Deerhunter
Microcastle
2008
Deerhunter are in many ways a quintessential representation of how people listen to music after the millennial turn. Bradford Cox, Pitchfork darling and frontman for Deerhunter, has been promoting his music via blogs for quite some time now and has essentially fashioned his own success through it. In a world where listening to music is no longer worth paying for, Bradford has found his temple of musical youth and he could pop out these psych-pop gems for years.
With Deerhunter's second record they've lessened the fog to a haze and let the compositions breathe. Tracks like "Never Stop" and "Nothing Ever Happened" show the group displaying their Stereolab-style propulsive rhythms alongside Bradford's infectious melodies. While they may have began as a noise-quintet outta Atlanta, they've repeatedly and insistently been trying to tell us they've been a submerged pop band all along. Now that the veil has been lifted, it all seemed so obvious. A colleague of mine likes to talk of Cox as some sort of heir to the Thurston Moore cultural-throne. As time goes on, it's possible his influence could become something similar. Now let's just hope he starts a label, writes a few books and collaborates with some noisy dudes in Oslo. -S.R.
With Deerhunter's second record they've lessened the fog to a haze and let the compositions breathe. Tracks like "Never Stop" and "Nothing Ever Happened" show the group displaying their Stereolab-style propulsive rhythms alongside Bradford's infectious melodies. While they may have began as a noise-quintet outta Atlanta, they've repeatedly and insistently been trying to tell us they've been a submerged pop band all along. Now that the veil has been lifted, it all seemed so obvious. A colleague of mine likes to talk of Cox as some sort of heir to the Thurston Moore cultural-throne. As time goes on, it's possible his influence could become something similar. Now let's just hope he starts a label, writes a few books and collaborates with some noisy dudes in Oslo. -S.R.
I disagree with Phil. This band isn't about the lyrics, it's about the atmoshpere created by washes of layered melodies. The lyrics are appropriately more abstract rather than story telling and I can't imagine what else would better compliment their soundscape. I like this album becuase it reminds me of spinning with my eyes closed. And anything that takes me away from reality is on my A-list.
ReplyDeleteWell put, I'm glad someone other than me defended this one.
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