Jackpot Juicer

Prior to the release of their ninth studio album Afterburner (2020), the band had planned a spring tour in the US and Canada to take place in March and April 2020, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the tour was postponed multiple times.[1] On July 9, 2020, the band announced a full production multi-cam album release concert stream for Afterburner, which took place on July 17 to compensate for the tour's cancellation.[2] On December 19, 2020, the band broadcast their Tree City Sessions 2 concert streaming event in which the band performed a fan-voted set on the Tower Bridge in Sacramento, California.[3] The live album, Tree City Sessions 2, was released to digital and streaming services on December 25, 2020.[4]

On February 21, 2021, the band announced the rescheduled Afterburner Tour dates which spanned from September 7 to October 20, 2021, with support from Polyphia, Veil of Maya, Eidola, and Wolf & Bear. The tour was plagued by members of the band and touring crew falling ill to COVID-19 on multiple occasions.[5] However, the band continued to finish the run. In October 2021, it was confirmed that Andrew Wells of American post-hardcore band Eidola had joined the band as an official member after having been a touring guitarist since November 2015. On March 3, 2022, Dance Gavin Dance launched the Alternate Reality Collection merchandise line which featured alternative designs for every single one of their past albums, created by artist Castle Jackal, placed on t-shirts and sweaters.[6]

On April 14, 2022, the band released a statement announcing the death of longtime bass guitarist Tim Feerick, who passed away unexpectedly the day before.[7]

Recording sessions for the album took place between April and July 2021 at Interlace Audio with producer Kris Crummett in Portland, Oregon. On May 8, 2021, drummer Matthew Mingus revealed he was in the studio recording drums for the album.[8] On May 25, Secret Band guitarist Martin Bianchini publicized that he was recording guitar parts at Crummett's studio.[9] On June 14, singer Tilian Pearson confirmed that he had begun recording vocals. On July 11, Pearson revealed that sessions for the album had concluded.[10] In a 2021 interview, guitarist Andrew Wells disclosed that the album will have "more songs than any other DGD album" and that Wolf & Bear guitarist Louie Baltazar had contributed guitar parts for the album. Strawberry Girls guitarist Zachary Garren confirmed that he had recorded guitar parts for the album as well.[11]

In an interview with Alternative Press, Pearson spoke about writing and recording vocals for the album and how it differed from previous sessions for past studio albums.[12] "We spent more time [recording the album] and we were in a really good environment. Jon [Mess, screamer], Andrew [Wells, vocalist of Eidola] and I rented an Airbnb and just chilled — probably for over a month for me and Jon. Because of that, we didn't take any more time on any songs — we just wrote more. It was mostly a positive experience the whole time. Jon and I collaborated more than we usually do, and that was nice. Andrew and I, too — he's on this album a lot." Also speaking on the musical aspect of the album, Pearson said "It's a bit bigger-sounding than usual for us. It sounds a little more like our live set than the clarity of Mothership, where you can hear every single note the guitar is playing. There's a little bit more of a togetherness to the sound. And because we had the most time to work on it, it's our longest album — I can reveal that." Jackpot Juicer is the band's longest studio album to date, consisting of 18 tracks and a runtime of one hour and three minutes.