Atlas Sound – Logos
Poor Bradford Cox. Not only does a certain music website write about it whenever he sneezes, he has the unfortunate problem of having his shit leaking to the internet waaaaaay early. Last year his band, Deerhunter, released their opus Microcastle, which leaked so early that the record had to be put on iTunes a whole three months early. Also, Bradford’s Mediafire account was hacked, giving fans an unmastered/unfinished version of this record, Logos. Out of frustration he almost abandoned the project, but like a champ he went back to his bedroom and hammered it down. The album is released today, October 20, 2009.
For those unfamiliar with Deerhunter, their sound melds My Bloody Valentine fuzz with decades worth of pop sounds, from beach waves to ’90s post-Sonic-Youth noise.  Atlas Sounds is a more subdued Deerhunter, taking some of the same cues and woozy guitars, but adding more tape loops and generally feeling like a solo project. In fact, if Deerhunter’s secret weapon, guitarist/vocalist, Locket Pundt hadn’t put out his own solo record (again with the code-names, Lotus Plaza), one would think Bradford was the sole mastermind behind Deerhunter.
Unlike most solo projects, Atlas Sound is not a place for Bradford to dump the shit his Deerhunter buddies said “nah” to, but a place for him to unload all of the songs in his head. I mean, in the last three years dude has dropped at least 100 songs. Logos continues the quality streak, it is a pretty swell record.
Let’s get the obvious out of the way. “Walkabout,” the song with the Panda dude from Animal Collective, is the best song on here. It is a perfect summer song that could easily fit on that Person record, or any Animal Collective record. The same could be said of the other collaboration here, “Quick Canal” (featuring Laetitia Sadier from Stereolab—RIP). “Quick Canal” has the feel and length of a Stereolab stomper, as it is the longest song on the record and Sadier takes the front seat in the vocal department.
Most of the songs here drift like a dream, as they are intended to, but every once in a while a chorus rises out, as it does on “Sheila.” Containing what I will dub the “Deerhunter stomp,” as perfected in their track “Never Stops,” “Shelia” is probably the best song of this set, next to “Walkabout.”
The record drags in the later half. The boring “Kid Klimax” is a click track with multi-tracked vocals and blippy keyboards, while “Washington School” is a forgettable song made out of a lullaby-like beat and obscured vocals.
Closing track “Logos” is another obvious standout. It picks up the speed from the aforementioned tracks, though it is just a faster amalgamation of the previously heard sounds. Ending in fade-out, the track remains in the dream-state of the album. All in all, the record defiantly is no Microcastle, but for fans of Cox’s work it is a definite must-have. For the rest of us, download “Walkabout,” “Shelia” and “Logos.”
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