Deerhunter - Microcastle

Two of my favorite bands are My Bloody Valentine and Sonic Youth, so I'm pretty pleased with Deerhunter's new one, which combines elements of both bands. I enjoyed their 2007 album "Cryptograms," but it was heavy on the experimental side, which I was less excited about. It's not that I can't appreciate ambient soundpieces, but when I know that the band can produce gorgeously dissonant noise, it's tough to sit through their more indulgent pieces.

"Microcastles" is a more subdued, quieter, and ultimately better album than "Cryptograms." I think they recorded this in a whirlwind session after their original album leaked on the internet. It's available now as well, although I haven't heard it yet.

There is a lot going on on this disc, between the melodies, the swirling guitars, and the occasional jagged instrumentals. One of my favorite tracks is "Nothing Ever Happens," which pays homage to Sonic Youth without sounding like a ripoff.

The lead singer/songwriter is incredibly prolific, and if you check out his blog at http://deerhuntertheband.blogspot.com/ you'll find all sorts of free music he offers as part of his Atlas Sound project. That tends to be more ambient/experimental, and not as polished or pretty as the Deerhunter stuff. Not that it is overly polished.

I don't know enough about music to know if there is a conceptual backing behind Deerhunter's work, if there is actual music theory being put to test, or if they are just fucking around and doing whatever sounds right. Either way, I love this album. Fifteen years ago, Microcastles would have ended up in heavy rotation on my CD player, an album that I would bring with me on road trips for my discman, an album whose every song would be burned into my consciousness. Now I'm lucky if it stays on my ipod through 2008. I'm going to try and savor this one for a while, and not let it get buried under the deluge of new music that I get each month.