Strumming its way into contention for the best album of '08 is 'Microcastle' by Deerhunter. The Atlanta band's third long player is a distillation of what's loved most about late 80s/early 90s indie - jangly detuned guitars, half-buried vocals, lots of reverb and a penchant for sonic experimentation - but dragged brightly into the 00s. Ranging from ambient and fragile to dense, pounding noise; the songs are beautifully constructed, appearing immediately familiar but possessing more than enough to hold the ear. 'Microcastle' sounds like a band at the height of their powers.
Grab loads of Deerhunter (plus Atlas Sound, Cox's solo project) bits at the band's blog: deerhuntertheband.blogspot.com
