Super relax with Atlas Sound (!!!)

Alright. Truth is, the sound of Atlas Sound won’t alter yer consciousness unless yer consciousness is wispy, but the atmosphere that Deerhunter’s Bradford Cox creates with this solo project is a super relaxing one. As was Atlas Sound’s 2008 debut Let The Blind Lead Those Who Can See But Cannot Feel, this new one named Parallax is mainly gentle, often lovely and sometimes world-weary without being bitchy/whiny, a feat that the late Mark Linkous used to pull off beautifully with Sparklehorse.

Solo projects often fall into the vanity trap and wallow around in self-indulgence, but Cox has mainly avoided those problems thus far. Parallax has one track that comes dangerously close to pointless filler, the too-trippy-for-it’s-own-good “Modern Aquatic Nightsongs,” all echo and low-energy electronic fuss. The rest of it is translucent and occasionally transcendent pop. “Lightworks,” the last track on the elpee, is perhaps the most interesting track of the set, with a deep, quavering bassline that gives it a Mexican border flavor, much in the way The Pixies had done in their Surfer Rosa and Doolittle days, minus the fury. Cox croons away timelessly, perfectly. It’s a gem. “Angel Is Broken” pulls off a similar trick, opening up with a another deep and effective bassline, only stronger this time, with a sound that’s more Tex than Mex.

So I’m recommending yet another Atlas Sound elpee. Know what? I still have no idea what Deerhunter sounds like. Maybe I should get on that, eh?