Slowly but surely Bradford Cox has become one of my favorite artists over the past couple of years. Ever since I saw Deerhunter at the ICA down on the Boston Waterfront I’ve been craving any and everything that Brad puts his hands on.
I just picked up the new album, Logos, from Atlas Sound, Brads other outfit. I’ve completed one full cycle of the album but the songs “Walkabout”, which I first heard on the Mondo Boys Weird Summer mix that I picked up from Aquarium Drunkard earlier this summer, and the Laetita Sadier vocal track, “Quick Canal”, have been on repeat for the entire week. Those two tracks alone are vaulting this album clearly into my favorite albums of the year list.
“Walkabout”, the Noah Lennox (aka Panda Bear) guest vocal track on the album, was a quick favorite among bloggers back in the summer. And “Quick Canal” is quite possibly one of the most beautiful songs I’ve heard in a long time. The opening vamp envelopes you in comfort and the beat keeps you from falling into a coma while Laetita’s voice seduces your brain waves. But that underlying keyboard vamp stays with you. I’m a big Dogtown and Z Boys fan and the vamp that surfaces throughout the soundtrack, that vamp that emulates the “dreams come true” phenomenon of those kids, is a powerful sound. One that Brad uses masterfully on this track.
And how can you not love an artist who frequently gives away his work for free. Head over to the Deerhunter blog where Brad posts mixes of his favorite music and also gives away b-sides from both Deerhunter and his Atlas Sound projects.