We love it when our favourite musicians are slightly disturbed, don't we? Rock'n'roll history is full of good examples, but lately no one has personified this obsession with problematic figures more than Bradford Cox. With Cryptograms, last year's album by his main band Deerhunter, he managed to deliver one of the most visceral records in recent years. In the meantime, his physical appearance (he's diagnosed with Marfan syndrome), his ambiguous sexuality or his dubious blog posts have managed to strongly divide opinions. But judging by the first record from his solo side-project Atlas Sound, it seems he's now a bit more pacified. The sound is lighter and occasionally approaching a strange sense of beauty, with songs full of hypnotic elements, involving drones, whispered voices and strange details, that seem like sketches waiting to be filled by whoever listens to them. This is mainly due to the fact that we're listening to real bedroom sessions, during which he was exploring his fascinating inner world just by himself and with no one else around. But actually what came out of it is still haunting enough to renew my respect for the guy: we're only lucky that he let us hear this very personal and intimate self-exorcism. (8,5/10)
Atlas Sound - River Card (unofficial video)
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