Dan Deacon is a lot of things. In the live setting – evangelist, therapist, pop star, goofball. However in the past year or so, Deacon has surprisingly evolved into a role as composer. Quite an adept one, at that. In between the release of 2009’s Bromst and this, his opus titled America, Deacon was enlisted by Godfather director Francis Ford Coppola to score the ambitious film project Twixt. Grand plans of an intertwined live tour and interactive screening were touted. However, much like the vast majority of Coppola’s post-Apocalypse Now output, the project failed to deliver.
America is as much a contemporary classical album as it is a pop record, showcasing the compositional smarts that Deacon honed with Twixt and other orchestral pursuits. Marrying the intellectual reach of his newfound penchant for that which lies beyond pop and his frenetic electro signature sounds seems to be the primary goal of America. It’s a successful union, with America hitting its many apexes by thrusting skyward the incongruous mix of glitched out electronica and lush string arrangements.
Percussion defines most of the record. Deacon explores every aspect of it, from EDM-like buildup present in Guilford Avenue Bridge to the thunderous cavalcade of organic drums that thread the each of the opening five tracks. True Thrush is pure bliss, typifying Deacon’s shaman-like ability to conjure instant euphoria.
The album soars to greater heights with the closing four-part USA, boldly proclaiming the self-contained movement with an abrupt display of strings. The four tracks present an aural dissection of Deacon’s America, sometimes scary, often beautiful.
Stretching beyond pure fodder for his lauded live experience, America stands a bold assertion of Deacon’s pop mastery and lofty ambition.
BY LACHLAN KANONIUK
Best Track: USA I-IV
If You Like These, You’ll Like This: Tarot Sport FUCK BUTTONS, Super æ BOREDOMS
In A Word: Grandiose
