importance of the album title comes in, as the album itself seemingly mimics an afterburner. 

An afterburner is what causes afterburn, or a period of upset (mentally or physically) following a traumatic event, so it’s clear why the band chose to name their album as such and why the work is organized in the way it is. The album represents a sort of waxing and waning of one’s mood: the first half is a party, and the second half is the gloomy, lonely scene when the party’s over and one experiences lingering feelings of bitterness. With tracks such as “Nothing Shameful,” a song focusing on the pain of being in a toxic relationship, and the closing track “Into the Sunset” which describes feeling hopeless about the world’s situation and just wanting to give up, it is clear that Afterburner is more than a melodic masterpiece but an artistic statement that aims to light up the alternative rock scene.