Sunday Swim Episode 4, Presented by the Lake Review: Dance Gavin Dance, “Mothership”
Sunday Swim is a weekly guest column written by The Lake Review for Sound Over Time, covering classic records that you need to hear if you haven’t already. Follow the Lake Review on Instagram @thelakereview.
There’s so much I could say about the band known as Dance Gavin Dance. My favorite band since I was 16, this band has been a major staple in my life and I’ve made it a mission of mine to tell everyone who loves rock about them.
Mothership was an album that was released kind of as a surprise to me considering they just dropped another album, Instant Gratification, the previous year. However, I was still ready for a new album considering the last one as a whole didn’t hold up to my expectations. This album is the complete opposite. A concept album in my opinion about loss and change, this project blew me away more than any previous album from them. It feels like they all came together and just built around each other’s ideas and it shows in the work. Tilian and Jon are two vocalists I didn’t think would work out, but in this album, they show they are a force not to be toyed with. Tilian is definitely the star of this album, with songs like Betrayed By The Game and Exposed, the only song with no screaming vocals, showcasing his true talent and ability to soar among others in his genre.
The instrumental work is something in a class of its own. Will Swan, lead guitarist and one of three original members (Matt Mingus on drums and Jon Mess, screamer), continues to show why he is one of the greatest guitarists of all time. His work here is some of the best displayed considering his large discography as a guitarist. It’s no different for the other members. Everyone shows exactly why are they still members of the band to this day.
Overall, out of all the classics they have provided over the years, this is their most complete album. Mostly because of the concept and also how it flows like no previous album of theirs. They continued to use this formula of concepts and track sequencing to show they’re not just a great hardcore band, but also a band that can tell a great story. If you are a fan of rock or just music in general, I would recommend this album and their entire discography and let the work show why they have been my favorite band for over ten years.
