| Halcyon Digest | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio album by Deerhunter | ||||
| Released | September 28, 2010 | |||
| Recorded | June 2010 at Chase Park Transduction Studios in Athens, GA and Notown Sound in Marietta, GA | |||
| Genre | Indie pop Shoegaze Dream pop Noise pop Garage Rock |
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| Length | 45:50 | |||
| Label | 4AD | |||
| Producer | Deerhunter, Ben H. Allen, Henry Barbe | |||
| Deerhunter chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Halcyon Digest | ||||
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Halcyon Digest is the fourth studio album by American indie rock band Deerhunter. It was released September 28, 2010[1] to very enthusiastic reviews. It was the band's first album distributed exclusively by 4AD worldwide (previously 4AD only handled overseas distribution while Kranky Records handled it within the U.S) The album was self-produced with assistance from Ben Allen and was recorded at Chase Park Transduction studios in Athens, Georgia.[2] The final track, "He Would Have Laughed" was recorded separately by Bradford Cox at Notown Sound in Marietta, GA and is a tribute to the late Jay Reatard.[3]
Contents |
Writing on his Facebook profile page, Cox stated "The album's title is a reference to a collection of fond memories and even invented ones, like my friendship with Ricky Wilson or the fact that I live in an abandoned victorian autoharp factory. The way that we write and rewrite and edit our memories to be a digest version of what we want to remember, and how that's kind of sad."[4]
Answering the Q magazine question as to whether the album was "...supposed to sound like a newsletter or bulletin board from somewhere mysterious", Bradford Cox said: "It's supposed to be like a collection of short dispatches". He called the use of the word 'Halcyon' misleading, adding: "It has a lot to do with the way people romanticise the past, even if it was horrific."[5]
The album artwork was provided by renowned Atlanta photographer George Mitchell. Deerhunter drummer, Moses Archuleta, initially suggested a "stark black and white theme" with Cox ultimately selecting Mitchell's photograph because "it had an immediate connection to the music, especially songs like 'Basement Scene'." [6]
To help promote the release of the LP, the group launched a new website where they urged fans to download a promotional flyer (created by Cox by photocopying images together) and email pictures of it "hanging in your town, neighborhood, bedrooms, etc." To reward those who had emailed photos, the band revealed the tracklisting and album artwork via email.[1] The first single, "Revival," along with some unused demos and b-side "Primitive 3D" were also made available to fans who had posted flyers.[7] "Helicopter" was later released as a single with a video available on September 8.[8]
About the flyer concept, Cox stated he was inspired by the record promotion he witnessed in the 80s. He recalls:[9]
| “ | ...always being fascinated with the ephemera of 70's – 80's artrock in record stores like Wuxtry in Athens where I hung out as a kid or Wax 'N Facts in Atlanta. You'd see a photocopied faded B-52's flyer next to a poster for Lou Reed or XTC. It was like an artpunk scrapbook on those walls. It made my head spin. Who are these people? Who are the fucking Residents with these weird-ass eyeball faces? | ” |
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic | [10] |
| Drowned in Sound | (8/10)[11] |
| The Guardian | [12] |
| Mojo | [13] |
| NME | (8/10)[14] |
| One Thirty BPM | (93%)[15] |
| Pitchfork | (9.2/10)[16] |
| Rolling Stone | [17] |
| The Skinny | [18] |
| Spin | (8/10)[19] |
Halcyon Digest received high critical acclaim, ranking second in Exclaim!'s Pop & Rock Albums of the Year where Cam Lindsay credits Deerhunter with continuing their "impressive streak as one of the more consistent sonic explorer's [sic] within the indie rock canon." [20] The album also appeared at #3 on Pitchfork Media's 50 Greatest Albums of 2010, where Rob Mitchum writes that the work's rough-yet-shimmery production and existential theme "demonstrates that the ache of mortality can be even more wounding in the bright glare of daytime than late at night."[21]
All songs written and composed by Bradford Cox and Pundt.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Earthquake" | 5:00 |
| 2. | "Don't Cry" | 2:49 |
| 3. | "Revival" | 2:13 |
| 4. | "Sailing" | 4:59 |
| 5. | "Memory Boy" | 2:09 |
| 6. | "Desire Lines" | 6:44 |
| 7. | "Basement Scene" | 3:41 |
| 8. | "Helicopter" | 3:41 |
| 9. | "Fountain Stairs" | 2:38 |
| 10. | "Coronado" | 3:19 |
| 11. | "He Would Have Laughed" | 7:29 |
| Japanese bonus tracks | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Length | |||||||
| 12. | "Rhythm" | 2:56 | |||||||
| 13. | "Colorscale" | 5:10 | |||||||
Credits adapted from Allmusic[22].
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