Part of Baltimore's growing Wham City collective, Dan Deacon wastes no time establishing his whimsical electronic music sensibilities on what is essentially his breakthrough, Spiderman of the Rings. The title alone perfectly captures his particular brand of hyperactive mad-dash electronica, which seems concerned simply with what sounds good in the moment as opposed to what might be part of a greater rationale; the music's madly impulsive sugar rush of cheap beats and mind-numbing tempos largely fails to leave any sort of lasting impression despite its temporary allure. The opener and strongest track, "Wooody Wooodpecker," delivers enough of an impact to encapsulate the shock-and-awe approach of nearly everything to follow, using its namesake's trademark cartoon laugh in an incessantly looped frenzy to lay a rhythmic foundation. The song's first half builds on that forward momentum, utilizing a blinding arsenal of sounds, cycling repeatedly into double time to create an overwhelming cacophony, which falls suddenly into a lull about halfway through -- only to rebuild once more on the back of shimmering synthesizers playing bubblegum chords. It's no wonder that Deacon's music is most successful in a live setting. This is pleasure music to freak out to, an in-your-face assault of sped up beats, manic vocals, and a disregard for subtlety which can often feel out of place coming through a home stereo as opposed to a high-power PA. That's not to say there's a lack of cohesion, however; on the contrary, everything feels very precise and well thought out, which is nowhere more evident than on the album's impressive 12-minute centerpiece, "Wham City." The piece carefully ebbs and flows between an abstract sound collage, a catchy, propulsive refrain, and finally, a stunning drum breakdown, propelled throughout by a resurfacing melodic vocal chant. In all, the first four numbers are strong and strike a winning balance and interplay with one another, with "Big Milk" well situated as Spiderman's only introspective respite from the breakneck pace heard elsewhere. Deacon's exuberance unfortunately becomes repetitive and overly-obnoxious a bit too often in the latter half of the album, which even at its abbreviated length of nine tracks drags on a bit too long. Spiderman of the Rings can be amusing ear candy just as easily as headache-inducing monotony; making this distinction depends on where and when it's played, and just how much uninhibited energy you can take in one dose.
What happens when you can’t fixate on the composer? When you can’t peer over a sea of shoulders to judge? When you aren’t distracted by your own analysis of the music’s maker? When all you can see on stage is another audience looking back at you? When your only focal point is a lonely microphone stand wearing an eerie fluorescent green skull? You’re so consumed by the music and the share
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Wow. I'm a little overwhelmed lately. I've been too busy for anything. Mog or anything else. I felt the need for a personal post cause I got some things to get off my chest. 1. My brother almost had a heart attack last week. He is only 37 and this is the 4th time since his late 20's. They had to stop his heart and restart it. Kind of scary. I don't spend enough time with him. 2. My ...
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Maybe it’s his thick red-frame nerd glasses? Or the baby fat peeking out from the bottom of his too-tight-t-shirts. But one thing is for sure I HEART DAN DEACON.During his shows, Deacon will wax lyrical about topics ranging from Ethan Hawke, hobbits and cats, to a crowd surfing audience dressed up in wigs, fluorescents and superheroes. His sex raps and shock DJ music are the soundtrack to the h.
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What happens when you can’t fixate on the composer? When you can’t peer over a sea of shoulders to judge? When you aren’t distracted by your own analysis of the music’s maker? When all you can see on stage is another audience looking back at you? When your only focal point is a lonely microphone stand wearing an eerie fluorescent green skull? You’re so consumed by the music and the share
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This song is cracking me up. I just read about this Dan Deacon character on Pitchfork, and moseyed on over to the Hype Machine to find this track.At first, I just thought it was strange, but it kept begging me to play it again, and now I find myself lol'ing at the sound of Woody Woodpecker's laugh. I'm not sure why, except that I'm easily amused.
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I seriously cannot get enough of this new Dan Deacon record. When it comes to electronic-based music, I can be really picky, but this one had me from the get-go. I'm addicted to the funky, bending bassline of this track:
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I want to go see Dan Deacon at The Cavern in Dallas on June 13th. This guy is a genius. Imagine if Jason Forrest and M83 bumped uglies in The Romper Room, and you just might have an idea of what Dan's music sounds like...I wanted to upload the track 'Wham City' here, but MOG imposes a 15mb file size limit for mp3 uploads. Boo, hiss...Try looking here...
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The Shiny shines all the brighter as Dan comes in for a few words.Subscribe, yo.Robpowered by ODEO
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SO WHAT have I been listening to? Thanks for asking. Let me tell you. I've been listening to pretty damn strange assortment of stuff.Dan Deacon's album is kind of out there, but I wouldn't have thought the most accessible song would be the one containing 4 minutes of continuous Woody Woodpecker laughing. "Woody Woodpecker" contains the titular cartoon laughing at full speed and simultaneously a...
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| Title | Lyrics | Buy |
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| 1 Woody Woodpecker |
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| 2 The Crystal Cat |
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| 3 Wham City |
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| 4 Big Milk |
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| 5 Okie Dokie |
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| 6 Trippy Green Skull |
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| 7 Snake Mistakes |
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| 8 Pink Batman |
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| 9 Jimmy Joe Roche |
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Click to purchase…
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 "Spiderman of the Rings")
