New Deerhunter - Microcastle

Can't believe there's not a thread for this yet. then again, i trust all of you are far more ethical than i and havent heard it because it hasnt been released yet. album of the year so far, IMO.

Better than the Atlas Sound LP?

oh yeah.
and i really liked let the blind... too. honestly, though, the lines of where atlas sound start and deerhunter begin are getting blurrier and blurrier. but really, if you havent listened to it yet (it's been online for MONTHS), do yourself a favor.

don't mind if i do!

much love and discussion from unethical bastards in the deerhunter thread

classic

just listened to this again today, and i'm pretty sure it's still my favorite this year, although recently there's been a pretty solid flux of really good rekkids

So when is it officially out?

tuesday i believe

Uh, goddammit, Weird Era (other Deerhunter full length release this year) has leaked. I kind of hoped it wouldn't be so good so I wouldn't have to relapse into hyperbole - BUT YOU WILL LITERALLY SHIT YOUR PANTS. it's really good.

From Kranky:

krank127 Deerhunter-Microcastle CD The new album album is finally available. It was supposed to be a big secret, but the release comes with a bonus album recorded a few months after Microcastle was recorded and mixed. But the cat got out of the bag, and... The vinyl version is delayed due to the usual vinyl production problem (the plant is backed up to forever), but we should have that in about 5 weeks. Check back for updates.

Sucks that the vinyl is delayed, but it'll be well worth the wait. The "Bonus album" referenced above is the Weird Era Cont. album that has recently made pants smelly. Tracklist:

1.Backspace Century (2:19)
2.Operation (4:04)
3.Ghost Outfit (0:33)
4.Dot Gain (3:19)
5.Vox Celeste (3:34)
6.Cicadas (2:27)
7.Vox Humana (2:32)
8.VHS Dream (2:33)
9.Focus Group (2:48)
10.Slow Swords (3:25)
11.Weird Era (2:40)
12.Moon Witch Cartridge (1:31)
13.Calvary Scars II/ Aux Out (10:12)

A few of these songs I recognize from various recent bloggings. Overall, the quality of these songs is at least as high as Microcastle, and in many cases these songs are even better.

ahh, so it is going to be a bonus disc. guess i'll be purchasing this, then.

Hurrah, the 4AD issue also has the second disc.

Gotta say, every Deerhunter/Atlas Sound release from the past few years has included a bonus EP/LP, and I hope the trend continues. The Deerhunter extras (Fluorescent Grey EP and now Weird Era Cont.) are especially great, and the Atlas Sound bonus (Another Room EP) also included a few songs that easily could have fit onto the full length.

This currently stands as one of the year's highest ranked albums in pitchfork (9.2) alongside No Age and TVotR. Those peeps surely love overrating squonky albums.

for someone who's probably deliberately anti-p4k, you're really letting their opinions get to you.

No, I'm not a hater at all. They tend to give high praises to unworthy albums, yet every now and then they do give good reviews to albums that actually deserve the hype.
It just seems 2008 hasn't been the best year for them.

well i agree, and i said in another thread somewhere that my biggest problem with them is how they give too-high scores to bands that aren't fully formed yet.
also, this is just my opinion, but i certainly haven't heard a straight-up classic yet this year, a la "hissing fauna", "person pitch" or maybe "sound of silver". the deerhunter is my favorite record of the year i think so far.

Kevin, I get what you're trying to say about bands that aren't "fully formed" yet, here and on another thread, but I'm just wondering how in the world you decide when something becomes fully formed. Should Slanted & Enchanted garner a lower score because it's a little sloppy sometimes?

i think sloppy is subjective. remember, pavement had 3 EPs before slanted came out, most of which--while punctuated by moments of absolute brilliance--were rather uneven, at least by Pavement's standards. from my perspective, it all came together on that first record, the songs became structured (if unorthodoxically so) songs, the melodies stronger and more consistent, and the unit as a whole infinitely more focused. then again, S+E isn't my favorite pave record, but I'd still give it a 10; CRCR gets a 10.5 and Wowee about a 12 ;)

i didn't answer your question.
so, to use Vivian Girls as an example again, they put out an enjoyable record, but it's 20 minutes long. surely they'll flesh out their ideas more in the future, right? it's basically a good EP...it's a blueprint for their particular approach to making music, but i can't really call it a complete album.

S+E isn't my favorite pave record, but I'd still give it a 10; CRCR gets a 10.5 and Wowee about a 12

these numbers render the scale meaningless

i was joking

Check it out some music videos:

<object width="400" height="300"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="movie" value="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=2230493&;server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1" /><embed src="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=2230493&;server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="400" height="300"></embed></object><br /><a href="http://vimeo.com/2230493";>Deerhunter - Cover Me Slowly</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user853456";>Adam Bruneau</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com";>Vimeo</a>.

<object width="400" height="300"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="movie" value="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=2230550&;server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1" /><embed src="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=2230550&;server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="400" height="300"></embed></object><br /><a href="http://vimeo.com/2230550";>Deerhunter - Microcastle</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user853456";>Adam Bruneau</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com";>Vimeo</a>.

cool these are great

doh, sorry

Microcastle
http://vimeo.com/2230550

Cover Me (Slowly)
http://vimeo.com/2230493

heh "moogaloop.swf" LOL

the peaks are certainly high, though overall it's perhaps a little too static to listen to all the way through intently.

cryptograms is the more concise.

I still slightly prefer Cryptograms, but this is really good.

I think Wierd Era cont. was suprisingly okay.
Need to listen a few more times, although the first 4 songs are pretty good I must say.
Especially "Operation" I am a sucker for false endings.