Over the course of this year, Rise Records has been surprise releasing instrumental versions of Dance Gavin Dance albums, spanning their entire discography. They have been releasing these in reverse chronological order, starting with 2018’s Artificial Selection and on 11/29 they have gotten all the way to DGD’s 2008 self-titled album (also known as Death Star based on the album art.) These have been splendid listens so far, as Dance Gavin Dance is an instrumentally-complex band, with several guitar riffs and production cues being picked up on these instrumental listens.

This release, however, is an absolute mess. First, the announcement of this track on Dance Gavin Dance’s Facebook page at midnight EST on the 29th was in itself botched, the picture of the album was accompanied by the word “Intrumental.” This blunder is likely the product of a tired graphic artist but just doesn’t make sense as a similar graphic used in previous releases was spelled correctly. At the time of writing, this post has been left up for 10 hours, likely because deleting it and making a correction post would detract from the page’s reach. If I am right in assuming this artist is exhausted, I hope you rest well, because this is the least significant of the issues with this release.

The bigger problem is that there are some technical issues with the album itself. In “Buffalo!”, Kurt Travis’ background vocals are left in during the bridge of the song. This is immediately noticeable and de-immerses the listener during one of the most vital parts of the song. The most apparent problem is that the track, “Hot Water on Wool,” is completely in disrepair. The song that follows this is a reprise of the track, similar to a coda.

However, in this instrumental version, the original track starts where the reprise would be and still stretches for its 4:25 duration, as it layers both songs. Where the reprise would end (1:59,) the actual song then becomes solely audible. This is an easy fix, and long-time DGD producer Kris Crummett should have no trouble remedying it. The YouTube version of this track is formatted the same way, but I sincerely hope the vinyl pressing is not. This is a trainwreck of a song released in this fashion, and its mellow, soothing guitar intro can now only be enjoyed in the original album. Here’s hoping the songs are remedied before Rise Records forever leaves this error for the world to see for eternity.

UPDATE: At 3:00 CST on 11/29, Hot Water on Wool was re-uploaded to YouTube without the extra layer. At this time, the track is still layered on Spotify (that’ll be a harder fix.)

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