Since hitting shelves and hard drives with breakout album Cryptograms in 2007, Atlanta, Ga. shoegaze pop group Deerhunter has been steadily polishing its sound into a sparkling sheen. This evolution comes to a head with Halcyon Digest, distilling the band to its prettiest, catchiest — if only slightly dull — essence.
Backwards swooping loops, Downy-soft vocals and dreamy Cocteau Twins guitars (perfectly fitting for a 4AD release) usher in opener “Earthquake.” From here, these elements are applied to regal effect on “Revival,” triumphant flourish on “Memory Boy” and glistening campfire ambience oddly reminiscent of former Calgary band Braids on seven-minute closer “He Would Have Laughed.”
Most memorable is “Coronado,” a honky-tonkin’ rocker with a Saturday Night Live-style sax solo, apparently inspired by Exile on Main St. In a recent Exclaim! interview, frontman Bradford Cox explained that “saxophones are becoming this thing. Next year everyone's gonna have a saxophone on their record because saxophones are just cool.” It’s both exciting and horrifying to imagine that prediction coming true.
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