Record #131: Deerhunter – Halcyon Digest (2010)

I don’t know why I don’t listen to this record more often.

While it’s true that I prefer the ambient swirls of Cryptograms and Weird Era, Cont.’s shoegaze noodlings, Halcyon Digest’s retro psych-pop sells exactly what I need sometimes.

My first listen made me feel like I had heard this record my entire life across different radio stations and commercials and soundtracks in much the same way.

And it’s fitting, concerning the album themes of romanticizing the past. Where Deerhunter has traditionally stood on the edges of pop music and reached outwards, here they dive deep into the pool of rock and roll history, the same way rockabilly acts hold tight to the blues.

And this delving through the trenches of history creates a soundscape that’s just as nostalgic as the words they sing.