Get ready to forget everything you know about electronic music, because bespectacled, Baltimore-based programmer, arranger and electronic artist Dan Deacon is about to change it all.

Deacon’s 2007 breakthrough album Spiderman of the Rings carved him a place in the electronic music scene. In 2008, Rolling Stone credited Baltimore as the “Best Scene” because of Deacon’s influence, calling him one of the “People and Places that make Charm City a hotbed for rap and art rock.” On his second full-length album, Bromst, Deacon focuses his musical efforts, and the result is an album that’s slightly more subdued but just as much fun.

Bromst was partially recorded live with the help of members of other Baltimore-based bands, including Ponytail and Future Islands. The remainder of the album was recorded at Snow Ghost, a house-turned-recording studio where Deacon’s boundary-pushing experimentation exceeded the possibilities of even the best recording equipment — apparently the player piano he used had to be rewired to keep up with his beats.

Deacon rose to fame can be attributed to his rave-like one-man live shows, during which he gets down with the crowd and demands audience participation. However, he is more than just a talented party animal; he completed both college and grad school at the Conservatory of Music at SUNY Purchase before moving to Baltimore. This spring, Deacon is changing his frenetic stage act to showcase his musical training, touring in support of Bromst with a 14-piece band.

Pitchfork calls the album “music for getting lost inside your own head.” This is especially true of its most epic track, the winding, eight-minute-long “Snookered.” It’s easy to lose yourself in the density of these songs, but the album is still playful and whimsical.

Certainly the most striking aspect of Bromst is its layers. With each track, Deacon builds sound on top of sound, all rushing together to try and claim the listener’s attention. For example, synthesizers and mallet percussion steal the show on “Red F,” while the pounding, steady beat on “Of the Mountains” is sprinkled with cartoonish noises and ’90s video game style explosions.

“Baltihorse” is the album’s most distinctive track, and with its combination of twinkling instruments, speedy synthesizers and cartoon vocals, its beat resembles the galloping of a horse. Deacon utilizes vocals on almost every track, whether they sound like pagan chants, aliens or Alvin and the Chipmunks.

The album’s closer, “Get Older,” sounds like a party compared to the rest of Bromst, but its title suggests what the album proves true — that Deacon is maturing musically.

While in many ways it defies classification, Bromst is a solid electronica album. Its complexity and intesity never wane; Bromst entertains all the way through. Deacon’s sophomore album may be more structured, but he will still have Madison dancing when he hits the stage at the Majestic in May.

4 stars out of 5.