Album Review: Dan Deacon - Gliss Riffer

Lush electro-fuzz jammer Dan Deacon never seems to quite sit still.

His sound, while characterised by noise-pop through an electronic aesthetic, has ebbed and flowed through different phases. Experimental, 21st century classical and avant-garde ideas litter his chaotic pop explorations, and thankfully, Gliss Riffer continues this journey. Opening with lead single and joyous pop rocker Feel The Lightning is a wise move, its hooks and singalong chorus easing us into Deacon’s fuzzy sonic landscape before he opens more experimental portals. When I Was Done Dying exemplifies this album’s approach as Deacon dials back the orchestration of 2012’s America and pushes his own vocal presence to the fore while still including that record’s sense of majesty and wry enchantment.

The fact that the music is entirely fun and over-the-top sounding shouldn’t suggest that these songs are novelty tunes or ironic hipster jams; there’s a genuine approach and frank honesty that comes through in the songs here, even those without lyrics, hinting at Deacon’s growth as an artist since his early, arguably sillier days a decade ago.

Constantly moving between the lush, the experimental and the poppy, and always drenched in a layer of gorgeous electronic fuzz, Gliss Riffer’s dizzying sonic palate is clearly not intended to be to everyone’s tastes. Yet for those with a passion for left-field pop or fuzzy electro beats, there’s a lot to love here.