following the massive critical success of deerhunter's last album 'microcastle', which mojo suggested could be 4ad's best release in a decade, expectations are feverishly inflated for the new deerhunter release. luckily, the atlanta quartet seem to operate in their own realm, away from the rolling cycles of pressure and praise. and it shows in 'halcyon digest', which is an impressively self-assured work, with a level of detail and care that belies its two-week recording process. deerhunter are one of those rare acts that it is nigh on impossible to second guess - what they record apparently depends greatly on their mood at the time, rather than any great pre-planning. and so it should be no great shock that 'halcyon digest' is a world away from the frenetic wall of distorted guitars that (at times) defined 'microcastle'. indeed, if this album resembles anything, it is more the atlas sound album 'logos', recorded by deerhunter main man bradford cox post-'microcastle'. in other words, 'halcyon digest' is noticeable more calm, tuneful and reliant on electronics and acoustics than 'microcastle', especially on album closer 'he would have laughed', recorded in tribute to jay reatard.
