Atlas Sound brings quality music
by Ben Serby
Writer
Arts | 2/2/10
Posted online at 10:11 PM EST on 2/1/10
This Sunday, Atlas Sound will play a show at Cholmondeley's sponsored by Punk, Rock 'n Roll Club. Brandeis students who have not heard of Atlas Sound may at least be familiar with Deerhunter, the Atlanta-based shoegaze/ ambient pop quintet that played at last year's Springfest. Atlas Sound is the solo project of Bradford Cox, Deerhunter's talented frontman.
Cox has released two different albums under this alias, each of them quite different in scope and sound. The 2008 release, Let the Blind Lead Those Who Can See But Cannot Feel, is the product of intense self-examination. Before recording, Cox went through hundreds of cassette recordings he made as a child, in search of inspiration. The lyrics are highly introspective and autobiographical, often reflecting the solitude and longing of an ill child (Cox suffers from Marfan syndrome). For example, on one track, Cox sings: "Quarantined and kept so far away / I'm waiting to be changed." If the message seems unfiltered, that's because the lyrics on Let the Blind Lead were written in a stream-of-consciousness style that Cox improvised while recording, in the interest of delivering his experiences with the utmost accuracy.
Musically, the debut record has a consistent aesthetic that rarely travels outside dreamy, trance-like lethargy. Echoes, shimmering ambient chords, breathy whispers, endlessly repeating phrases, lackadaisical song structures and reverberant fuzz produce a definite somnolent quality. The overall sense that emerges in this strange and fascinating piece of music is appropriate to the isolation of the bedroom, especially for a late-afternoon nap. This seems very much in keeping with Cox's recovery of his experiences as a sequestered, hospitalized youth.
Logos, released last year, displays a different side of Cox's songwriting and musical talents. The record-which, to my mind, marks an improvement from Let the Blind Lead-is upbeat and varied, with less of a focus on personal experience. Perhaps nowhere is the contrast more evident than on "Walkabout," a sunny, relentlessly catchy pop tune that features vocals from Noah Lennox (a.k.a. Panda Bear). With its sing-along quality and straightforward verse-chorus structure, "Walkabout" is an unforgettable listen that would be unimaginable in the context of Let the Blind Lead.
Cox has released two different albums under this alias, each of them quite different in scope and sound. The 2008 release, Let the Blind Lead Those Who Can See But Cannot Feel, is the product of intense self-examination. Before recording, Cox went through hundreds of cassette recordings he made as a child, in search of inspiration. The lyrics are highly introspective and autobiographical, often reflecting the solitude and longing of an ill child (Cox suffers from Marfan syndrome). For example, on one track, Cox sings: "Quarantined and kept so far away / I'm waiting to be changed." If the message seems unfiltered, that's because the lyrics on Let the Blind Lead were written in a stream-of-consciousness style that Cox improvised while recording, in the interest of delivering his experiences with the utmost accuracy.
Musically, the debut record has a consistent aesthetic that rarely travels outside dreamy, trance-like lethargy. Echoes, shimmering ambient chords, breathy whispers, endlessly repeating phrases, lackadaisical song structures and reverberant fuzz produce a definite somnolent quality. The overall sense that emerges in this strange and fascinating piece of music is appropriate to the isolation of the bedroom, especially for a late-afternoon nap. This seems very much in keeping with Cox's recovery of his experiences as a sequestered, hospitalized youth.
Logos, released last year, displays a different side of Cox's songwriting and musical talents. The record-which, to my mind, marks an improvement from Let the Blind Lead-is upbeat and varied, with less of a focus on personal experience. Perhaps nowhere is the contrast more evident than on "Walkabout," a sunny, relentlessly catchy pop tune that features vocals from Noah Lennox (a.k.a. Panda Bear). With its sing-along quality and straightforward verse-chorus structure, "Walkabout" is an unforgettable listen that would be unimaginable in the context of Let the Blind Lead.
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