Rock band DANCE GAVIN DANCE has announced its highly anticipated new album “Pantheon”, set to be released on September 12 via Rise Records. Their first full-length release since 2022’s “Jackpot Juicer” — which debuted at No. 8 in the Billboard Top 200 — “Pantheon” sees the band building on their signature genre defying sound with soul shredding breakdowns, pop-infused melodies, frenzied screams, and guest vocals from the legendary master of Pfunk, George Clinton, on the song “Space Cow Initiation Ritual”.
In addition to announcing their new album, DANCE GAVIN DANCE has released their new single “Midnight At McGuffy’s”. Along with the song comes a brand new music video — a surreal, Escher-esque trip through flashing lights and desert landscapes that will leave you questioning what is real.
DANCE GAVIN DANCE drummer Matt Mingus comments: “We’re incredibly ecstatic to share our 11th full-length album, ‘Pantheon’, with the world. We poured our hearts and souls into this record — it has all the signature elements our fans have come to expect, along with fresh sounds and new styles that truly spotlight Andrew as our new vocalist. Sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride that is ‘Pantheon’.”
Catch DANCE GAVIN DANCE on the road this spring. The headlining “Return Of The Robot” tour kicks off on May 22. A number of shows are already sold out — including night two in Philadelphia, Toronto, Charlotte, Phoenix, and Riverside — with more expected to sell out soon. Fans in Chicago can also look forward to the fourth annual Swanfest, with special guests GLASSJAW, ANIMALS AS LEADERS, THE FALL OF TROY, Kurt Travis and “Return Of The Robot” tourmates THE HOME TEAM, BELMONT and DWELLINGS.
Gratitude. It’s a word that DANCE GAVIN DANCE return to often — and with good reason. Because few words encapsulate the mood in the band as they prepare to lift the veil on the latest era in their storied career. Gratitude for each other. Gratitude for the journey, its lessons and the growth it affords. Gratitude for the outlet in which to express themselves creatively, with freedom and abandon. Gratitude for the fans of old and gratitude for the fans of new, without whom none of this would be possible.
“Pantheon”, DANCE GAVIN DANCE‘s 11th full-length record and the follow-up to 2022’s “Jackpot Juicer”, is a testament to and document of that gratitude. Emerging from a recent period of trauma and flux — the sudden passing of beloved longtime bassist Tim Feerick; along with various changes within the band’s lineup — it finds the newly minted quartet refocused, rejuvenated and reenergized, imbued with an unbridled energy that duly bursts from every inch of “Pantheon”‘s 13 tracks.
Formed in Sacramento, California in 2005, DANCE GAVIN DANCE — today comprised of vocalist/guitarist Andrew Wells, his fellow frontman Jon Mess, lead guitarist Will Swan and drummer Matthew Mingus — are a powerhouse of alternative music; true originals and originators alike, crafting an exhilarating cacophony of sounds and disparate styles that harmonizes everything from funk through metalcore to post-hardcore, pop sensibilities colliding with progressive, kaleidoscopic song structures. With four Billboard 200 Top 15 albums to their name and one of the most deeply fanatical fanbases in modern music fueling millions of record sales and billions of streams, as the esteemed Rock Sound magazine attests: “There is no band on earth like DANCE GAVIN DANCE.”
“Pantheon” is an album born first and foremost from reflection — on what DANCE GAVIN DANCE was, is, and, crucially, could still be. It’s an astonishing listen that sees DANCE GAVIN DANCE shift back towards the band’s heavier, more experimental beginnings. Without forgoing any of the accessibility and songcrafting craft of “Jackpot Juicer” and 2020’s “Afterburner” before it, “Pantheon” succeeds in sandblasting away the pop sheen that has glossed the band’s recent output to leave something altogether edgier, coarser, tactile. Lyrically, it channels thoughts and themes that are similarly abrasive. It’s a record that navigates an undercurrent of instability, frustration and exasperation, the jarring, dueling delivery of Wells and his thrillingly erratic, freeform counterpoint Mess the embodiment of “Pantheon”‘s inner conflicts and confusion. It poses an abundance of questions while rationing its answers.
“The intention of ‘Pantheon’ was to build a certain tension, without a proper resolution,” Andrew Wells says. “The world is in chaos right now, so there is a lot of solemn commentary on where we’re all headed, songs about where we find ourselves in life right now, and the classic DGD absurdism for light and relief amongst the darkness of it all.
“I think ‘Pantheon’ is a testament to perseverance and the gratitude that we feel today,” Wells adds. “Being able to overcome everything that life hits you with, find your people — the people that you trust, people that you love, people that love you — and create art with them, whatever chaos the world has in store for you. It’s about getting through the hardest times, getting back to basics, and making something that you love.”
“Pantheon” track listing:
01. Animal Surgery
02. Midnight At McGuffy’s
03. The Robot With Human Hair: Rebirth
04. The Conqueror Worm
05. Trap Door
06. Strawberry’s Daughters
07. Space Cow Initiation Ritual (feat. George Clinton)
08. All The Way Down
09. A Shoulder To Cry On
10. The Peak Of Superstition
11. The Stickler
12. Yikes!
13. Descent To Chaos
Source: blabbermouth.net
