This week's Electronica CD reviewed

DAN DEACON

Bromst/ Car Park***

Dan Deacon is the Baltimore-based dude with the flashing green neon skull and a fine handle on high- octane, cartoonish, electropunk party beats. That musical palette, and Deacon's own desire to make the live show a communal happening, means his live gigs often turn into an hour at the playground. While most of the focus has been on those nutty live shows, his previous album Spiderman of the Rings showed that Deacon is also a dab hand at managing and manipulating sounds in the studio. There's more than a passing nod to his electro-acoustic compositional background on Bromst. Some of the ideas (such as the repetitive wailing on Wet Wings) could have come from the Steve Reich playbook. Yet Deacon's ability to bring the psych-pop noise is never far away, and there's enough electronic defiance on Getting Olderand, especially, Snookeredto keep the party going long into the night. www.myspace.com/dandeacon

JIM CARROLL

Download tracks: Snookered, Wet Wings