Dan Deacon is a natural at creating expansive soundscapes, so it was inevitable that at some point he would end up scoring an indie film. His soundtrack for Theo Anthony’s documentary on the history of Baltimore does exactly what fans have come to expect from Deacon: build an auditory universe that provides room for endless exploration. The music takes the listener on a journey that could be through Baltimore, but could just as easily work in many other settings, from the Alaskan wilderness to a Portland coffee shop.
As it is a film score, this piece from Deacon is completely instrumental. But much like a picture is worth a thousand words, the music alone fills the absence of prose, and no lyrics are necessary to tell a story in the listener’s mind. Although this music was built for the purpose of complementing the movie, it functions nicely as a stand alone record as well. Many people view instrumental records as background music – something to create ambiance or set a certain mood. But the Rat Film soundtrack can also be digested via active listening: it is just as worthy of a listener’s full attention as any of Dan Deacon’s non-instrumental albums.
This contribution to Deacon’s catalogue is certainly different from previous work. Traditionally, Deacon as a wordy artist. His most popular hit, “When I Was Done Dying,” off of 2015’s Gliss Riffer, is packed with more lyrics than a Bob Dylan song. But the new side of Deacon that appears on Rat Film is still every bit as valid as his previous work. It gives listeners a chance to just appreciate Deacon’s music and the worlds he can create without saying a single word.
