Deerhunter Nation

No, this is not me going all Red State on you. This is fan mail from some flounder to Deerhunter, the alternative band fronted by Bradford Cox and Lockett Pundt, whose side projects Atlas Sound and Lotus Plaza make up the Empire part of this thing.  Ambient psychedelia?  Maybe so.  Chiming guitars, metronome drumming and minor key introversion are the pulse running all through this music.

Where to begin?  Start with"Agoraphobia" from 2008's Microcastle, by which time the band's sound has gelled from their noisy 2001 beginnings.  The noise quotient is toned down, the jangly guitars that Pundt contributes and Cox's introverted sentiments are all here in the prettiest little song you'll ever hear about a panic attack.  

Then it's on to Cox's efforts as Atlas Sound.  Away from the band, his work can verge on chamber pop, somewhat sunnier (what a relief) and rhythmically complex.  This stunner "Walkabout" is from 2008's Logos and features Noah Lennox of Panda Bear (but he's for another day):

I've saved the best for last, the Luna-like sound of Pundt's Lotus Plaza. If LP is the most accessible of these three collectives, you're still not gonna hear it on the radio anytime soon.  Hypnotic and trippy, those reverb-soaked guitars are all over his Spooky Action at a Distance, released this year.  "Remember Our Days" is my pick on a disk full of gems.