Dan Deacon - Time Trial

Dan Deacon
Time Trial
2018
Spotify

Since 2015's Gliss Riffer Dan Deacon has been relatively quiet. One previous soundtrack before this one was all He has released since his last album, leaving people wondering if He would ever return. Well, return He has, but with yet another soundtrack this time for the film Time Trial a documentary about the last year of David Millar's professional cycling career. Deacon who is know for his experimental electronics. His mission is to get the crowd unified in their enjoyment of the music, create one unified force of will while listening. Gliss Riffer found this place and created this space where everyone bought in to what He was doing. I saw Dan perform live at Festival Supreme one year and the way He directed the audience like mad, having them perform different dances and movements while the capitulated with glee. This record however is not about those things, it's about creating an evocative soundtrack that can transport you to the moments the director is trying to reach. Dan Deacon starts to take more of a Photay shape on this album, leaving a lot more room for air to be breathed into this tracks. This music surrounds you in a soundscape, creating a fully immersive experience. "The Peloton" has this disparate vocals skittering in and out of existence that just elevate the music to a whole other plane of listening.

"The Melee" is one of the most compelling tracks on the record as Deacon uses bells and chimes to create this frantic tension, until is eventually descends into utter electronic fuzz and chaos. Bringing all these sounds and vibes together feels like a masterclass in balancing. It's really nice the way Dan goes from an extremely emotional crowded mix into more minimal techno offerings, then back again. "The Breakaway" has this wonderful techno beat that swells and wiggles until it fully blooms into a this wonderfully diverse track. The song has crossover potential as you could see it being part of any one of Dan's previous albums. The thing that you are really left with when hearing this is why has it taken so long for him to do another solo record. The pieces are all here for something really special, but as a soundtrack Time Trial is likely to just sort of fall by the wayside. Sure some soundtracks breakthrough, but that is usually because they play on some nostalgia rather than creating something new. This is a solid record, regardless of what other media it is tied to and shows what Dan Deacon can really do. Let's just hope He does more of it.

8.0 out of 10