Dan Deacon

Baltimore artist Dan Deacon just released his 8th studio album this past August called America. Deacon is known for his eccentric electronic beats and this album is no different than his others in that sense. The influence however is much different than his other albums, and comes from American politics and geography. The inspiration came from several tours across the country and in a recent interview with NPR says "You could really despise every aspect of what you think American culture is but it's hard to deny that the land itself is beautiful". And thus the album America was created. 

 

Track 5 on America, Crash Jam shows another new aspect to Dan Deacon's work. There are not only digital sounds and voice distortions used in this track but also live drumming throughout. Deacon wanted to use the two completely opposite sounds together to show the little imperfections of timing with live instrumentations. 

“True Thrush” can definitely be considered the gem of the new album. This past July before the release of America a music video was released for True Thrush that included several known Baltimore artists and Deacon’s friends playing a skit based version of the game telephone. It has a cheery melody and excludes a lot of the conflicting sounds that other tracks include. The beginning starts much like a typical indie electronic track but takes a quick turn into being an incredibly upbeat and joy filled tune.

 

A very interesting trait to America is the sudden change of gear after the first 5 tracks. The final songs demonstrate magnificent orchestral arrangements and are genuinely beautiful musical pieces. It is very intriguing to hear the signature Dan Deacon electronic sound being combined with such classical orchestral sounds. Track 8, “USA III: Rail” is a perfect example of that: opening with steel drums progressing into innocent string instruments and finally ending with distorted vocals and synthesizers.

 

Dan Deacon has successfully brought listeners another high energy, electronic album but still with a flare that keeps fans on the edge of their seats. He will be touring and playing his album America across the United States and Canada for the next year. More information about Dan Deacon and his tour dates at dandeacon.com.