We continue our (somewhat belated) countdown of the Ten Best Albums of 2009. In case you missed it, here's No. 10.
I'm throwing some love toward a Baltimore boy, Dan Deacon, with the ninth selection. Deacon has been better known for his communal, sweaty dance-a-longs than for the music he creates to inspire such a festive atmosphere. His shows are arranged so that he and his gear are down off the stage right in the middle of his supporters. He warms the crowd up, maybe issues a few choreographed dance suggestions, cranks up his table full of electronic gadgets, and proceeds to freak the hell out with everyone else following suit all around him. Imagine prom or any dance club you've ever been to, only if no one was worried about looking cool or getting laid afterward.
Bromst is fascinating stuff. It's a percussion-laden, blitzkrieg-paced, electronic joyride. It could be captivating, or it could be a headache. It's silly, yet thoughtful. It's energizing, yet warm. It's everything Dan Deacon is. And above all else, Deacon (who graduated from the Conservatory of Music at SUNY Purchase) is an experimenter. For this album, he rigged a player piano up to his computer, allowing for acoustic notes to be played faster than human hands allow. But there's more than just a gadget or two here. There's a communal spirit underlying everything. There's a sense that we're all meant to let our hair down and join in on the fun. There's a super-saturation of gorgeous melodies soaked into the framework of each song; if you were to wring Bromst out, you'd be left with a swimming pool full of notes, beats, and goodness.
Ninth Best Album of 2009: Dan Deacon, Bromst
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