skip to main |
skip to sidebar
Deerhunter are personal favourites of mine, Cryptograms and Microcastle are never to far from my stereo, so when they swing through town it’s a must. This time they come to The Cockpit a venue I’ve not ventured into for a gig for around four years, maybe more. As venues go it’s not really my bag and Deerhunter have always gone down a treat at probably my favourite venue for bands in Leeds, The Brudenell Social Club. But they’ll bring me out on a muggy night midweek whatever... They’re doing a quick tour as warm-up for their slot at the ATP festival and slipping in the odd new song into their sets, which should wet your appetite if like me your hoping they whip out an album at some point this year, fingers crossed.
Support comes in the form of The Fresh & Onlys from San Francisco, a band I’d only stumbled upon a few days before when wondering about who else was playing. They sound a bit countrified in a blue grass meets noisy garage rock or psychedelic punk kind of way on myspace, and in the flesh that was toned down a bit and sounded more like straight up US bar room rock: A spaced out, pretty melodic yet raw set of tracks. They left me intrigued but not overly excited.
Deerhunter came out loud and in full effect, oceans of noise, layers of atmosphere. Really living up to the ambient-punk tag, I’ve seen them chat about, more than ever. The crowd either seemed detached or tired due to the midweek slot or the massive sounds the band created, meaning the band and crowd found it hard to connect. This didn’t stop it from sounding awesome though, they just did things a little more laid back, prolonged and spaced out, in almost Krautrock jam-like freakouts. This really stood out on ‘Nothing Ever Happened’ and the encore, which culminated in some serious noise, and looping feedback after a brilliant sample/speech from god knows who. The rest is a haze of feedback, bopping, Bradford’s English accent impression and talk of the election… oh yeah and more music, echoes of ‘Helicopters’ a new track you can hear online now via the Marc Riley show on 6music... A Patti Smith cover or mention of one, maybe not? They just said something about her on stage. A post-punk funked-up dubbed-out INXS meets Jay-Z’s ‘99 Problems’ version of ‘Rainwater Cassette Exchange’, you bet. Some of these may have only happened in my head… Like the one that I thought sounded a bit like ‘Under The Sea’ from The Little Mermaid film minus steel drums and comedy Lobster. It really did have a washed out aquatic vibe going on though, ummm. New track, probably ‘Fountain Stairs’ if forums are correct and the appearance of an old track from Turn It Up Faggot, ‘Adorno’, I’m pretty sure I’ve never heard any of that era’s material live until now so that was a bonus. ‘Little Kids’ and ‘Cryptograms’ sounded as fresh as ever as did the beautifully catchy ‘Cover Me (Slowly)/Agoraphobia’. All in all Deerhunter brought it and brightened up my Wednesday night with some ambient-punk bliss, they remain one of the leading lights in my indie world.
Leeds set list/picture thanks to Lewis, check out the cool story behind it here.Intro / Cryptograms / Never Stops / Fountain Stairs / Little Kids / Rainwater Cassette Exchange / Cover Me (Slowly) / Agoraphobia / Operation / Hazel St / Nothing Ever Happens / Helicopter / Vox Celeste / Adorno / Encores: Dr Glass / Calvary Scars
…Before I go, grab some Deerhunter goodies over at their blog, Micromix 26 a selection of killer tracks from Chris Bell to Sun Ra. And the too good to pass up: Carve your Initials Into The Walls Of The Night, an early limited CD-R which just features Moses and Bradford playing with tapes as an early incarnation of the band in 2005.Download: Deerhunter – Micromix 26Download – Deerhunter – Carve Your Initials Into The Walls Of The Nighthttp://www.myspace.com/thefreshonlyshttp://www.myspace.com/deerhunterhttp://deerhuntertheband.blogspot.com/
The album that nearly wasn’t… Logos lives and sees the light of day after the kafuffle of the demos accidentally leaking and Bradford Cox (the man behind Atlas Sound & front man for Deerhunter) shouting about it being scrapped. But all of that blew over, you can’t hold a man like Bradford down for long, he’s prolific to say the least and consistent too. One of my first ever posts on this blog, when I wrote even worse than I do now and never expected anyone to be watching (to be honest I still don’t expect anyone to be watching…) was about Atlas Sound’s debut album Let The Blind Lead Those That Can See But Cannot Feel a record I fell for after being skint at university looking for legitimately free quality music online, which is where I stumble upon Bradford’s blog with epic amounts of demos. The dreamy bedroom electronica that fused shoegaze soundscapes and melodic indie pop or garage rock got under my skin. So when the debut dropped I was all over it and it’s testament to his talent either on his own or with the band that I’m still looking to his releases when so much indie is leaving me cold, the Deerhunter/Atlas Sound axis really hasn’t had a misstep yet.The first thing you notice about Logos compared to the one that came before is that its less glowing electronics and more ambient punk, not unlike a stripped back Deerhunter sound with less punk and more ambiance, yet holding back on the fuzz. The first couple of tracks set a dreamy drunken mood with that hazy doo-whop feel that appeared on Microcastles. ‘The Light That Failed’ and ‘An Orchid’ are very strong openers.The track ‘Walkabout’ with Animal Collective’s Panda Bear aka Noah Lennox has been talked about quite a lot in indie land and rightly so it’s a joyful yet laid back hazy summer afternoon of a track. I’ve never really got on with AC or Panda Bear’s music its always feels like its missing something but here on ‘Walkabout’ it works, it’s like a super lo-fi Fatboy Slim track gone right… ‘Shelia’ goes back to the haunted doo-whop-pop, and its just as catchy as ‘An Orchid’.But its the centrepiece ‘Quick Canal’ with Stereolab’s Laetitia Sadier really brings the album together, it’s an almost nine minuet long hazy journey through glowing spaced out electronics and haunted vocals. It’s maybe the second most electronic sounding piece on Logos along with ‘Walkabout’ and ties it quite nicely to Let The Blind… the previous album. I’m not familiar with Stereolab but the vocals fit very nicely on a track that’s been floating about in demo form for ages on Bradford’s blog. ‘Kid Klimax’ is my highlight of the back half of Logos a half that still seems to be in ore of ‘Quick Canal’ and decides to keep things subdued rather than top that beast in the middle. ‘Washington School’ comes on like ‘Walkabout’ from the darkside, all synth bass and twinkling loops, taking away joyful abandon for hazy dreamscapes and it works a treat. The title track closes in much the same way Logos started in a day dreaming stripped back doo-pop world of its own. Logos is a very nice album indeed, for me it’s missing some of that bedroom electronica that made Atlas Sound so appealing in the first place, but when that’s there its on point. Plus the adding of the stripped back Deerhunter-esq doo-whop is an undoubted highlight and makes the Atlas Sound project a good varied listen. The simpler feel really lets his song writing shine through so all those abstract yet personal lyrics come out. In a year that indie records have pretty much left me cold, Atlas Sound have pulled off a little gem of a record.http://deerhuntertheband.blogspot.com/http://www.myspace.com/atlassound
I listen to way more music than I end up writing about and these albums caught my ear for good or bad over the last year or so yet I never got round to exploring them on here. Some of the music is pure brilliance and others well… left me a little cold after spiking my interest, but I tried to show a little balance instead of just hating.
Pantha Du Prince – This Bliss [Dial]
I came late to this guy after seeing his name all over the place a few years ago and never getting round to checking him out, but my got This Bliss is just that, bliss… Deep driving and mesmerizing dance music; underwater melodies with a warm, pulsing comforting edge, its like a musical larva lamp.
Eero Johannes – Eero Johannes [Planet Mu]
Easily up there in my albums of the year top ten at the end of last year, yet I still didn’t get round to writing about it. This is Skweee, the 8-bit funk hybrid from Scandinavia if you don’t know, at its very best. Toy town chip tune funk played through bent synths with a massive sense of fun, you can play it over and over and it brings a smile.
Of Montreal – Skeletal Lamping [Polyvinyl]
Either: brilliant and flamboyant or an annoying indie version of Scissor Sisters depending on my mood. Not quite as funny or musically accomplished as Flight of the Concords but there are so many ideas in here that it’s almost interesting almost by default and I think that’s what brings me back to it more often than not. It’s the inventive cut’n’paste song writing and dark humour that reminds me of a musical Naked Lunch but executed with a really light twee sunshine edge instead of full on darkness, quirky.
Animal Collective – Merriweather Post Pavilion [Domino]
The artwork is so fucking cool on this one but something about the music left me a little cold. Indies great hopes for the year made an interesting yet slightly mundane album somehow. Its almost as if I want to like it more than I do, the swirling psychedelic sounds and ideas are right up my street yet its still a miss. I can’t get enough of Brother Sport though that is a killer track.
The Horrors – Primary Colours [XL Recordings]
Interesting band with promise but they seem to in debt to their influences to me, I mean embarrassingly so. The album plods and drags yet shows the band can play and appeal to the wider audience. When/if they grow out of their influences they really will be ones to look out for.
Giggs – Walk In Da Park [Spare No1]
Road Rap king pin with a slow-mo monotone flow, he is so laid back that it all nearly goes past in one single dull drone yet when he pulls it off he makes some compelling stuff. The beats are sparse and slow in debt to the US gangsta/Dr. Dre template but with a really dirty and raw UK vibe. There are some killer tracks on here if your in the mood for some lyrics on coke, clubs, cash and guns executed with a dead eyed stare.
D.O.K. – Document Chapter 1 [Flash]
Pumping and bumping grime instrumentals, half the time they sound like big brash jacking bassline monsters and the rest of the time like P-Funk played on Fruity Loops at 140bpm. It’s raw, uncompromising and full of dancefloor hype. You get a grime re-fix of Timberland and Bros all on one CD what more could you want?
Deerhunter – Weird Era Cont. [4AD & Kranky]
This is the bonus disc/extra album that came with the fantastic Microcastle from last year. It’s a sprawling mass of ideas from the prolific band. It continues where the album on the flip left off, all be it in not such a concise narrative, its raw and freewheeling in comparison not unlike the live shows. There are some amazing tracks ‘Backspace Century’ and ‘Operation’ for starters are up there with the best of Deerhunter.
A new EP by Deerhunter is always welcome round these parts and so soon after the fantastic Microcastle which even came with a bonus CD called Weired Era Cont. which was pretty much a whole new albums worth of material, is pretty good going even for a group of musicians this prolific. I managed to grab the tour only tape addition of Rainwater Cassete Exchange when they came round my neck of the woods recently, but the mp3’s are around to buy and the CD is on its way…
This is five tracks of brand new material and not unlike the Fluorescent Grey EP that came right after Crytograms could well show the development from the album before it to the next. It could well fit into the Microcastle scheme of things as it has a washed out retro girl group gone shoegaze feel to it much like a lot of that album yet it also stands out as something slightly different and maybe even more raw but that could be the tape hiss / quality giving me that vibe.
The biggest change in the sound is maybe the vocals, they seemed more buried in the mix compared to M-castle… the songs are also denser somehow. Title track Rainwater Cassette Exchange is probably the catchiest of the lot like a swamp rock rendition of a stax record drenched in reverb and raw gritty sounds, it easily stands up to a lot of other tracks by the band. The quick time shuffle of Disappearing Ink comes on like a fast My Bloody Valentine with less emphasis on noisy soundscapes and more on the tune it’s self. Side A is finished off with the super catchy Famous Last Words with a stomping driving rhythm and melodies that just sparkle.
On the B-side Game of Diamonds picks up where the others left off but with a more mellow feel, bongo like percussion meets acoustic guitars and piano before Bradford offers up some sweater vocal stylings to the raw deep in the mix efforts on the tracks before and after. Circulation sounds like a messy raw version of Nothing Ever Happens somehow with chopped up collages of speech and dense sounds it ends things in a woozy heat drenched fuzzed out bang.
The Rainwater Cassette Exchange EP is a quality addition to the growing Deerhunter back catalogue and shows a continuation and maybe even a slight development in sound from Microcastle / Weird Era Cont. We will have to wait and see what they come up with next I for one can’t wait.
Yet again Deerhunter hit The Brudenell and yet again they kill it. The place was full and hot as hell; they brought a little Atlanta to Leeds tonight. Playing a set full of Cyrptograms, Florecsent Grey and Microcastles, in-fact it was maybe more waited towards C-grams thinking about it. To kick off they played brand new title track of the new EP Rainwater Cassete Exchange, which they were also selling on ye olde tape which I happened to pick up and put in my top pocket for the rest of the night, I’ve never felt so indie before. The band were tight under the heat and the epic noise-scapes of Cryptograms was really something else, the drums’n’bass get me every time in the Deerhunter live experience they really drive things forward.
The good shit just kept coming with Like New and Octet melting into each other with a brutal blast of sound in the middle. I’m pretty sure either Never Stops or Nothing Ever Happens came next but who knows, to be honest I zoned out and got lost in the sound. Things were chilled out a little in the middle which was well needed because of the heat, the wedges of fuzzed out sound Deerhunter bring really sit well with the hot hot atmosphere though it kind of gave it another edge somehow a clammy heavy edge.
After a few more hits, Bradford called to the audience for requests and they covered a track by someone I can’t think of right now, but I’ll edit it when my brain wakes up, it was the same one they did at ATP the week before apparently… [EDIT] it was Bragging Party by The Amp's!... It was a wicked 60’s infused punky number that suited their sound to a tea. By the time the encore came around Bradford was working the crowd with impressions, voices and general weirdness. Then the Deerhunter jukebox began as the crowed were asked to choose the final three tracks of the night. After some back’n’forth the fantastic Spring Hall Convert was chosen, which delighted me as I really wanted to hear it last time they came to town but alas it wasn’t to be so this was a bit special, it’s always been one of my favourites. I’m struggling to remember the middle track in the encore but it was fuckin’ brilliant and followed by Fluorescent Grey, which built and built before showering us in sound.
Then shit got weird as Bradford came back on to thank us in many strange ways before having some banter with the sound guy, before calling his mum over the soundsystem. Unfortunatly she wasn’t in so it went right to answer phone a nice message was left and things petered out. It’s probably the maddest ending to a gig I’ve seen for a while Bradford cracked me up throughout the night as well as really playing a quality gig, Deerhunter I salute you keep doing your thing.
http://www.myspace.com/deerhunter
http://deerhuntertheband.blogspot.com/
http://www.brudenellsocialclub.co.uk/
First things first go and grab yourself the Time Warp Virtual 7” by Atlas Sound from the Deerhunter / Atlas Sound / Lotus Plaza blog, its two sublime summery time nuggets with shimmering guitars and a dreamy, drunken feel, man I love it when Bradford Cox drops a download.
Now for some news on Mr Cox’s other project Deerhunter they are not only going on tour in the UK again so I’ll hopefully get the chance to see them again as it was mesmerising last time see my words on it here. But they are also dropping an EP called Rainwater Cassette Exchange and you can download the ye olde sounding title track from Pitchfork too. There is a definite lineage from the Microcastle sound in this track.
Download: Atlas Sound – Time Warp
Download: Deerhunter – Rainwater Cassette Exchange
Here we go again with the Deerhunter review, I bloody love it so much that I'm going to post the link to my 3barfire review right here.
Microcastle is album number three from Atlanta’s Deerhunter the self-titled debut (aka Turn It Up Fagot) was a noisy and raw punk racket, this was followed by Cryptograms, which in my eyes was one of the best albums of last year.
Cryptograms, was an album of two halves. Side one being an ambient punk hybrid and the flip being a more song based shoegazer. Then they went and dropped the Florescent Grey EP, which continued the more tuneful theme and really tightened up the song writing. This brings me to Microcastle, which continues this idea of bringing songs into the ambient punk template.
Deerhunter have got a bit more of a spring in their step here compared to the sweeping melancholic fuzzy swamp punk soundscape of Cryptograms. Microcastle still has moments of mellow gold but for the most part they have made a more focused snappier affair with a slight pop edge.
The pop comes in the form of either Brain Eno ‘Here Come The Warm Jets’ era influenced nuggets or 50’s / 60’s doo-whop like Martha & The Vandellas. A garage/punk vibe can also be heard that brings the raw edge of people like Half-Pint And The Fifths and other Atlanta natives The Black Lips, one of which feature on the album. This is all filtered through a kind of dreamy shoegaze machine into a My Bloody Valentine or Cocteau Twins shape before the final stage comes in the form of a Krautrock infused motorik beat of the likes of Faust or Can. It also sounds a bit more like the Atlas Sound side project than previous Deerhunter stuff.
Deerhunter take all these influences and make them their own. The tightness of the group is outstanding the drums and bass really drive everything forward, while the vocals and guitar make for some sweet music for daydreams. The balance of mellow and driving noise is something of beauty on Microcastle.
Microcastle has a beautiful, bright, warm, organic and crisp sound that is perfect for the autumn / winter you can imagain wrapping yourself up in a big coat and walking through the first frost or hazy evenings.
The intro melts into the wonderful Agoraphobia, which is sung by guitarist Lockett Pundt and is defiantly one of the highlights of the record. Never Stops & Little Kids continue in the same kind of vain before the mellow mid section of the record comes along. This starts with the title track and ends with Activa this is so blessed out and brings the mood right down, which makes the final motornik section all the more exciting. The closer Twilight at Carbon Lake sounds most like material from the previous album and brings it all back full circle.
Overall Microcastle is a fantastic album Deerhunter and Bradford Cox’s side project Atlas Sound have managed to make two of the most engaging and well realised albums of this year.
http://deerhuntertheband.blogspot.com/
+2007-2008.jpg)
I’m not sure what happened to be honest but it sounds like some kind of drama went down with Bradford Cox and his blog today. I have heard it was hacked and the Atlas Sound album, which was announced the other week titled ‘Logos’, has been leaked in un-mastered form, as has some Deerhunter songs that where to be released with the up and coming ‘Microcastle’, which incidentally leaked so early it hurts. By the look of the blog post that has now been removed it may not come out now because of this. To quote the post:
‘Fuck this shit. I can just make another album. It’s not finished and now it never will be. It was also going to have a rad cover. I would describe it to you but that would be stupid. P.S. there are no vocals on Quick Canal. I never got the chance to record them. This record was not free to record, so if you’d like to pay for hearing it send a paypal donation to lastdeerhunteronearth@yahoo.com. I am not a fucking opportunist so don’t think I expect it.’
So there you have it a post full of bad vibes, I have no idea how this all came about. But I hope that this gets released and finished at some point I adore all of the Deerhunter and Atlas Sound music I have ever heard. Is the Deerhunter / Atlas Sound camp the leakiest place ever for songs and albums? It seems that way at the moment and I feel sorry for them and can see why Bradford Cox is so angry in that blog post.
I will keep an eye on the blog and see if any more sense can be made of the situation. But for now, take it easy Bradford…
http://deerhuntertheband.blogspot.com/
Update: This was found in the google cache read it here.
Deerhunter are probably my favourite band in the whole land and have been ever since I got my hands on Cryptograms last year. So I was pretty damn excited about seeing them live for the first time…
… I wasn’t disappointed either but first the support acts. CHOPS, well god knows what they were like as my train didn’t get in on time to check them out, but they seemed pretty good at packing up their stuff.
High Places did a wonderful set of tropical sounding shoegaze that sounded a little like the lion king filmed underwater maybe it should be called ‘Aqua-Tropicana’? The drumming was all digital yet live and sexy just as it should be. The sweet female vocals sawed through the room and brought a woozy feel to the tropical beat styling of the tunes. A few of the tunes sounded like Aphex twin’s Donkey Rhubarb but more organic and sleepy. Hypnotic stuff from this brilliant new band. I completely forgot to pick up a CD they had for sale too, bummer.
Deerhunter did a brilliant set starting off with some tunes from the Florescent Grey EP, building from mellow moments to walls of pure fuzzy noise. The sound engulfed you in a fuzzy blanket, the loudest group I have seen in a little while. Bradford started proceedings with a bit of banter to telling us he was going to blow the fucking roof off so come to the front of the stage, he is a charismatic fellow. Deerhunter have so much good material the set was full of hits for a fan like me. They played a lot of Microcastle and the rest was from Florescent Grey and Cryptograms as far as I could tell anyway. The beats where tight as hell and the rhythm really propelled the tunes brilliantly throughout the entire set. They seemed to be enjoying it too, there was a bit of joking around and some riffing from Whitney on one of the guitars. It was interesting to see how they make all that beautiful noise from the albums right in front of your very eyes. The layers and layers of guitars where played awesomely I especially like the new stuff and the Eno style of playing in parts. Whitney made some excellent noise with her harmonica. I also loved her rock’n’roll leather trousers.
I can’t get enough of their tunes, each one was a killer, with hooks a plenty and just down right beauty all round. My favourite tracks of the night where Florescent Grey, Dr Glass, Like New, Wash Off (So that’s all of the EP then hey), Lake Somerset, Octet, Strange Lights, Hazel St, Never Stops, Activa, Calvary Scares, Saved By Old Times, Microcastle, Twilight At Carbon Lake and Nothing Ever Happened. I’m sure there was a lot more played my mind is as fuzzy as my ears right now though, oh and I have got the order extremely wrong too. The only songs I’m a little disappointed they didn’t play are Spring Hall Convert and Agrophobia but they more than made up for it with what they played. Easily one of the best live shows I have seen in a while.
Right at the end on the encore Bradford even passed me his guitar to play while he stuck it through some mad effects peddles and all that good stuff. I tried playing the Dr. Who theme on it but failed at that as it was so many effects it wasn’t very recognisable, ah well you got to give it a go haven’t you. I made quite a racket, as the bassist also gave his instrument away to an audience member beside me. Bradford said my playing was good at the end, which was nice of him, I bet he says that to all his audiences the flirt…
Deerhunter still my favourite band and you can bet I will try see them again. I can’t wait to get my hands on Microcastle too it sounds so good I can’t wait to spin the CD. Right now Bradford Cox has made as either part of Deerhunter or as his solo project Atlas Sounds two of the albums of the year, talented fella I take my hat off to him, if I had a hat, I don’t but you know…
Check out the ace new EP type thing from Atlas Sounds here. It’s full of mellow sleepy sounds, its beautiful, and made on tour just before hitting the UK in Amsterdam, amongst other brilliant nuggets form the Deerhunter/Atlas Sound camp.
This has just gone and leaked its pretty self all over the Internet, somebody fetch a towel, this is a shame really since it has been mentioned to have a November release. That is way to far ahead for it to surface in my opinion, even if I am gagging to hear it. I had a whole feature ready to go about exciting future releases and Microcastle by Deerhunter was at the very top of that list, then low and behold out she pops. So that feature can wait for tomorrow, as this is pretty special.
From the first few listens Microcastle has a slight change in sound to the ambient punk styling of Cryptograms and the Florescent Grey EP. The guitar sound is cleaner and there is much more of an old school pop sound to it. It’s still beautiful, but in a different way, a brighter way. The fuzz is still there as always but not as in your face as before. The reverb has an old feel to it like soul records from the 50s/60s maybe as Bradford suggested a bit like the Everly Brothers gone shoegaze, well I added the last bit, there is also a string hint of Eno’s pop leanings, as there was for the Atlas Sound record. The vocals are slightly more prominent than on the previous LP, but they are still defiantly the Bradford Cox we know and love. Tender, fragile, sweet and soaring while drenched in reverb. Microcastle has a happier edge to it though it shines with a bright light and has some sharp edges to the guitar that Cryptograms didn’t have. Cryptograms was easily separated into two parts an A and B side with ambient sludgy punk sections on the A and more song based stuff on the B, Microcastle is more of a consistent album in that it isn’t so easily split in two. This is a little more traditional maybe or accessible? There is a bit of a doo-whop or blues swing to the tracks that give it a more accessible feel. I’m not quite sure that’s the right word to use for Microcastle as it is still pretty raw sounding and ranges in moods. It has surprised me actually, but pleasantly so.
The intro sets out the sound nicely with souring searching vocals and melancholy guitars. It peaks beautifully then we are right into the tune Agoraphobia, and the phrase, ‘Comfort me, cover me’. The wonderful cord progression brings a slight sadness to the song. A slight hint of Eno can be heard in a Here Come The Warm Jets kind of way.
Never Stop is a plucky little fellow, with a funky swing and beautiful bright fuzz. Bradford’s vocal performance is top notch here, a really good tune.
Little Kids is a slightly more mellow number than the last. The song fills with distortion, fuzz and reverb at its peak. A cacophony of sound then mellows to a finish.
Microcastle the title track has a fragile start, with just lonely guitar and vocals. But then the drums drop and a joyful buzz finishes off the tune in style. The vocal gating effect is used brilliantly here. Again there is an Eno vibe going on.
Calvary Scars, which, I keep calling Cavalry Scars by accident, has been around since last November on a live session, it’s a sweet and fragile tune like a lonely child weeping in a corner.
Green Jacket is a piano lead track with an echo-saturated soundscape with Bradford singing on top. The albums most mellow moment so far and its so beautiful. Floaty, dreamy and it fades into…
Activa perfectly: with a freaky and also dreamy electronic flicker fest with some acoustic picking. What a tune this is wow, nice section there, the last two work perfectly together.
Nothing Ever Happened brings us out of the midway mellow section with a bang and some grungy bass. It’s a perky one this with a proper rock edge. Bradford sings the same melody as the guitar and it works perfectly. The line, ‘It flashed right through me’ sticks in my mind. You can hear the ambient punk leanings in this track it gives me a big grin by the end.
Saved by Old Times is a pure 50s blues tune pretty much, with the echoy twang of strings and that slight clicky slam sound you will know it when you hear it and lyrics about, ‘Victorian vampires’ feature too for good measure. There is also a bit of a doo-whop swing to it. A spoken word montage about ghosts as well: we have it all here. It builds and builds out of its blues routes and into more ambient textures and layers of distorted guitar lines. ‘I was saved by, old times’ is repeated until the climax.
These Hands wavers in with some choppy ambient tremolo guitars. And woozy vocals on top of those fuzzy old school tunes. There is a sense of brightness and fun in all these tracks even in the mellow numbers.
Twilight At Carbon Lake is the Microcastle closer and it comes in with some good old ambient loops not unlike the ones heard on Cryptograms. The guitar melody sounds a little like Stand By Me the classic tune of old sets us off out of the loops. Sweet vocals drenched in reverb flow through buried slightly lower in the mix. A punky peak is hit as this tune builds mind and the teeth come out, with layers of dirty grunge ridden guitars and freaky vocal loops. Deerhunter know when to peak for maximum effect.
That’s the end that’s all of Deerhunter’s Microcastle, first impressions are very good indeed. I’m a big fan and this has just got me all the more excited to get my hands on this album proper. It’s different but still so good. Microcastle is defiantly a contender for record of the year so far. I think I need to calm down now…
I’m not one to spread leaks around so go and check out the Daytrotter Session that featured live versions of Calvary Scars and Activa that feature on Microcastle from the 19th November last year here.
Bored Dub & No Longer
As Bradford Cox can't stay still for long he always posts new music on his blog. These are typical spaced out songs the first Bored Dub has some really dubbed out moments as the title would suggest and Cox singing on top, it soudns like he is in darkness. the we get to No Longer on the virtual flip side and its as though the sun is rising, with bright loops and ticks flowing along nicley. I don't think its one of my favourite peices thats been posted but I think his blog needs more attention as its constantly evolving with new songs and updates. Find more here http://deerhuntertheband.blogspot.com/
This album is the first solo effort from the Deerhunter front man Bradford Cox, and its beautiful. If you have herd Deerhunter Cryptograms and the Florescent Grey EP you may already have an idea what this will sound like. It is however not as hardcore and abrasive as those two records. The Atlas Sound album has many of the same elements but over all a more shoegazing swooshy sound, kind of like a fuzzed out My Bloody Valentine but with added digital elements. There are many beautiful and mesmerising sound-scapes hear that envelop you in a huge sonic love fuzz. These moments merge seamlessly into pure fuzzed out lovesick songs and beautiful melodies. Over all it’s a joy and a real grower, highly recommended. For an excellent archive of demos and all things Atlas Sound and Deerhunter related head to: http://deerhuntertheband.blogspot.com/
Deerhunter are personal favourites of mine, Cryptograms and Microcastle are never to far from my stereo, so when they swing through town it’s a must. This time they come to The Cockpit a venue I’ve not ventured into for a gig for around four years, maybe more. As venues go it’s not really my bag and Deerhunter have always gone down a treat at probably my favourite venue for bands in Leeds, The Brudenell Social Club. But they’ll bring me out on a muggy night midweek whatever... They’re doing a quick tour as warm-up for their slot at the ATP festival and slipping in the odd new song into their sets, which should wet your appetite if like me your hoping they whip out an album at some point this year, fingers crossed. 
…Before I go, grab some Deerhunter goodies over at their blog, Micromix 26 a selection of killer tracks from Chris Bell to Sun Ra. And the too good to pass up: Carve your Initials Into The Walls Of The Night, an early limited CD-R which just features Moses and Bradford playing with tapes as an early incarnation of the band in 2005.
+2007-2008.jpg)
Posts
