Dan Deacon - Mystic Familiar

January 31, 2020 - Domino

But it is out of my control

What this world wants there to be told of me

In time

— Dan Deacon

I hugged Dan Deacon once, in the middle of a sweaty night many identities ago in Knoxville, Tennessee.

We didn’t specifically wait for him to leave the venue. We just ran into him on the sidewalk alone after his show while walking back to where our car was parked. The space around us was expansive, and civilization was minimal. The moment was approachable, easy. I was 19 and enamored with how weirdly wonderful music could get, learning from someone ten years my senior whose name came up during art school acquaintances. I decided between those moments of social exploration to become an acolyte and go see him perform live. A performance where I learned how important it is for a performance artist to understand the truth: the audience is at least fifty percent of the experience of art. If you ignore this truth, authenticity in your work will always elude you. 

What’s funny about all of that is that I often hear Dan Deacon criticized for making prickly psychedelic music with energy that is hard to digest and gives normal people headaches. And, the worst criticism: music for recreational drug use. While I personally never found him prickly as someone who did not experiment with many drugs, I was already a kinder audience because I experimented with art instead. Artists listen to sounds over and over again for hours waiting to learn something from the experience. We have a tendency to be obsessive. Our world is about being open, a channel. I know the general public has compulsions too, but rarely is it aware of those compulsions or seeking them out with awareness of the quest. Few really know what’s going on when they take a selfie and post it on the web, asking subconsciously what Dan Deacon asks, “Will I seize it or scroll?”

Mystic Familiar is the approachable Dan Deacon I met, but for the masses. He’s wearing a suit now. He’s more reserved and therefore cool and trustworthy. The sounds still glitter, a signature, but the colors he signs his name with are a bit more subdued. There is contrast between the neon, just enough punky vocals to keep it grounded, imperfect instrumentation but more clarity in the compositions. He’s ambling in a rhythmic step through the chaos with intention. It’s still thick pasta, but he threw all that pasta at the wall and learned how to shamelessly let go of what didn’t stick immediately. The eclectic optimism feels more focused now, more tender and intimate and emotionally open. A giddy, refreshing attitude beaconing in today’s world. I dare you to stay unhappy while listening to this album. Listening could cure COVID-19. This is Dan Deacon’s coping strategy in a place where we are stuck suffering. He learned how to face the horrific real and survive to tell the tale. Bravo to that! ☔