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"Cover Me (Slowly)" is about onomatopoeic a song title as you can get. Blankets of guitar surround the listener. This is a prelude, but sets out Deerhunter's stall in the market town of Shoegaze. "Agoraphobia" is more traditional in its song structure, marking out Deerhunter as more Ultra Vivid Scene than My Bloody Valentine. The voice has languid, drunk-too-much-cough-mixture kind of sound. It's enticing. The guitars thrum and chime, harmony and disharmony meeting, with rewarding results. "Never Stops" has Shoegazing-style droning, but thankfully Deerhunter hold back from the borders of unlistenability. With many bands of this sort the emphasis is on atmosphere than tunes you can hum, but Deerhunter balance the two.
"Little Kids" shows the quieter side of the band, at least to start with. The sound builds satisfactorily. Deerhunter are exactly the sort of band 4AD should be signing if it wants to recapture the glory days of the label. In the olde days when b-sides existed, if you were lucky this contained fragile gents that became your secret love, unsullied by popular opinion or radio play. "Microcastle" is a b-side in all the best sense of the term. It's slow, simple and fragile for two minutes before the rest of the instruments surprise me by bursting into my bedroom and throwing an impromptu party. "Calvary Scars" has a languid, Suede-like guitar. You get the idea that the noise, distortion and pain lurk beneath the surface. Unusual percussion has me wondering if someone was getting some crafty whittling in during the recording of this song. "Green Jacket" brings a piano to the fore. The song is so slight as to be barely there – and it seemed to lose momentum entirely after a minute and a half. "Activa" is spooky, with a key lyric promising: 'We wasted our lives'. Fragments of acoustic guitar compete with sound effects to unsettle the listener. This is the sound of someone's sanity falling apart. It's uneasy listening. "Nothing Ever Happened" sees the album gain momentum. Underpinned by some strong Pixies guitar its easy to see why this is a single. It's more straightforward than the other tracks on offer. The distorted guitar and squalls of noise make for an intoxicating ride. The extended instrumental passage is perfect to lose yourself in. There's some Stereolab-style theremin nonsense for musical astronauts everywhere. "Saved By Old Times" has my foot tapping. There's a slink and funkiness not seen elsewhere. The band still sound like themselves, but different, which is a good trick if you can do it. "Neither Of Us, Uncertainly" has an epic feel. It ebbs and flows like the tide. The vocal here is 'just another instrument'. This song has a narcotic effect on the listener. You'll find yourself unwilling to do very much. If there's a window nearby, you'll find yourself gazing out of it. If you are already outside you'll be staring at the sky. You couldn't wish for a better soundtrack. A single, echo-laden guitar opens "Twilight At Carbon Lake", but you know that this isn't going to last. The song brings the album to a triumphant close. If you've been listening properly you will be feeling drained, but elated. The lessons you've learned you will be able to take back to your everyday life. |
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