It appears Deerhunter has taken more than just friendship away from its many gigs opening for fellow experimental rockers Liars. The Atlantans’ regard for their bill-sharing pals’ musical style—or more accurately put, Liars’ total lack of any definable style—is plainly evident from the release of third LP Microcastle, which sounds nothing like Deerhunter’s first two albums (which sounded nothing much like one another, either).
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Where 2005’s “Turn It Up Faggot” had Deerhunter working with danceable noise-rock, and last year’s Cryptograms saw the group delve into semi-ambient shoegaze, Microcastle finds leader Bradford Cox and his mates cloaked in unexpectedly hook-forward pop garments. From dreamy opening instrumental “Cover Me (Slowly)” on, it sounds a lot like a Broken Social Scene record, swaying between chug-along rhythms (“Agoraphobia,” “Never Stops”) and mellow mood textures (“Green Jacket,” “Twilight at Carbon Lake”) in a way almost uncomfortably suggestive of that Toronto collective.
A few tunes stand out: “Little Kids” has a carefree vibe that recalls Stephen Malkmus’ finer moments; “Saved by Old Times” brings aboard Black Lips vocalist Cole Alexander for a neat detour into sound collage; and the punky “Nothing Ever Happened” will inspire many arms and heads to flail madly. Microcastle also comes packaged with a “bonus album,” Weird Era Cont., which—surprise, surprise—feels more varied and outwardly experimental than anything Deerhunter has attempted to date. Liars will be proud.
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