In the years between
Lockett Pundt
's
Lotus Plaza
project debuted with
The Floodlight Collective
, a fascinating blur of '60s pop, post-punk, and shoegaze, and returned with
Spooky Action at a Distance
,
Pundt
's other group,
Deerhunter
, had its biggest success yet with
Halcyon Digest
. It's hard not to feel like some of
rubbed off on the way these songs jangle and the way that
's voice is up front and center -- not that this is a problem, since he has an endearing way of bringing
Bradford Cox
's songs down to earth. Here,
puts singing and songwriting first and sonic experimentation second.
arguably features stronger songwriting than
's debut: "Black Buzz" and "Dusty Rhodes" paint intimate, largely acoustic portraits of friendship and farewells. Meanwhile, "Remember Our Days," "Out of Touch," and "White Galactic One" are just as charming and chiming as any of
songs as they exploit the contrast between his homey voice and the sonic castles around it. While the planet-size sound of
is missed,
finds plenty of ways to be subtly trippy, as on "Strangers," where the song slows down so gradually at the close that it feels like time is stretching with it, or when "Jet Out of the Tundra"'s deceptively simple coda expands for several hypnotic minutes.
might be more low-key than some of
's other work with and without
, but it's still a great showcase for his winsome songs. ~ Heather Phares