Dan Deacon - America

Dan Deacon’s America packs enough energy to power a small town. There are so many ideas, so much stuff going on: beats falling like hailstones, hyperactive vocals, a frenetic punch-up between live instrumentation and impudent electronics.This is music to sprint to not wipe the dance floor with. Deacon’s background in classical composition ensures America doesn’t reach its dog’s breakfast potential. The mass of polyrhythms and unhinged effects that make up ‘Guildford Avenue Bridge’ abide by a strict sense of structure.

It might feel like Deacon is all freestyle and no substance but this is actually one buttoned-up motherfucker (check out the four song suite that makes up the album’s second half and tell me you don’t see an auteur at work). It’s not all highbrow; Deacon loves pop as much as anyone. ‘True Thrush’ is laced with the sweetest of melodies and ‘Prettyboy’’s cymbals and synths pay homage to the kitsch appeal of a Georgio Moroder film score.

In short: fun with brains.

7/10 stars