''Mystic Familiar'' is the fifth studio album by the American

electronic Electronic may refer to: *Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductor * ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal *Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device *Electronic co ...

musician

Dan Deacon Daniel Deacon (born August 28, 1981) is an American composer and electronic musician based in Baltimore, Maryland. Deacon is renowned for his live shows, where large-scale audience participation and interaction is often a major element of the pe ...

Background

''Mystic Familiar'' marked Dan Deacon's first solo studio record since 2015's ''

Gliss Riffer ''Gliss Riffer'' is the fourth studio album by American electronic musician Dan Deacon. It was released on February 25, 2015, on Domino Records. Background The album's title is combination of the common music term "Gliss", short for glissando, ...

''. In the intervening years, Deacon had toured heavily and focused on other collaborative projects such as the 2017 ballet ''

The Times Are Racing ''The Times Are Racing'' is a one-act ballet by Justin Peck, to "USA I-IV" from Dan Deacon's album '' America'', with costumes designed by Humberto Leon from the fashion label Opening Ceremony and lighting design by Brandon Stirling Baker. It ...

'' with

New York City Ballet New York City Ballet (NYCB) is a ballet company founded in 1948 by choreographer George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein. Balanchine and Jerome Robbins are considered the founding choreographers of the company. Léon Barzin was the company' ...

resident choreographer

Justin Peck Justin Peck (born September 8, 1987) is an American choreographer, director, and dancer associated with New York City Ballet, of which he was appointed Resident Choreographer in July 2014, being the second person in the history of the instituti ...

, a 2019 performance with the

Baltimore Symphony Orchestra The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Baltimore SO has its principal residence at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, where it performs more than 130 concerts a year. In 2005, it bega ...

, and scoring feature films such as Theo Anthony's ''

Rat Film ''Rat Film'' is a 2016 documentary directed by American filmmaker Theo Anthony employing techniques of essay and collage. Plot The documentary uses rat infestation in Baltimore as a starting point to explore issues of segregation, redlining, ...

'' and Finlay Pretsell's ''

Time Trial In many racing sports, an athlete (or occasionally a team of athletes) will compete in a time trial against the clock to secure the fastest time. The format of a time trial can vary, but usually follow a format where each athlete or team sets off at ...

''. Deacon also produced and co-wrote the 2018 album ''

Riddles A riddle is a statement, question or phrase having a double or veiled meaning, put forth as a puzzle to be solved. Riddles are of two types: ''enigmas'', which are problems generally expressed in metaphorical or allegorical language that requ ...

'' by

Ed Schrader's Music Beat Ed Schrader's Music Beat is an American two piece rock duo of Ed Schrader and Devlin Rice from Baltimore, Maryland. According to The Boston Hassle, the duo has "a gas pedal/brake pedal sonic narrative, careening without warning between cross-eyed ...

. In addition to finding new inspiration in these collaborative projects, during the recording of ''Mystic Familiar'' Deacon had begun regular practices of meditation and therapy, and began to use the

Oblique Strategies Oblique Strategies (subtitled ''Over One Hundred Worthwhile Dilemmas'') is a card-based method for promoting creativity jointly created by musician/artist Brian Eno and multimedia artist Peter Schmidt, first published in 1975. Physically, it takes ...

cards created by Brian Eno and Peter Schmidt as creative prompts. Deacon has also cited David Lynch and his book ''

Catching the Big Fish ''Catching the Big Fish: Meditation, Consciousness, and Creativity'', a book by film director David Lynch, is an autobiography and self-help guideWilliams, Alex (December 31, 2006)"David Lynch's Shockingly Peaceful Inner Life" ''The New York Tim ...

'' as an inspiration on the writing and recording of ''Mystic Familiar''.

Release

A first video from the album, for the song "Sat by a Tree" starring

Aparna Nancherla Aparna Nancherla (born August 22, 1982) is an American comedian and actress of Indian descent. She has appeared on '' Inside Amy Schumer'' and has written for ''Late Night with Seth Meyers'' and '' Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell''. Nancherla ...

, was released October 29, 2019. The second single from ''Mystic Familiar'', "Become a Mountain," was released on January 13, 2020, with a video by animation studio Rapapawn.

Reception

In his review for

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

(in which its editorial staff rated the album 4 stars), Paul Simpson characterized ''Mystic Familiar'' as Deacon's return to "majestically arranged synth pop," characterizing its arrangements as "driving and full of excitement" and finding the album's lyrical themes of nature and inner peace "encouraging and empowering without relying on self-help clichés." For '' Under the Radar'', Scott Dransfield noted that ''Mystic Familiar'' is "far and away his most personal work yet," and concluded that "the best thing about ''Mystic Familiar'' is how the beautiful composition of the music reinforces the power of the lyrics' message."

Track listing

All tracks are written, produced, and mixed by

. "Bumble Bee Crown King" is co-written by

Dustin Wong Dustin Wong is an American guitarist formerly active in the art-rock band Ponytail and a former member of the experimental guitar duo, Ecstatic Sunshine (along with Matthew Papich). Biography Wong's style is characterized by influences of surf ...

References

{{Authority control 2020 albums Dan Deacon albums Domino Recording Company albums

Background

Release

Reception

Track listing

See also

References