Dan Deacon’s album, ‘Bromst,’ a bold and challenging listen

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On “Bromst,” the follow-up to Dan Deacon’s 2007 breakthrough album, “Spiderman of the Rings,” the 27-year old electronic music composer and Baltimore resident creates an album of similar textures, melodies and timbre.

This time around, Deacon flexes his compositional muscles, creating a sprawling, in-your-face hour-long album in the electronic-pop-on-amphetamine style that has made him one of the more endearing names in independent music.

Clocking in at just over 64-minutes, “Bromst” is a lot to take in. The album starts out loud and fast and manages to maintain the spastic, 100-MPH energy of “Spiderman,” throughout 11 tracks.

While the majority of the songs on “Spiderman” are uncompromising gems running in the three-five minute range, Deacon prefers longer compositions this time around, with only four songs clocking in under 5-minutes.

The opening track, “Build Voice,” starts with a distorted vocal sample that builds slowly as Deacon’s voice fades into the mix. Multi-tracked piano lines follow him in as the song continues to build.

Reaching its final breaking point 3-minutes in, “Build Voice” is a celebratory and full-blown opener, a sort of conditioning exercise to prepare listeners for what’s to follow.

Melodically, “Bromst” is surprisingly similar to “Spiderman.” Taking the sweetest and brightest melodies the first album had to offer and giving them time to run their course, Deacon creates an album that is both familiar and catchy, but also offers a completely different listening experience.

While Deacon could be accused of recycling melodies and progressions, it doesn’t seem that insincere.

One of the most surprising and enjoyable tracks on the album is “Surprise Stefani,” which sounds unlike anything Deacon has created before.

Comprised of acoustic and electronic drums, synthesizers, hypnotic vocal samples and an uncharacteristically menacing melody, the song’s first half is the textbook definition of a “slow-burner” as Deacon allows each element to take its time to ease its way in.

As the song speeds its way into its second half, a myriad of mallet and hand percussion instruments careen their way into the mix. While the arrangement choice is certainly unexpected, it sounds incredible and stands out as one of the album’s greatest moments.

While fans of the spastic intensity of “Spiderman of the Rings” are sure to find plenty to love about “Bromst,” newcomers may be put off by Deacon’s fast-paced and often abrasive take on electronic pop.

“Bromst” is a bold and challenging listen and a wonderful snapshot of a young artist maturing and refining his compositional craft.

Dan Deacon will be performing with a 13-person ensemble at the Wesley Foundation, located at 1400 S. Washington, on May 8th at 7:30 PM.

Tickets are $10.50 and are available at http://ditrpromotions.bigcartel.com/.

features@cm-life.com