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10.0
45401
10.0 |
The Irish Times
The album is split in two, the furious-sounding Side-A and the epic Side-B (which houses USA I-IV, an introspective, four-part composition, and among the best, most complex things he has ever done)
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9.1
45439
9.1 |
Pretty Much Amazing
America is not as joyous as Spiderman of the Rings or as eclectic as Bromst, but it is ultimately more affecting; and it seems to be most accurate reflection yet of who Dan Deacon really is
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9.1
45528
9.1 |
A.V. Club
Much of the album gushes in celebration of our scenic grandeur: His songs are car windows through which towering mountains, endless plains, and spacious desert race past
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9.0
45671
9.0 |
PopMatters
Avoids the bloat of other concept albums by not trying to encompass all of America in cylindrical vinyl. The perspective here is Deacon’s alone
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9.0
45883
9.0 |
No Ripcord
While this expedition may be absolutely overwhelming at times, it’s ultimately much worth the trip
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9.0
49015
9.0 |
All Music
Free and emotionally invigorating
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9.0
45443
9.0 |
Loud And Quiet
The result is like Fuck Buttons filtered through Aaron Copeland and Steve Reich at their most bucolic. An idiosyncratic, heroic treat
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8.5
45434
8.5 |
Under The Radar
Deacon stretches the borders of his songcraft to the limit and it's a joy to hear a showman pushing every part of an orchestra like an overheating laptop
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8.5
45502
8.5 |
Prefix
America could be the sound of Dan Deacon growing up, of a producer assuming the distinguished new title of composer
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8.4
45505
8.4 |
Beats Per Minute
That it comes off sounding like an adventure is perhaps its most supreme accomplishment
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8.0
45544
8.0 |
Entertainment.ie
America is an exuberant and ambitious work that reveals Deacon as a candidate for musical visionary status. Highly recommended
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8.0
45583
8.0 |
Blurt
Though at times his music may be difficult to sink your teeth into, it only takes a few listens to hear that, despite his unorthodox approach, Deacon is creating experimental music that is actually based on some basic pop principles
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8.0
46909
8.0 |
Tone Deaf
If you are open minded enough to appreciate the message, not the medium, America is an inspired, if somewhat uncomfortable, uplifting experience
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8.0
45672
8.0 |
The Quietus
A dash of extra variety, and an increasing ability to transform clever layers of sound into well-structured songs, make this his best contribution to date
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8.0
45760
8.0 |
State
Bold and all encompassing, it’s the nearest thing you’ll get to the Great American Novel in audio form
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8.0
45650
8.0 |
Art Rocker
From the outset, feels like a much more 'grown up record'
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8.0
45663
8.0 |
musicOMH
If Deacon wasn't a force to be reckoned with before, then by gum, he is now
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8.0
45318
8.0 |
Drowned In Sound
The complexity of the music’s origins and construction never obfuscates its overall impact
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8.0
45488
8.0 |
Consequence Of Sound
There should only be reveling in the achievement, the artistic growth, and the pleasure of the experience. This is a sonic representation of the grandeur of America as it stands, a classically inspired composition built with all the tools available
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8.0
45413
8.0 |
NME
Splicing Fuck Buttons with Sigur Ros in a state-of-the-union address. Print edition only
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8.0
45414
8.0 |
Uncut
A dense and enormously ambitious work that leaves no musical stone unturned. Print edition only
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8.0
45420
8.0 |
The Fly
A cleverly pieced-together collage of thundering drums, airy harmonies and shimmering keys; all dreamily frenetic like a blissed out Fuck Buttons – that’s a very, very brilliant thing
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8.0
45423
8.0 |
DIY
As with all Dan Deacon albums, ‘America’ is a challenging listen and at times the sheer amount of things going on becomes a bit much, however it is also a supremely powerful album from a musician at the very top of his game
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8.0
45426
8.0 |
Independent on Sunday
Deacon flips back and forth from twinkling synths and glockenspiels to dirty beats and distorted guitars, like The Polyphonic Spree or Flaming Lips remixed by Death In Vegas or Filthy Dukes
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8.0
45428
8.0 |
The Observer
A musical reaction to strife and scandal that comes from a quarter where pretension often trumps fun, America is that unlikeliest of things: a feelgood summer album
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8.0
45320
8.0 |
The Skinny
A triumph, for sure – America is perhaps more vast and complex than even Deacon had anticipated
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8.0
45324
8.0 |
Mojo
Its 12 eclectic essays weaving between pell-mell electronics, soaring chamber music, clamorous dance-pop. Print edition only
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8.0
45326
8.0 |
Q
Music that booms and thrums with deep digital bass and gargantuan, speeding dance beats. Print edition only
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7.8
45579
7.8 |
Paste Magazine
America is still undoubtedly an epic, but maybe not the world-addressing opus that Deacon might’ve wanted to make.
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7.5
45396
7.5 |
Bowlegs
It seems Deacon has found true inspiration from his homeland, constructing a record that, for the second half at least, soars beyond the disposable fun for something far more meaningful
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7.5
45317
7.5 |
The Line Of Best Fit
As much as his past should be revisited and appreciated, America might be remembered as the moment Dan Deacon discovered his future
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7.1
45604
7.1 |
Pitchfork
An album of big gestures and arresting noises, but it's also a mistake to come to it expecting the fizzy thrills of Spiderman or even the dark communal playfulness of Bromst
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7.0
45319
7.0 |
Clash
His brash, glitchy, inimitable sound is once again a winner
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6.0
45440
6.0 |
The Arts Desk
Deacon’s state of the nation address is conflicted and often impenetrable. Like the country itself
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5.0
45530
5.0 |
Rolling Stone
Busy, bombastic electro-classical clatter
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