Atlanta 4-piece Deerhunter, led by the prolific Bradford Cox, drop their second full-length here, and it's surprisingly their most commercial offering to date. Taking pieces of shoegaze, sixties pop, weird folk, and indie rock, Cox and co. concoct a catchy yet hallucinogenic collection of homespun recordings with melody and woozy affection. 'Activa' is a soft, narcotic lullaby, with 'Nothing Ever Happened' (being the first single) being a driving rock song. This sums up the diversity of 'Microcastles', and like their friends in Animal Collective, there's something for everyone here. Nice pop songwriting and out-there sounds congeal like My Bloody Valentine meeting the Beach Boys and then being produced by someone from Pavement. I like this one a lot. And there's a second disc attached, titled 'Weird Era Cont.', featuring 13 more tracks of 'ambient garage punk' (as described by Cox himself). Here flow more textural soundscapes, happy singalongs, and everything in-between. 'Weird Era' seems more raw and intimate than 'Microcastles', and may well be demos or home recordings. Regardless, there are some lovely tunes here, and 'Microcastles/Weird Era Cont.' is more than a worthy deal. (Kranky)
Deerhunter site
Bradford's blog (with many free demos/singles)
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