Deerhunter: Halcyon Digest

Bedroom-pop auteur Bradford Cox has dabbled in the childlike yet menacing psychedelia of Syd Barrett, the sumptuously lonely songcraft of Brian Wilson and Phil Spector, the funky drone of Stereolab, the mind-freezing soundscapes of Brian Eno, and the slapdash four-track buzz-pop of Robert Pollard. But he’s never brought all those influences together in one place like he does on the new Halcyon Digest. Before now, Cox has split his time between the propulsive trippiness of his band, Deerhunter, and the dreamier, sweetly shambling AM rock ’n’ roll of Atlas Sound. It became more difficult to tell the projects apart with Deerhunter’s excellent 2008 release Microcastle and last year’s Atlas Sound album Logos, which found Cox focusing his hooks and amping up the velvety sensuality of his soundscapes. On Halcyon Digest, Cox’s two halves finally meet in the middle on a collection of grabby pop songs sung by a witty weirdo with newly discovered sex appeal.