Microcastle, the third album of the Atlanta ambient indie/shoegaze band Deerhunter, meanders through its 12 tracks at its own (usually slow) pace.

Microcastle, the third album of the Atlanta ambient indie/shoegaze band Deerhunter, meanders through its 12 tracks at its own (usually slow) pace. Its sweeping ambient sound creates a billowing musical fog fueled by seemingly endless reverb and Bradford Cox’s simplistic, floating vocals. It’s lyrically simple, staying within a single octave and often lapsing into mantra-like repetition, such as “little kid”s refrain of “To get older still / To get older still / To get older still...”, lulling the listener into becoming caught up into its lilting, ambient flow. Even when it picks itself up out of its self-induced lethargy, such as in the distorted one-chord vamp which makes up the ending of “nothing ever happened”, it retains its simplicity and mesmerizing nature.

            But like a fog, the songs on Microcastle also have a tendency to blur together: although the album as a whole sounds nice, no single part of it really stands out. It occasionally shows signs of originality, such as the understated doo-wop style of “twilight at carbon lake” or the old rock n’ roll beat of “never stops” or “saved by old times”, but even that is cloaked in that same ambient haze that eventually renders it indistinguishable from the rest of the album. That and its tendency to go off on long, repetitious musical tangents makes for some pretty music that never really goes anywhere. Despite its faults, however, its quiet melodies and slow, meandering style make it a pleasant listen.

            Microcastle was released digitally on iTunes August 5th and arrives in traditional real-life stores on October 28th.

3.5/5 Woovies: A great album to put on while you’re studying, but not one which you’re likely to want to show off to all your friends.