Deerhunter rocks the swirling psych jams. - Oh My Rockness

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Deerhunter rocks the swirling psych jams.

April 18, 2007
They were the talk of SXSW 2007, and now see what all the fuss is about when Atlanta's Deerhunter plays two NYC dates in the next few days. Their show at Mercury Lounge is already sold-out, but you can still see them for pay at Silent Barn in Brooklyn.

This band's live show has been known to blow minds, either out of audience awe or just plain crowd confusion. Whatever they do, they certainly inspire a strong gut reaction from the people they play for. And that's pretty punk.

The suddenly hyped Deerhunter (est. 2001, but only now getting wide-spread love due to their acclaimed 2007 album, "Cryptograms") play sprawling psych-garage-rock with an eccentric experimental twist. In other words, they sort of sound like what the Liars have been doing crossed with the retro weirdness of Grizzly Bear.

Some claim that Deerhunter play faux-art rock that doesn't rock at all and that they aren't genius, but just plain pretentious with their dramatic stage antics and... well, there're a lot of differing opinions about this band out there. I like to think Deerhunter just has a healthy, and much-needed, dose of humor to balance their eccentric creativity.

The music of Deerhunter is epic in sound; it swirls, d'ones and gradually glides towards eclectic resolution. It's hazy and hypnotic, it's spacey and it's heavy. It's also optimal to listen to Deerhunter with aromatic candles burning and/or lava lamps lava-ling, somewhere near you. Or, maybe you should just play Lite-Brite in the dark with this blasting from your stereo. It will definitely add to the overall sonic experience if you get your senses involved somehow.

If you like your listening tastes challenged, Deerhunter is the band for you. And more importantly, if you love depressing 70's movies, there is none better (in my humble opinion) than 1978's The Deer Hunter. You get not one, not two, but three tour de force acting performances courtesy of Robert De Niro, Meryl Streep and Christopher Walken. "Mao! Mao! Mao!"

"Deerhunter is the best make-out music in the world!" says our friend, Nicki Ittner. Boom, for real.

Deerhunter plays Mercury Lounge, on Thursday, April 26th, and at Silent Barn, on Friday, April 27th.

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