2.6.08

Deerhunter - Microcastle (2008)


Sounds like: Running in rainbow jello, Bradford Cox daydreaming, My Bloody Valentine drinking cokes and just hangin' out
Mp3:Microcastle [full album, thanks Rory], Twilight at Carbon Lake

Bradford Cox is having a great year. He's released his first solo recording, a self-titled LP under the name 'Atlas Sound', and now he's poised to release another album as Deerhunter. This helping sounds decidedly more poppy than Deerhunter's first release, Cryptograms, picking up on the success of Spring Hall Convert and Strange Light's sugary shoegaze sound. Much less time is focused on experimental ambient songs. The atmospheric tracks are still here, but they're less numerous, and more likely to have some sparse vocals by Cox thrown in. The album starts out with some of the obvious singles, winds down into a mellower section, and then builds it back up with the last couple tracks. It's sad to see Deerhunter shying away from their stranger work to marrying their unique style crafted on Cryptograms to more mainstream sounds. Microcastle is still great, it just shows Deerhunter taking a surprisingly safe route.

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