Deerhunter has seldom been a proponent of easy listening. Thankfully, effort on the part of the listener is more than rewarded. Soundspaces that initially disorient eventually made fans glad they were lost within the noises. Every confusing turn leads to something wonderful.
On prior releases by frontman Bradford Cox, layers upon layers of noise were often characterized by tastefully arranged distortion and bubbly, psychedelic synth samples. It seems, however, that his approach on his upcoming album, “Fading Frontier,” will be a little more direct, to say the least.
The latest Deerhunter track, a single from “Fading Frontier” called “Snakeskin,” bears few of the tenets of the band’s typical sound. Beginning with a prominent, punchy bassline, the song exhibits a far cleaner feel than many past Deerhunter releases. With nothing but this bassline, a three chord riff, percussion and no-frills production, Cox creates a background upon which he lays his subtly incongruent lyrics.
Though there’s not a minor key to be found on a listener’s journey through “Snakeskin,” Cox sings with a smile how he was “born already nailed to the cross...with a feeling [he] was lost.” While “Snakeskin” may leave some fans uneasy with its shockingly clean sound, Cox’s lyricism remains as reflective and typical as ever.
For fans who yearn for Deerhunter’s “Microcastle” roots, there is hope yet. New release “Breaker,” another single from the upcoming album, features many facets reminiscent of past releases, without the same mastery in execution.
“Breaker” may have a catchy bassline and a cozy, Real Estate-like melody, but these easy indie-rock tropes don’t save the track from slight mundanity. All the parts of the song are great individually, but are arranged in what is unfortunately a rather overdone manner. Thankfully, the ending of the song portends a bright future for the upcoming album. The droney and intricate crescendo at the end of “Breaker” is filled with those wonderful string synths, high-pass-filtered guitars, and infinite layers that Deerhunter fans have grown to love. It is a lush and textural sound that mirrors parts of the band’s 2010 release “Halcyon Digest,” while still remaining original.
Characterized by contradictions, though without most negative connotations of the word, the new Deerhunter tracks may leave a listener confused as to what to expect from the upcoming album. Their direction stands resolutely distinct from past work, while picking and choosing quintessential Deerhunter themes. If there is one conclusion listeners may draw, it is that “Fading Frontiers” will be Deerhunter unlike fans have heard before. Hopefully, that will be a good thing.
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