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.