Dan Deacon
Gliss Riffer
DOMINO
7/10
Keeping up with Dan Deacon is a fool’s errand. His new album Gliss Riffer only serves to prove a point already established by the previous fifteen: when it comes to sheer speed of idea presentation, Deacon has the ability to outfox even the most quick-witted and fleet of ear. Thankfully, when it comes to throwing things against the wall, his quality control is among the best in the business, even if individual elements—among them vocoder, synth, and enough bleeps and bloops to make Commodore 64 blush—are often blended together into a prismatic smear. There are even a few almost meditative moments on the album. “Meme Generator” features an expansively reflective synth drone while “Feel the Lightning” and “When I Was Done Dying” might just rank as some of Deacon’s purest pop offerings to date. But at its core, Gliss Riffer is about splitting the difference between frantic and fun…and having one hell of a time in the process. Cynics, please move along so the rest of us can get down to dancing.
