Jim Carroll likes what he hears - twice.
DEERHUNTER
Microcastle
4AD
This Atlanta group have enjoyed a fertile spell in the underground thanks to their ambitious and idiosyncratic albums, as well as Bradford Cox's ability to attract attention both as band frontman and for his Atlas Sound solo releases.
The width and depth of their sound on Microcastle suggests that Deerhunterare ready to step up to bigger challenges. While the album may still be avant-garde pop in design and application, Cox and company have moved away from the more visceral and experimental textures of old.
Craziness is still an acceptable ingredient, but it's no longer the dominant flavour. Instead, prepare to be enthralled by the classy simplicity of the melody that powers Never Stops, or how Nothing Ever Happenedbuilds in pace and panache into a smart, frenzied, majestic wig-out.
www.myspace.com/deerhunter
JIM CARROLL
Download tracks:Never Stops, Nothing Ever Happened
VARIOUS
Dreams Come True - Classic First Wave Electro 1982-87
Domino
Compiled by journalist and cultural commentator Jon Savage, Dreams Come Trueis a tale of what happened when beeps and bleeps began to invade the dancefloor. In the years after disco and before house, sounds which owed a tip of the trilby to Kraftwerk and other electronic dabblers began to infuse and infiltrate chart-pop with a sense of mystery and endless possibilities.
To modern ears, the sounds underpinning prototype bangers from Dhar Braxton and The Latin Rascals are unsophisticated, sparse, simple, often naive and occasionally dog-rough. Yet those drum machine and synth symphonies were the first flashes of a new age dawning. What comes across is a sense of adventure, as producers began to realise that a new sort of sonic pleasure was at their fingertips. You can already sense Detroit's techno mavericks and Chicago's house producers waiting for their turn.
www.dominorecordco.com
JIM CARROLL
Download tracks:Class Action, Weekend; Dhar Braxton, Jump Back