Release Date: May 6, 2013
Georgia-based five-piece Deerhunter has been a symbol of American indie since its formation in the early 2000s. Headed by Bradford Cox, the band has recorded six full-length albums and toured with bands such as The Smashing Pumpkins and Spoon. But, despite its popularity, Deerhunter manages to keep it real. Its music ranges from indie rock to noise pop to mellow punk, but what do those terms really matter? The band keeps its sound fresh from album to album, altering its shapes, textures, and ultimately, its impact.
Monomania, Deerhunter’s newest release, is a gritty turn on 2010’s Hacylon Digest. The album’s 12 tracks are seared with thrash guitars, crunchy drums, and hypnotic vocals. “Leather Jacket II,” the second track, sounds like two different songs layered atop one another. It’s a rock tune with a straightforward beat and a discernible melody, yet is always on the verge of noisy demise. In between screaming feedback and Cox’s grossly distorted vocals, the music somehow comes together. More than that, it’s good, really good; it gives listeners something new and exciting, while sounding familiar in a vintage indie kind of way.
Displaying the mark of an experienced band, Deerhunter alters its sound from track to track.
The shift is most apparent when contrasting “Dream Captain” and “Blue Agent” as they unfold one after another. The former has washy rhythm guitars and sleigh bells at the chorus, while the latter has a low, brooding bass and clipped guitar lines. While these songs are different in structure and sound, they work well together, adding to Deerhunter’s overall style and voice.
Perhaps what makes Monomania so engaging is its refusal to subscribe to a genre. Sure, elements of lo-fi indie rock are embedded deep within the music, but Deerhunter is making music for itself, and isn’t concerned with shaping its sound according to the restrictions of a genre. The title track, “Monomania,” exemplifies the “fuck you; we’re doing what we want” mentality, seen especially at its three minute peak, with Cox singing, “Mono monomania mono monomania” in a trance-inducing chant, while violent, messy guitars wail in the background.
So yeah, Deerhunter did it right with Monomania. It shaped its decade-long career into a sound both mature and not overly rigid. The tracks are diverse in sound, texture, and emotional resonance, making this album a well thought out piece of work.
But it is in no way perfect. The guitars are filthy, the vocals are uncomfortable and out of tune, and when the album sounds the worst, it sounds the best, because Deerhunter isn’t in it to win our hearts. Hell no. If Monomania is a testament to anything, it’s that genuine Indie still exists, that indie music is not a sound or an image. No, indie is most real when it’s an ill-defined mess, and Deerhunter clearly supports this mentality.
Deerhunter – Monomania tracklist:
- “Neon Junkyard”
- “Leather Jacket II”
- “The Missing”
- “Pensacola”
- “Dream Captain”
- “Blue Agent”
- “T.H.M.”
- “Sleepwalking”
- “Back to the Middle”
- “Monomania”
- “Nitebike”
- “Punk (La Vie Antérieure)”
