The Walkman "Lisbon" VS. Deerhunter "Halcyon Digest"

I have liked a fair amount of what I have heard from the Walkmen. They have a distinctive sound that is their own. It’s got a Leonard Cohen(Canadian alert) trying out his Jeff Buckley voice while jamming with Interpol and

occasionally the Memphis horns on the upper east side (How’s was that Steve?). They play well constructed songs long on subtleties but a lot of their stuff doesn’t compel me too much. There were a few songs on older album that I liked quite a bit….but I’m just sounding like an old fart again.

This is the first listen that I have given to this the newest Deerhunter album. I must admit that I am a fan of this band so I may be a bit pre-disposed to like this album from the outset, but let us see. This album seems to continue Deerhunter’s trajectory of mellowing out from their earlier noisier days, and while not necessarily an improvement it is an admirable progression of their sound. In many ways it is more similar to Atlas Sound records (the other project of lead singer Brandon Cox) than previous records.

Deerhunter is a somewhat frustrating listen for me because frankly I change my mind on them a lot. Sometimes I’ll love it and at other times I think that some songs comes off as what Andy W. might describe as “mediocre indie-rock.” Sometimes the song writing seems just a bit too lazy. Brandon Cox records a huge amount of material and sometimes a lot of the Atlas Sound songs he posts for free on his website are better than some stuff on Deerhunter records, in my humble opinion (http://deerhuntertheband.blogspot.com/, check it out nerds, especially “Requiem for all the Lonely Teenagers With Passed Out Moms”).

For the time being, however, this album is growing on me big time and the real star is Lockett Pundt who steps up to the mic to deliver two stellar tracks. May he continue to do so and turn into the Lee Ranaldo/George Harrison of this band.

Hold it!!!…what...what was that??….all of a sudden on the second to last song there’s a saxophone solo. I’m sorry but 99% of the time saxophone solos in rock songs make me think “….and featuring G.E. Smith and the Saturday Live Band…..” and I can’t deal with the cheesiness. (Clarence is ok because he preceded it.) But perhaps that’s another reference to 80’s nostalgia that they were going for. That knocks it down a couple points but still…….

Deerhunter wins!!

Man, that cover creeps me out.