Tuesday 28 September 2010



Review revival

QBiM SPiNS: Deerhunter Halcyon Digest

Front man Bradford Cox says that the name of Deerhunter‘s new record, Halcyon Digest, refers “to a collection of fond memories and even invented ones”, so how fitting that this review–the one you are about to read–is itself a collection of memories (some not so fond, some possibly invented) of the first review I wrote for this album, before the back end of this blog decided to have a little fun with me and systematically erase it all.

I didn’t care for my introduction at all, that much I remember, but it did have something to do with keeping track of the the animal kingdom of music.  I’m pretty sure I have all my “Wolf” bands down pat (love the “Parade” variety; can take or leave the “Mother” kind, and have never really listened to the genus “AIDS”), but the “Deer” bands have always been an issue.  Deerhoof and Deer Tick never really did anything for me, and I think I absentmindedly lumped Deerhunter in with that lot.  It wasn’t until I started getting into Bradford Cox’s Atlas Sound project that I gave Deerhunter a good listen.

From there I did talk a little about their last records, 2008′s twin releases Microcastle and Weird Era Cont. The latter was a “gift” to fans who patiently awaited the former’s official street release after being leaked a good couple months before it was due.  In comparison to those two records, Halcyon Digest tames the wilder aspects of Deerhunter’s sound.  It’s the most straight-forward melodic album of their four discs, and seems to combine elements of their back catalogue with Cox’s Atlas Sound work.  The themes of nostalgia and reinventing the past are both lyrical and conceptual:  there are moments in listening to the record where I’m sure I’ve heard the song before (someone help me–”Memory Boy” reminds me of a song but I can’t figure out what it is!).  Halcyon Digest plays like a sonic scrapbook, filled with precious memories and forgotten sounds.  It references 50s pop, 80s new wave, and 90s indie rock sometimes all within the same song.  Lush layers build upon one another, providing some of the album’s dream-like qualities (see languid opener “Earthquake”), while the unhurried pace unites the album, making it a cohesive whole.  I had something really clever to say about the song “Revival” but try as I might I just can’t remember what it is, so you’ll have to take my word for it.

I hadn’t really settled on a closing, but the one thing that I kept coming around to was how Bradford Cox is turning out to be a prolific American songwriter whose well of ideas never seems to run dry. Together with high school friend and guitarist Lockett Pundt, Cox has crafted Deerhunter’s finest moment in Halcyon Digest, further exemplifies his ability to take the familiar, twist and shape it to the point where it’s comfortably unrecognizable, fresh and new.

Or something like that.

Halcyon Digest is released today on 4AD.

MP3: Deerhunter “Revival”
Video: Deerhunter “Revival”
Myspace: Deerhunter
Myspace: Deerhunter





by J. Di Gioia | Comments Off

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