Dance on the Blacktop

In October 2017, it was announced that Nothing had begun recording a third studio album at Dreamland Studio in Woodstock, New York with producer John Agnello.[2] The band took a break from recording the album in December 2017 for a mini tour with Ceremony.[2]

On June 5, 2018, the first single from the album, "Zero Day", was released. A preview of the song debuted in Revolver magazine on May 30, 2018.[3] The same day as the single's release, Nothing announced the track listing, album release date and their fall 2018 tour, which involved supporting acts Swirlies, Big Bite and Smut.[1][4]

The second single, "Blue Line Baby", was released on July 11, 2018,[5] accompanied with a music video a week later.[6] Revolver described the track and the music video as "gorgeously surreal" and "ethereal".[5]

On August 9, 2018, "The Carpenter's Son", the third and final single prior to the release of the album, was released.[7][8] Chris DeVille of Stereogum praised the track, saying the song "is Nothing at their most serene. Over the course of eight minutes, it undergoes a bit of dynamic fluctuation, but mostly it's a gorgeous slow-drift that demonstrates how powerful Nothing can be without ever roaring the way they often do".[8]

This is Nothing's first album to feature new member Aaron Heard, who replaced Nick Bassett, and the final album to feature the original member Brandon Setta.

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
AnyDecentMusic?	7.2/10[9]
Metacritic	77/100[10]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[11]
The A.V. Club	B+[12]
Drowned in Sound	(6/10)[13]
Exclaim	(8/10)[14]
Kerrang!	[15]
NME	[16]
Pitchfork	(7.1/10)[17]
The Skinny	[18]

Dance on the Blacktop received critical acclaim upon its release. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 77, based on 13 reviews, indicating "generally favourable reviews".[10]

All music is composed by Domenic Palermo and Brandon Setta.

Dance on the Blacktop album personnel adapted from album credits.[19]

Nothing

• Domenic Palermo – vocals, guitar, record producer, art direction
• Brandon Setta – vocals, guitar
• Kyle Kimball – percussion
• Aaron Heard – bass
• Nick Bassett – bass, keyboards

Additional personnel

• John Agnello – engineering, mixing, production
• Domenick Antieatro – assistant
• Greg Calbi – mastering
• Garrett "Kevin" Deblock – assistant
• Demon Drums – drum technician
• Steve Fallone – assistant
• Carlos Hernandez – overdubs
• Alex Lipsen – overdubs
• Ryan Lowry – photography
• Mark McCoy – art direction
• Emily Rittenhouse – assistant
• Jacob Speis – layout