Fans of California post-hardcore outfit Dance Gavin Dance have gone without a new album from the much-loved math rock screamers since 2022’s Jackpot Juicer — three years being an epoch for a band that has rumbled through dizzying lineup changes with minimal effect on output. The DGD discography boasts a dozen full-length LPs including their explosive 2007 debut, Downtown Battle Mountain.

But the recent drought, such as it was, appears to be over. Their longtime label, Rise Records, has announced a new full-length, Pantheon, due in September. And it’s not like DGD disappeared between albums. There was the Strawberry’s Revenge hot sauce and pizza collaboration to go with the band’s appearance at last fall’s When We Were Young Festival in Las Vegas. They also put out two punchy singles last spring, “Speed Demon” and “Straight From The Heart.”

The songs marked a new era for DGD, with recent recruit Andrew Wells taking over all clean-vocal duties in the band’s traditional sing/scream tandem setup. Since joining in 2021, Wells had alternated in that role with longtime vocalist Tilian Pearson before the latter’s much-discussed exit in 2024. A relative newcomer joining an established core could be polarizing for diehard fans of these Warped Tour-era contemporaries of the likes of Circa Survive and Alexisonfire. Picture a house party of moody people with comedic tattoos suddenly turning on one late-arriving guest.

But Wells has proved he can conjure DGD’s magic alongside guitarist Will Swan, drummer Matthew Mingus, and shrieker Jon Mess while adding his own spark. He was a standout on Jackpot Juicer tracks such as “Swallowed by Eternity,” a cyber hymn that builds to a volley of distorted, mosh-able breakdowns. And DGD’s essence — raging desperation and self-lacerating humor — endures with him aboard. The star of the two-song video that straddles “Speed Demon”/“Straight From The Heart” is The Gobbler, a Muppet-like mascot with Gritty vibes craving social media fame and human flesh. Is a Gobby walk-on too much to hope for on a night of spirited screamo?

Dance Gavin Dance with openers Belmont, Dwellings, and The Home Team, play 7pm Friday, June 6 at War Memorial Auditorium in Fort Lauderdale. dancegavindanceband.com ~ Erik Kvarnberg