Atlas Sound – Parallax

Bradford Cox’s genius seems to know no bounds.

It’s like he’s internalized the whole history of rock and roll and draws on it at will. Rising to greater and greater heights.

Deerhunter – Halcyon Digest

Bradford Cox, like John Lennon before him, draws inspiration from the entire history of rock and roll, going all the way back to its earliest days in the 1950s. But whereas Lennon built fairly directly (though quite significantly, of course) on that early history, Cox passes it through the distortionary filter provided by the many decades since.

This line of creativity, which runs through all of his recent work, both with Deerhunter and under the Atlas Sound banner, continues on “Halcyon Digest,” with absolutely no sign yet of diminishing returns. In fact, by elaborating as well on the themes — nostalgia for times past and regret over unfulfilled youthful ambitions — also explored in his recent collaboration with Noah Lennox, “Halcyon Digest” represents perhaps the most compelling expression of this idea to date.

Often overlooked are the other great talents in Deerhunter, the band. Below, guitarist Lockett Pundt provides the vocals for “Desire Lines,” one of the new lp’s best tracks.

Atlas Sound – Logos

Bradford Cox is kind of turning into the Picasso of our time: everything the guy does turns out to be a masterpiece. No less than three full-length cds last year: Deerhunter’s “Microcastle” and “Weird Era Cont.” and Atlas Sound’s “Let the Blind Lead Those Who Can See But Cannot Feel.” Then the Deerhunter “Rainwater Cassette Exchange” ep from earlier this year. And now “Logos,” probably the greatest of them all.

One thing I’ve always admired by Cox is how he makes no attempt to hide his love and enthusiasm for the work of other artists; another, related to the first, is how he lets diverse influences creep into his own work. On “Logos,” he takes these admirable tendencies to their logical conclusion through full-fledged collaborations with Noah Lennox of Animal Collective and Laetitia Sadier of Stereolab. But, while “Walkabout” does sound like an Animal Collective song and while “Quick Canal” does sound like something from Stereolab, it’s also true to say that both of those tracks sound even more like they belong here, on an Atlas Sound record, proving that Cox can do what few others can: giving others the space to make their own unique contributions, while somehow incorporating those contributions into something identifiably his own.

In a widely-quoted letter from last July, Cox claimed that “Logos” is “not about me … the lyrics are not autobiographical.” What, then is this all about? Well, if we accept that the album’s title has some special significance, then it somehow pays homage to the presence of order and reason in the universe — and maybe even in human actions as well. An audacious stance to make, at a time when order and reason seem sorely lacking. But Bradford Cox has earned the right, by creating an album this good.