(Kranky/Remote Control)

Bradford Cox and crew hit ambient pop overdrive

Deerhunter’s 2007 release Cryptograms was undeniably great. But it was also very noisy, built upon a foundation of spacey feedback drones and dense guitar textures. 2008 sees a poppier and altogether different Deerhunter, though they retain tangible links to their penchant for ambience and soundscapes. Earlier this year frontman Bradford Cox revealed his poppier side with a release as Atlas Sound. Split into two discs, the Microcastle half of this release seems to follow on from what was established on the Atlas Sound record. Weird Era Continued however is a more natural progression, falling somewhere between the noise of Cryptograms and Atlas Sound’s more melodic slant. The mildly nihilistic tone of Microcastle sees a shimmering instrumental opener give way to Agoraphobia, in which Cox sings plaintively about a desire to be imprisoned. Conversely Weird Era Cont. opens with the rather sleek and Interpol-like Backspace Century before shifting into the very catchy Operation. Instrumentals like Weird Era and Slow Swords return to the droning soundscapes of Cryptograms but are more engaging. Whether this release is to be interpreted as a double album or two single albums packaged together is ambiguous, though the albums are linked by a sharing of the song Calvary Scars; on Microcastle as a brief interlude, and as a powerful ten-minute finale on Weird Era Cont. It does feel a lot like the Bradford Cox Show and Microcastle especially is hard to differentiate from Atlas Sound, but nonetheless Deerhunter have released two consistently excellent albums here. Bow down, peasants: Deerhunter are indie rock royalty.

*****

MICHAEL PINCOTT

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