Deerhunter: Lockett Pundt, Joshua Fauver, Bradford Cox, Moses Archuleta.

When the intriguing CRYPTOGRAMS appeared in 2007, it established Deerhunter as a band to watch on the experimental indie rock scene. But the promise suggested by CRYPTOGRAMS' sonic pastiches and intriguing textures truly came to fruition on 2008's MICROCASTLE, which finds the band creating hooks and song structures as entrancing as their murky, mind-altering noise.

The group's deconstructionist rock approach might seem like it would make an uneasy bedfellow with melody-focused popcraft, but it's just this tension that makes tunes like "Never Stops" and "Nothing Ever Happened" so enjoyable. MICROCASTLE's debt to 1960s psych pop is the perfect canvas for the Deerhunter's trippy atmospheres, and the result is lush, aurally absorbing, and a step forward for one of rock's most unique voices.

Rolling Stone (p.125) - 3.5 stars out of 5 -- "Closer 'Twilight at Carbon Lake' floats on reverb-drenched arpeggios and a doo-wop melody, conjuring a bizarre retro prom -- the kind of off-kilter affair where an outsider like Cox might feel at home."

Spin (p.111) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "There's an intense physical sensation in all of Deerhunter's material, a constant feeling that outside forces are acting upon the singer, and by extension, the listener as well....[MICROCASTLE] is focused and consistent."

Spin (p.52) - Ranked #7 in Spin's "40 Best Albums Of 2008" -- "[His] gift for setting nostalgic, almost torchy melodies to amniotic jangle and smeared garage rock suggests salvation..."

Entertainment Weekly (p.73) - "The band settles on a neo-shoegaze approach, layering blankets of fuzzy guitar texture to exquisite effect." -- Grade: B+

Alternative Press (p.154) - 3.5 stars out of 5 -- "The richly recorded songs spool out with a natural ease. As the album rolls on, the shoegaze creeps deeper into a psychedelic doo-wop corner."

Mojo (Publisher) (p.108) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[You'll] have fun getting to the heart of these Syd-influenced treats and a wraparound curtain of shoegazy gauze that shivers with the clammy chill of lysergic '60s rock and Joe Meek productions."

Blender (Magazine) (p.73) - 3.5 stars out of 5 -- "Singer-guitarist Bradford Cox mumbles lullabies over slow, spooky drones -- evoking wintry folk ballads or deep-space doo-wop or surf rock at low tide -- that morph into psychedelic monsters."

Blender (Magazine) (p.84) - 3.5 stars out of 5 -- "[T]he album should be up the alley of anyone who fancies multi-layered, feathery psych-pop."

Paste (magazine) (p.53) - "[I]t's an aggressive step toward mainstream that sacrifices none of Deerhunter's woozy adventurousness....MICROCASTLE is instantly ingratiating."

Clash (magazine) (p.66) - Ranked #17 in Clash's "The 40 Best Albums of 2008" -- "[A] woozy, trippy and cyclical shoegazer collection..."

Record Collector (magazine) (p.80) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[T]he Atlanta-based band have refined their palette, emerging slicker and more self-assured....This is a far more seductive amalgamation of their disparate elements."