Deerhunter
Halcyon Digest

To preface, Halcyon Digest is the first Deerhunter album I listened to, after which I lent a veery distracted ear (or two) to Microcastle. That said, for those who don't know, Deerhunter is a six-person group from Atlanta (or perhaps 5 and a half, considering the size of singer/guitarist Bradford Cox), with 4 albums released since 2005.

So, I'll start reviewing the album, the latest, this HD released in 2010.

I'll start immediately with the main tracks, namely the first track, Earthquake, which has little to do with an earthquake (but are we sure?...): an enveloping vortex of guitar that gradually captures you, reaching shoegaze tones, filtered voice of Cox, well, you get the idea, a great track. Memory Boy opens with a cheerful organ exquisitely Sixties, something that recalls those masterminds the Byrds, a piece you can even dance to, lightheartedly. Helicopter, another example of their "aquatic" psychedelia, sinks into concentric circles until the final collapse. Desire Lines is psych-pop (again echoes of the '60s that matter), culminating in a long psychedelic tail that leaves no escape. In my opinion, these are the best tracks on the album, the ones that have something extra compared to the others. The shorter tracks (Don't Cry, Revival, Fountain Stairs) still recall the psychedelic folk-pop of the Byrds and company, albeit threaded through with a dirty electricity. Sailing, the slowest track, lingers a bit too much in its self-referentiality, and the same risk seems to be run by the last track, He Would Have Laughed, which nevertheless slides away lightly like a thin spring rain.

In conclusion, Halcyon Digest is certainly not a masterpiece, however, it is an album with some remarkable tracks, full of moods and atmospheres, balancing between lightheartedness, melancholy, and joy, between a children's nursery rhyme and psychedelic research. Recommended for lovers of the genre and beyond.