Dan Deacon -- Spiderman of the Rings

Usually, here on recordreviews.org, we try to review albums in the week they come out. That rule is in place, because popular music is inherently disposable -- what's the point of writing a review of a month old album just to tell people it's awesome or it sucks. By that time, most people have already made their own call.

I've made an exception here for Dan Deacon, because Spiderman of the Rings is the kind of album most people will never hear and it is one of the most joyous musical experiences of year. It's passionate, exuberant and one of the best things I've heard since I started this site. I've been meaning to write about it, I like it better all the time, so I'm making sure I get this review out in the ether.

Like many people, I first heard of Dan Deacon via this odd little internet video from several years ago (before You Tube made everyone famous). It's Dan playing music "really cool 6 year olds would write if they had this stuff" on Good Morning Savannah with a very respectful host and a weather report in the middle. I thought it was interesting, but I didn't necessarily see this panning out to bigger and better things -- this seemed like a likely career peak.

Two or three years later we have Spiderman of the Rings with songs like "Okie Dokie" -- an infectious electonica wonder with a chorus that defies you to forget it. If you've heard it, you're probably singing "I've got a rattlesnake gun" and "I've got an aerosmith gun"¹ right now. And why the hell not. This is a song that at it's core, is about having fun -- something virtually lost on most recording artists today, who are either dour, preaching over consumption, or choking on their own intellect or clever popstar aspirations.

Not that the music is stupid -- it just plays stupid in the vein of the best of Devo -- who would never be confused with actual ignorance. In fact, the best compliment by way of analogy I can pay this album is that it sounds very much like the score to an unreleased Wes Anderson Movie about Wayne Coyne's dreams, composed by Mark Mothersbaugh.

Take this little review as my apology for not reviewing this album earlier and if you've already got it, well then you know what I'm talking about.

Rating: 5/5

-Gorilla

_{¹I have no idea what an Aerosmith gun is or where one could be appropriated. Is it for hunting Aerosmiths? Does it fire Aerosmiths? Projectile Joe Perrys to win the war on terror? I do know however, that I would like to buy an Aerosmith gun, if you know where to get one.}