by Pete Weiss

Dan Deacon is many things: electronic composer, party-maker, Pitchfork golden boy. That last part might throw you, but make no mistake: Deacon is no mere hipster-flavor-of-the-month, as evidenced by his sprawling, ambitious second LP, Bromst. Deacon's ascent was a quick one; following a few years of almost constant touring and the release of several EPs (all available for free at dandeacon.com), his 2007 hit Spiderman of the Rings made him a critic's favorite. Following in the footsteps of minimalist composers like Terry Riley--who was known for using repetition to create states of ecstasy--Deacon is a music nerd for the masses. Add a singular flair for pop hooks and absurdism, and the man's got a winning formula.

With Bromst, Deacon takes the bag of tricks that helped make Spiderman's upbeat electronic pop songs so irresistible and pushes them into the background. The pitch-shifted vocals and programmed beats take a back seat to composition and structure. Deacon's got some new tricks up his sleeve, too--witness the opening track, "Build Voice", and its prominent use of a player piano jerry-rigged with a MIDI player. The vocals seem to be bubbling up from beneath the surface of a deep, dark body of water; the lyrics--like most of Deacon's--are mostly indecipherable, but what can be heard sounds kind of ominous, with frequent references to a "ghost". Gradually, over the course of five and a half minutes, the song builds to a satisfying climax. If it's a bit of a nitpick that most of the tracks on Bromst build in a similar way, it's also a testament to Deacon's unpredictability that this never gets boring.

Deacon injects a little more sadness into the proceedings this time around. He also pulls off the mean feat of making an album perfectly suited to the times we live in, painting a picture of humanity overcoming great obstacles. In "Snookered", he tones down the vocal distortions and brings the lyrics - for maybe the first time - right up into your ear. What you hear is simple, direct, a bit sad, and a lot honest:

Been down this road so many times
Feels like its skin is part of mine....
been wrong so many times before, but never quite like this....

With such a melancholy beginning, it's no surprise that the track eventually ends up in happy land. Finally, the sonic turmoil comes to a halt, and we're left with some lovely little glockenspiels to take us home. The effect is a warm, fuzzy feeling, and Deacon's earned it.

Bromst makes me excited for Dan Deacon's future. With limitless ambition and a willingness to take risks without ignoring the foundation of his success, Deacon seems ready to expand his musical universe even further, in ways that will no doubt be fascinating, unexpected, and a lot of fun.

Find up-to-date information on Dan Deacon's upcoming projects on his MySpace page and at Last.fm.