(photo: Kristin Klein)

Nothing surprises me anymore.  If there’s one thing I’ve learned from writing this blog is that was passed for magnificence one year can be reduced to muck the next.  Conversely, that which at one point didn’t even illicit a yawn let alone any kind of positive reaction can get me jumping up and down in my seat and with feverish excitement.

I’m not quite pushing 103º fevers yet, but the new LP from  Atlas Sound certainly has me swooning.  Logos is the follow up to Bradford “Deerhunter” Cox’s 2008 Let The Blind Lead Those Who Can See But Cannot Feel, an album I wasn’t all that impressed with.  Cox made me a believer with Deerhunter’s outstanding Microcastle, released in 2008 as well, so in the interim I’ve given that first Atlas Sound album a second chance.  I still prefer Logos more, but I certainly have gained a new respect for his creative vision and musical deftness.  Cox’s palette is kaleidoscopic;  if you had to draw out his music’s trajectory, there’d be all kinds of swirling lines and loop-dee-loops as opposed to any kind of slow and steady climb.  My favourite song on Logos is “Walkabout” featuring Animal Collective’s Noah Lennox.  The two are kindred spirits; both their solo work expands on the experimentation and sound of their group work, and make a perfect collaborative pair.

Cox is also joined by another sound pioneer, Laetitia Sadier of Stereolab.  Their track, “Quick Canal” has been given the video treatment by director Flitz Vladich, and is linked below.  The appearance of these two guest musicians gives Logos the feeling of being more than just an outlet for Cox, or a diversion during Deerhunter’s downtime.  As close as they are in nature, their is little overlap in what Deerhunter and Atlas Sound do, and keeping these two facets of his musical vocabulary separate really lets Cox explore and play in a way that you can’t always do as part of a collective.

MP3: Atlas Sound “Walkabout (featuring Noah Lennox)”
Video: Atlas Sound “Quick Canal”
Myspace: Atlas Sound