Dance Gavin Dance -Downtown Battle MountainII

Thu 28th Apr, 2011 in Music Reviews

Front man Jonny Craig’s struggles with drugs and allegations that he has scammed fans to pay for his addiction aside, you cannot deny that the man has an amazing set of pipes. Just listen the smooth beginning of opening track Spooks for proof of this, his soft croon quickly changes to the rough scream of guitarist Jonathan Mess before an interestingly placed hip-hop break down and whammy filled chorus.

Downtown Battle Mountain Pt. II is the band’s fourth studio album on which they push the unique elements that have been evident in the past releases to the limits, channelling a mix between standard post-hardcore and post-rock similar to the likes of Fall Of Troy. The group’s song structures have always been confusing and unpredictable but more so on this record than usual, hinting that the band are now finally comfortable in their own style and are no longer reliant on conforming to the post-hardcore ideals of their peers, that are evident on past albums. The guitars lead all of the songs, be it the delayed effects that are favoured in the verse or the intricate riffs that dance around the melody lines in the choruses.

There are crazy, energetic moments such as The Robot With Human Hair Pt.2 1/2 and chilled out songs like Blue Dream that has a nice groove and touch of funk which Craig wails over brilliantly. The album ends with the heavy and intricate Swan Soup and the bright yet emotional Purple Reign that moves from a stabbing verse with an Indian influenced sample strewn throughout it to a powerful chorus, once again driven by a strong guitar riff.

Dance Gavin Dance mature with every release and now sound like a band who are comfortable creating music within their own genre which makes Downtown Battle Mountain Pt. II a unique and enjoyable listen.