Here is a throwback pickup for me. Am I really that old? I can't believe it's been over a decade since this album came out. Where did the time go?
I remember the first time I heard this one on Itunes...maybe it was Google Music back in the day? I don't remember exactly, but I remember how much I loved this album. Deerhunter harmonies, Deerhunter chords, Deerhunter bombastic guitars, and Deerhunter's Bradford Cox channeling Lennon here and there. It's not all a love tribute to 1950's and 1960's rock n' roll; there is so much more to this one that a punk tribute to the Everly Brothers and company.
Where to start? Well, I'd recommend just starting with Microcastle and follow the tracklisting as such. There was a lot of stuff going on with Deerhunter back at this time, especially with the lead singer. You can hear the pain of his surgeries on Operation. There is the Jesus and Mary Chain sensibility in Vox Humana; My Bloody Valentine guitars in Focus Group and Vox Celeste. So many solid tracks; if I recommend this one to folks, I tell them to imagine a "Shoegaze* 1960's concept album recorded in the late 2000's. I don't know how much better to describe it than that.
So it made sense once I got a record player to buy this one vinyl. It's not a heavy-duty vinyl set; it's actually quite flimsy. Still, the sound is solid. The packaging isn't the greatest, but I might have to keep an eye for a better version of this in the future.
So, if this sounds like anything you might enjoy (and haven't heard before), I'd highly recommend it. I think this is the group's best work and easily one of the best albums of the 2000's.
If you know it and Deerhunter, let me know! If you have another recommendation from this time period, I'm all ears too! Love #musicforlife !
