Deerhunter, 'Microcastle'

The buzz: Bradford Cox's Atlanta experiment continues with this third dose of noise, pop and electronica. But the extensive epics of its aptly named previous  effort, "Cryptograms," have been replaced with more truncated exercises that flare short, strange and bright. Cox publicly stated that he wanted to cut down on the exposition, and the addition of guitarist Whitney Petty, a former cheerleader and high school pal of Cox, has helped that happen. The result is an angular but stellar effort in deconstructed punk.
 
The verdict: Like "Cryptograms" before it, "Microcastle" rewards repeat listens. It takes time for the ambient spacetracking of "Little Kids," which sounds like it stepped off a time machine launched from the stoned '60s. That same Beach Boys-meets-Pixies vibe permeates the entire effort, especially on the deliberate downward strum of the dynamic "Never Stops." Meanwhile, "Nothing Ever Happened" is a head-bobbing post-punk stomp that keeps on giving, and "Twilight at Carbon Lake" is a multi-movement winner whose guitar-heavy climax closes out "Microcastle," one of 2008's best efforts, with a refreshing bang.

Did you know? Cox suffers from Marfan syndrome, a genetic disorder affecting the body's connective tissue.

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