deacon lf is a producer from Brooklyn who has been releasing music for about the last five years. Most notably, he teamed up with emcee JB Nimble to release the album Bunny in 2020. Since that time, he’s released a few singles and remixes, but now he returns with a new full-length album, Spaceydanceymoodybroody.

Spaceydanceymoodybroody is an album that sneaks up on you, seeming quite simple and straightforward at first, and then before you know it, you’re at the end of a hell of a musical ride. Composed with a combination of sample-based production and synthesizers, deacon lf was interested in exploring the lines between hip hop and dance music with this project, but I’d throw some trip hop, downtempo, experimental electronic music, and psychedelic in the mix as well. Basically, deacon lf threw the rulebook out and just went with his feelings as he worked his way through the album, trusting his gut and his experience to figure out what works. What’s really impressive about this is the way that deacon lf works all of it in so subtly, so that you’re just in the mix as its all happening, enjoying it and taking it all in, and then when it comes to a close, you can take a step back and process all of the different moving parts in this album. On top of all this, deacon lf also found room to get to the heart of the “moody” and “broody” part of the album as well. Written through a tumultuous period of his life that involved sobriety, therapy, break ups and self-determination, a major part of what makes the complexity of the album work so well is that deacon lf is putting so much of himself into this project. It’s an album that is really best listened to one-on-one, where you can really give it your full attention and soak it all in, because deacon lf is giving you so much emotional and intellectual information to process throughout.

Spaceydanceymoodybroody is a hell of an instrumental album. deacon lf has made a huge leap forward in his career with this one, giving you really thoughtful compositions that can’t be pinned down, taking you on one absolutely gorgeous emotional journey, and delivering a message of self-care and determination in the process.