Monomania
Since forming Deerhunter as a raw ambient-punk outfit 12 years ago, Bradford Cox has turned an obsession with rock & roll excess and escapism – and all the fluid-spattered, cross-dressing onstage moments that such provokes – into a reckless, fascinating catalog. The band's sixth LP honors Cox's preoccupation and his chameleonic qualities: from opening with a craggy groan that transitions into a glamrock-garage assault ("Neon Junkyard") to grumbling through low-fi folk ("Nitebike") to slipping into a soft, psych-pop reverie ("The Missing") that flows directly from 2010's lovely Halcyon Digest. There is clearly no quietude in Cox's frantic mind, but his obsession yields beauty.