Deerhunter’s recently released album, Halcyon Digest, is engaging and intimate; a true musical gem. There are instances infused with brightness, instrumental exhilaration, and other ones filled with sleek harmonies, deep reverberations and vulnerable vocals. This ingenious range is evident in how the album moves and evolves: from the scratchy, stalling opening moments of its first track “Earthquake,” to the upbeat and crystallized “Revival,” to the subtly sung, but beautifully done “Desire Lines,” to the floating and charmingly sweet “Helicopter,” to the long and emotional closer, “He Would Have Laughed.” The record is deep, and sonically conscious. Like I said, a real gem.

Deerhunter has garnered quite the cult following: grungy hipsters, music snobs, elitist indie bloggers and others with a great ear who probably wear plaid. The other night at Webster Hall, all these types were crowded together to catch the band live, for a sold out, fan-packed show. Deerhunter is not a group that makes you want to rock your face off; in fact, at one point towards the beginning of the set, my friend turned around and said, “these guys are kind of sleepy.” But she didn’t mean that in a negative sense: Deerhunter is hazy, dreamy, druggy, and produces the kind of music that you should really listen to, perhaps even close your eyes to in order to just soak it all in. These guys picked up the pace towards the end, with songs followed by stellar jam sessions – “Nothing Ever Happened” comes to mind. They then charged through the rest of the set with ambitious noisiness, proceeding the finale with a three-song encore, and finishing off with “Fluorescent Grey” – a freakish reminder of how freakishly good this band really is. - Vann Alexandra

KEYWORDS: deerhunter, Music