LOGOS-Atlas Sound

Logos-
Atlas Sound
Label-Kranky
Status-Out as of 2009
2nd Studio Album
Rating-4 feathers

In 2008, an unfinished version of “Logos” leaked on to the Internet. So disheartened by the ordeal, Bradford Cox (of Deerhunter) almost canned the idea. Thankfully, he did not. Now, back under the name Atlas Sound, Bradford returns with his well-anticipated (and finished) 3rd album “Logos”.

The album starts with the very Sung Tongs/Feels-y ‘The Light That Failed’. It sounds like it is going to get nice and weird, but then after the first few seconds, it saunters into an incoherent drone. It does, however, set you up for a nice mellow trip through the brilliant and the tedious. Songs like ‘Criminals’ and ‘An Orchid’ take you to a bright, but calming place. ‘An Orchid’ especially gives you visual of walking through the woods with ‘Criminals’ providing the sunlight shining through. On the opposite end, ‘Attic Lights’ and ‘My Halo’ just go on and on and on.... They don’t really enlighten you because the intense calm just lulls you into a doze. There are some absolutely fantastic points like ‘Shelia’ and ‘Walkabout’. ‘Shelia’ sounds like an early 60’s pop song made in the late 60’s due to it’s simple guitar melodies and surreal lyrics with little experimental break downs. When I first heard ‘Walkabout’, I got filled with such an overt feeling of pure joy. It’s by far the perfect summer song. Bradford bringing Noah Lennox (Panda Bear) in for vocals was such a brilliant decision. With him, they were able to craft absolute magic. Unlike that collaboration, ‘Quick Canal’, with guest vocals by Stereolab’s Lætitia Sadier, doesn’t do it for me. First off, it’s too long. It is 8 minutes of ultimately the same thing that would have benefited by cutting off a few minutes. Second off, I’m not a big fan of how she used her voice: it sounds very pretentious and over done with too much creepy. ‘Washington School’ and ‘Logos’ finish off the album on a very trippy fantastical note. ‘Washington School’ puts you in a little trance with it’s oh-so-catchy bassline and dreamy vocals, but kicks you out of it with ‘Logos’’s Julian Casablancas vocal impersonation.

Bradford Cox shows some serious potential with ‘Logos’. It creates a wonderfully calming atmosphere, while, for the most part, constantly keeping your attention with it’s weird pop melodies. Every song gives you something different while still sounding flawlessly cohesive. He will probably never escape the Animal Collective comparisons (for all I care he toured with them and now he has Noah Lennox as a guest), but I feel they’ll help him to branch out even further and create even weirder records.

"Almost everything you hear on the album is a first take. This makes it almost like a 'live album' where a band sets up in a studio and just rolls tape. There are songs on here I don't even remember recording."-Bradford Cox

Video for Quick Canal

Recommendations: An Orchid, Walkabout, Shelia
Atlas Sound's Official Website
Note: Sorry for the severe lateness of this. I hoped to get it out soon, but I just didn't have the time. I realized just now that the last review I wrote was Muse's 'The Resistance' and I can't believe it. For the next month, I will have atleast a Julian Plenti, Monsters of Folk, Bat For Lashes, and a Concert review out. Stay tuned, and thank you so very much for reading!