Deacon is from Tulsa but now lives in Nashville and he proudly claims to have written, recorded and performed over 700 songs.
Aside from this prolific output, the rampant cut and paste tendencies at work on this long, sprawling album suggest an artist with a lively imagination and an out of control record collection.
The (self) conscious mixing of genres is flagged up by his own tongue in cheek track by track guide where he manages to name check soul, hip-hop, funk, psychedelic garage, metal, prog-rock and 60s pop. Given this wide range of competing styles and influences, it will come as no surprise to learn that any notion of a coherent theme or style on the album is sacrificed in the name of eclecticism. This doesn't make it a bad record, just one that takes time to get a firm handle on.
The mash up tendency is evident on a track called ' 19' where a rap is interspersed with a cover version of The Beatles' Day In The Life. Similarly, Fun To Die and Death of Us All shows this cross fertilisation at work as elements of both Lenny Kravitz and Sonic Youth are thrown into the blender.
The deliberate contrast between style and content is another aspect of many songs. A prime example comes on 'What This World Is Doing To Me' where the vintage synth soul groove, which seems more adapted to love song, is the backdrop to guest vocalist Sinistar's withering rant on the depressing state of the planet: " Every single day we hear the same old shit See the same old shit, Talk the same old shit".
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Deacon's approach is not new, of course, genre-benders from Prince to Beck have excelled in this territory and Brian Wilson drew from myriad sources to create his hybrid pop tunes. He's not in their league (he wishes!) and I confess that on first hearing, I found it all a little too dead pan and self consciously post everything. Gradually, however, it struck me as a project which redeems itself by some skilled song writing and one which succeeds in challenging the listener to break the habit of trying to pigeon hole the sound.
There's a twisted logic to the work and this a confident album bordering on the downright arrogant. With a playing time of over two hours in total, he and his chosen cohorts do inevitably yield to the temptation to show off at times.
Some more ruthless editing would have helped his cause, even though this would be diametrically opposed to his philosophy that nothing succeeds like excess.
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