Microcastle by Deerhunter
Usually with albums I actually love, it's difficult for me to talk about them coherently. My words break down into fragmented sentences, the frequency of usage for the word "like" usually increases tenfold. In the end, I sum up my retarded hand gestures, grammatically incorrect sentences and half-conceived thoughts with a shy, crooked smile and a murmured "It's just good".
So I have hesitated to write about certain albums. I might have reviewed an easier album today, like Thought For Food by the Books, or You Are Free by Cat Power, something I felt less attached to and consequently could be more coherent. And contrary to what the title of this post will have you believe, I am reviewing Microcastle today because it seemed like a good idea.
I don't honestly remember if I ever tried to like Deerhunter before 2009; there are scores of band names that ring familiar but I have never touched, whether through conscious choice or just forgetfulness. I took the circuitous route to listen to Deerhunter; easing in with Logos and Rainwater Cassette Exchange EP, I finally worked into the Deerhunter discography.
Microcastle is a much more accessible album than its predecessors, in the sense that it's cleaner and more refined. This is a product of conscious effort, however — Cox himself states "I'm more interested in the micro structures. I want things to be a lot shorter...less droney, less mopey. There will probably be a little less ambience". And true to form, these songs are fairly short, with a good number of them about 3 minutes or less.
Personally, I feel incapable of detailing the merits of the album without gushing and going into incomprehensible half-sentences. It's hard to get better than "Agoraphobia", "Nothing Ever Happened", "Never Stops" or have a better closer than "Twilight At Carbon Lake". So here I will end with this: It's just good.
