Atlas Sound - Let The Blind Lead Those Who Can See But Cannot Feel
Bradford Cox is an interesting figure. The man is about as tall as a scarecrow and as lanky as a basketball player. His hair style is co- 1990’s era and how he dresses.. Uh that’s another story. So what’s behind this figure? He certainly doesn’t have the style to make it big, but his music talks differently. For the many who don’t know Bradford, he performs in a band called Deerhunter. Mistaken many times for the band “The Dear Hunter”, Cox sings and plays guitar in the band. Deerhunter has been in the wheel of controversy. From performing in dresses to bashing people, Cox’s has done it all. They release Cryptograms in 2007; with a release like that, any artist could bash anyone. However; sadly as 2007 died, Deerhunter did too. They announced that a “hiatus” would occur. We the fans are wondering what the hell is going to happen next.
Cox has recorded solo songs under the moniker “Atlas Sound.” Many demos and EP’s have been posted on the Deerhunter blog. Well, let it be known that Atlas Sound has released Let The Blind Lead Those Who Can See But Cannot Feel. The 2008 release is something for many fans to think about. Throughout Bradford’s musical experience, he has shown how his life was through music. As a child, Cox was sexually abused and during summer, he was in a hospital getting back surgery. Mr. Cox hasn’t had the greatest life as a child.
Let The Blind Lead Those Who Can See But Cannot Feel is a journey of Cox’s life. It’s more in-depth than anything he’s done with Deerhunter. For one, the cover of the album. The landscape is a mother and father holding their child’s hand. To me, I’ve had the feeling it portrays something Bradford never had. A caring, supportive family. LTBLTWCSBCF leads with “A Ghost Story.” A box explaining what the title says. The boy explains about the character named Charlie. Not afraid of the ghost. The smoothing journey of Atlas Sound begins nearing the end of the song. During the album, it reminds me heavily like My Bloody Valentine’s 1991 release Loveless.
Let The Blind Lead has many different styles of music. Sometimes demonstrating very haunting melodies and other times jumping to more brighter sounds. It even has a one phrased song called “Cold As Ice.” Which brings me back to my hypothesis of this album exposing Cox’s previous memories. The most interesting concept to this album is how Bradford’s voice is the echo in every song. He is all about instrumentals over his own voice. It gets very gentle and makes one feel like their in another world. Maybe the song that reminds me a large amount like Loveless is “Bite Marks.” You’d think Kevin Shields himself wrote the song. The song is highlighted with the choir of noises backed behind the strong, simple bass line. “Ativan” resembles more of the smooth and peaceful noises Cox’s gives to the listener. Really, I wonder why more bands cannot make a record this good all the way through.
It doesn’t matter if you love or hate Bradford Cox. I call the man the living “John Lennon.” Yes, I said that. He’s delivered what I’m hearing as one of the best albums in 2008 and is quickly running up my personal favorites list. Believe whatever hype anyone’s told you. Let The Blind Lead Those Who Can See But Cannot Feel is the closest thing to My Bloody Valentine’s “Loveless.” At times, I wonder if this album is better.
Score: 8.2%
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