Dan Deacon
(Car Park)
Instead of hiding behind a computer screen, Dan Deacon gets right in the thick of things. He isn't afraid to let the crowd's sweat dampen his effects pedals and various gizmos. On his latest, he adds backing musicians to the mix, and the results are pretty damn impressive.
The album kicks off with "Build Voices" - an accurate description of Deacon's M.O. A sampled vocal loops and builds as lyrics float in overhead, before hyperactive drums and sweeping chord changes get things moving. "Paddling Ghost" is a mélange of marimbas and ‘80s synth-rock, while "Wet Wings" could be Deacon's deconstructed answer to Moby's Play - the three-minute song overlaps what sounds like a sample of an Appalachian folk song until it hypnotically blends into white noise.
On Bromst, Deacon makes neither pure electronic music nor experimental noise rock. But his ability to reference both of these niches without being completely at home in either is what keeps his work so interesting.
Standout Tracks: "Paddling
Ghost," "Woof Woof" JONAH FLICKER
