Bradford Cox, the lanky leader of Atlanta psych-garage band Deerhunter, looks like a combination of Stephen Malkmus and Thurston Moore, and sounds like it too, writing angular pop melodies that jut into ambient fuzzscapes. On the group's third album, the usually extroverted singer, known for sporting dresses onstage, seems to be withdrawing, embracing a more delicate, acid-dipped sound. Microcastle has only one rave-up, but it's a killer: "Nothing Ever Happened" starts like a jangly Nineties indie-rock tune before morphing into a mesmerizing, distorted one-chord vamp. Closer "Twilight at Carbon Lake" floats on reverb-drenched arpeggios and a doo-wop melody, conjuring a bizarre retro prom — the kind of off-kilter affair where an outsider like Cox might feel at home.

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CARYN GANZ

(Posted: Oct 30, 2008)