Spiderman of the Rings [Import]

Despite a silly title, whimsical lyrics, and playful compositions, Dan Deacon's "Spiderman of the Rings" is music one should definitely take seriously. The album is comprised of the sort of glitchy, electronic tinkering that made up Sufjan Stevens' second, pre-states album, "Year of the Rabbit." At the same time, Deacon's music has a much more playful feel than Sufjan's, as evidenced by the title of the album and the tracks it contains. The end result is a fun-filled album, that should not go unnoticed.

"Woody Woodpecker" starts the album off on a rather sour note, to be honest. Almost every second of this 4-minute song is plagued by a sample of the iconic cartoon character's grimace-inducing chuckle, repeated over and over. The song clearly serves as the introduction to "Spiderman of the Rings," as it lacks the focus and characteristics of the album's real songs. As such, it's distractiveness can be excused and easily skipped over. "The Crystal Cat" picks things up a notch, and introduces listeners to what will be an ongoing theme throughout the album; the utilization of squeaky pitch-shifted vocals. What Deacon is actually saying here is a mystery to me, though I get the feeling that what is actually said is less important than what role the vocal melody plays with everything else that is going on.

"Wham City" is a 12-minute epic that features what sounds like a Munchkin Choir singing "There is a mountain of snow across a big land. We have a castle enclosed, there is a fountain. Out of the fountain flows gold into a huge hand," and other ridiculous, though admirable lyrics. The song is constantly evolving throughout it's 12 minutes, even coming to a complete halt at one point, only to slowly rebuild into its opening theme once again. It is certainly an ambitious song, and as such, it is also the highlight of the album.

"Big Milk" is the moment on the album where Deacon sounds most like Sufjan Stevens ala "Year of the Rabbit." It is a mostly calm song that features a xylophone and serves as a much needed exhale to the song it follows. "Okie Dokie" finds Dan coming as close as he ever does to a full on sing-along as he repeats "I've got a rattlesnake gun" like a mantra. Other highlights on the album include "Snake Mistakes" and "Pink Batman," both of which are excellently composed and brilliantly executed by Deacon as he chooses the perfect sounds for each part of the songs. It's hard to imagine them sounding like anything else.

Overall, "Spiderman of the Rings" is anything but disappointing or ill-advised. Deacon comes off as a musician who slaves over his craft, spending hours locked away in his bedroom turning knobs, pushing buttons, and figuring out the perfect lyric for a 5-second segment. Despite his distinctly childish approach to songwriting, his songs are so intricate and complex that they are clearly made by someone who knows what he is doing. Though the talent displayed on the album is astronomical, I have a hard time believing in its longevity. It doesn't seem like an album that I can play repeatedly for weeks without growing tired of it. But it's hard to be disappointed when I know that the time I am able to devote to the album will be some of the most enjoyable I've had in recent memory. If anything, Dan Deacon has created something that you'll always have fond memories of, even if the appeal wears off too soon. Quite simply, it is something you'll have a hard time forgetting. That's a good thing.

Recommended for fans of Sufjan Stevens' "Enjoy Your Rabbit" and anybody who wants to relive the endless wonder of childhood in music form.

Key Tracks:
1. "Wham City"
2. "Okie Dokie"
3. "Snake Mistakes"
4. "Pink Batman"

7 out of 10 Stars

If you are really serious and only listen to really serious music then you will not enjoy this album. This cd makes you want to jump around and dance like a 3rd grader. I'm not going to write a review that sounds like I think I work for Pitchfork or anything because I don't. If you like having a smile on your face buy this album.

Spiderman of the Rings. One of the best albums of 2007, and for many different reasons. I can't possibly hope to outline all of these reasons here, however I will go over the most important of them. Dan Deacon's music is like nothing else. If this music came out of stuff he pulled out of a dumpster, then damn do I want to dive into a dumpster. This music comes from a mind whose style of thinking has never before been seen.

"Wooody Wooodpecker" serves as a perfect introduction to the album, combining everything that Dan Deacon stands for into one song, thus sorting out who is truly in the right mindset to listen to this album. And yes, what he stands for may be absurd, but it is beautiful in its absurdity. The implacable laugh of Woody Woodpecker will keep me up for ages to come, and with the ever-growing cascade of dramatic synthesized chords to go along with it, this song sounds like the auditory equivalent of having everything you thought you knew about your childhood's cartoons destroyed.

"The Crystal Cat" combines Dan Deacon's noise-rock background with his new affinity for pop music, and the result is sheer ecstatic dancyness. The high-pitched squeaky refrain, although its words will likely remain a mystery to most, can set joy into the heart of any listener. The video for this song is amazing as well, so don't miss it.

"Wham City" is the defining moment of Dan Deacon's musical development: a 12-minute epic with multiple movements, solos, and synthesized rhythms, all set to lyrics that evoke a feeling of unity between man and nature: "There is a mountain of snow, up past the big glen / we have a castle enclosed, there is a fountain / out of the fountain flows gold, into a huge hand / that hand's a-held by a bear, who has a sick band" This piece is the true definition of an epic, and will change your entire view of music forever.

"Big Milk" takes things down a notch. It's presented as a drawn-out, constantly developing xylophone-'n-synth piece that, like the other instrumentals on this album, "Pink Batman" and "Jimmy Joe Roche", eventually gets so complicated that it falls in on itself and starts itself from the beginning.

"Okie Dokie," "Trippy Green Skull," and "Snake Mistakes" are some of the most interestingly crafted electronic pop songs I've heard in ages, and this is in no small part due to the fact that the vocals and backing vocals are altered so much that they become totally incomprehensible. "Trippy Green Skull" is truly a sight to be seen in concert, as Deacon often comes to the apex of his interaction with the crowd, sometimes engaging them in competitive dance. "Snake Mistakes" has a vocoder solo that must be heard to believe, and it's all about "the coolest dad in dad school."

There can be no other more obvious reasons to purchase this album. The only better thing to do would be to purchase it AND see Deacon in concert.