Everything Dan Deacon does makes me question the limits of my own perception. Like, is there any realistic way I can hear all the things he is synthesizing or understand the potentially philosophical undertones of his lyrics delivered in a distorted, sometimes chipmunky warble? Never before today, however, had I thought there would be an appropriate visual analog that would hit me quite as hard as Deacon’s music.
The music video for “When I Was Done Dying”, completed in cooperation with Adult Swim, is quilt of iridescent, effervescent, spare, squiggly, and absurd sequences that follow the central narrative of the song (which itself is trippy, as you can tell by the title). Completed by nine different animators and stitched together, the video is easily one of my favorite of the year, and true to Dan Deacon’s perception bending tendencies. Ostensibly about plumbing the depths of your own mind, the visuals get increasingly more hallucinogenic and abstract the deeper the song takes you. It’s a fully engrossing experience that should sell you on his fantastic new album. If you have not yet had the pleasure of enjoying his latest album, Gliss Riffer, please avail yourself of its bizzare jubilation as soon as you possibly can.
And of course, shout out to these awesome animators: In chronological order of their sequences, they are Jake Fried, Chad VanGaalen, Dimitri Stankowicz, Colin White, Tara Hrabowsky, Anthony Schepperd, Masanobu Hiraoka, Caleb Wood, and KOKOFREAKBEAN. Hats off to these fine women and men for a truly fantastic visual experience.
