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May 10, 2007
Early Deerhunter
photo by Devon Banks
Of course, technically, all the Deerhunter songs to date will one day be considered “early”. But there was a time before the rabid Pitchfork patronage, before the celebrity lined Mercury Lounge gigs, before the worldwide interest. For such a newly buzzed about band, it's odd that their debut album remains rather obscure. I grabbed it, still giddy and lightheaded, when leaving their gig. I'd been completely shutout by all of New York's hippest record stores to that point (and obviously I only go to the hippest ones).
The band’s first record, billed on the spine as simply Deerhunter but listed elsewhere as Turn it Up Faggot, is rougher and looser than the material that brought them their current slice of spotlight, but is a uniquely compelling listen in its own right. I previously loved up what is probably the album’s best track, the blistering “Adorno”, but that’s hardly the end of the noteworthy.
To whit:
Approximating the muddled mental state of a trapped small town kid who just can’t keep his mind on his wiring project, "Tech School" is violently confused. Repeating piano stabs and guitar loops that wouldn't sound out of place on an album by brothers in drone Oneida are just the backdrop for the memorably unhinged vocals. Bradford Cox plays call and response with his bandmates with the immortal, "Tech School!/ Drop Out!!" discussion, and also with himself. From one speaker we get the persistent spoke sung jumble, and from the other a primal yet somehow still airy scream. These boys always had quite a knack for ever so slightly sculpted chaos.
The basic synth blares and primal repetitive beat at the onset suggest a justifiable Liars fixation, and the repeated shouting later on confirms it entirely. But here, more than anywhere else on the debut, we get glimpses of the distinctive style to come. It’s the chiming guitar mainly, appropriately choppy and repetitive sure, but also undeniably pretty. It's a sort of foglight for the fuzz. There are shades of Bradford Cox’s signature vocal style as well, although he never approaches the open throated melody of Cryptograms' second half. What we get instead is the harshly reverbed breath intake, the aggressive enunciation and the manic energy. They apparently figured out the frayed edges first and then formulated the smooth center retroactively.
// Deerhunter - band site
// Deerhunter - MySpace
// Deerhunter - Deerhunter Buy
Posted by Jeff Klingman at May 10, 2007 10:35 AM
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