Gliss Riffer may not be the next step many expected after America, but it leaves no doubt he remains a force to be reckoned with in indie electronic, creating smart and satisfying work with a stubbornly individual perspective.
Regardless of his angle of attack, all the tracks here share the pop-tune-drenched-in-ephemera approach that has worked so well for him and the likes of Panda Bear previously.
Dan Deacon decided to scale back for Gliss Riffer, resulting in his most intimate — but still deliriously fun — album yet.
Each cut is massaged with the global sense of rhythm that first reared its head on 2009's excellent Bromst, producing a rich tapestry of arrangements that finds Deacon extending his reach further still.
This is a record that shrugs off some of the grandiosity of America and instead offers more detail and smaller, more nuanced yet easily interpreted emotions within a relatively familiar context.
Gliss Riffer offers just enough hooky material to entice you and make you dance, but you still need to work hard to gain even an inkling of understanding into Deacon’s vision.
Gliss Riffer offers some of the purest pop pleasures Deacon has done, yet they’re fused to an album that comes across as deeply anxious and unsettled, a mixture that makes for a fractious listening experience.
More than a return-to-form album, Gliss Riffer simply feels like an exploration of a more pared-back, intuitive way of working.
Gliss Riffer may well be Dan Deacon's Most Personal Album Yet ™, but that means very little when it's so similar - in ways that are both positive and negative - to what came before it.
Gliss Riffer is by far his most successful (and, incidentally, most accessible) full-length, but it’s just shy of being a masterpiece.
It’s by no means Deacon’s most accessible work, then, but long-time fans will likely be thrilled.
Such a fun ass record...just too bad the two finishing tracks are overly long and the weakest of the album. But the highs are really high and essential listening for Indietronica fans, don't sleep on this one!
Old Rating: 78
Verdict: Some amazing tracks I'll never stop revisiting, just not a record I play front to back. The last 15 minutes of the album really deviate from the vibe.
Favorite Tracks: When I Was Done Dying, Feel The Lightning, Learning to Relax
great tunes and a silky vibe. this is how indietronica should be done. a really fun listen. when you hear track one you just have to scream "BONNIE McMURRAY!!!" and quite oddly, track three sounds exactly like some song I heard 33 years ago. weird.
I think i've heard 3-rd track on Adult Swim or another short cartoon project
It's great! Album is great too! But slightly less
Good divorce album
This album is interesting to me because it contains my 2 absolute favourite dan deacon songs, and then literally the rest of 3-10 are all on his other album "Mystic Familiar." The other songs are great too but man, When I Was Done Dying is one of the most electric and exciting tracks I've ever heard and all the unique assortments of sounds on "Meme Generator" make for an incredibly unique listen through. It sounds like a Pogo song.
TOP 3 SONGS: Meme Generator, When I Was ... read more
MonKy Remembers 8.5/10 🍌
Old Review-
(This is a very nostalgic album for me. It was around when I was one of my first favorite albums, along with Congratulations by MGMT. Just a solid album overall, with a few skips. The non-skips tho,, HIT HARD.)
New Review-
(JUST RELISTENED TO THIS, AND THIS IS A MONOLITHIC PROJECT. It's beautiful and makes you feel so good. Please give this more love NO WAY this is at a 72 rn)
Favorites:
Feel the Lightning
When I Was Done Dying
Meme Generator
Learning ... read more
1 | Feel the Lightning 4:53 | 95 |
2 | Sheathed Wings 4:08 | 90 |
3 | When I Was Done Dying 4:19 | 100 |
4 | Meme Generator 4:31 | 95 |
5 | Mind on Fire 3:51 | 90 |
6 | Learning to Relax 6:44 | 90 |
7 | Take It to the Max 7:48 | 90 |
8 | Steely Blues 7:35 | 90 |
#15 | / | Consequence of Sound |
#41 | / | Under the Radar |
#53 | / | Gigwise |