Deerhunter opened for Spoon at the 9:30 Club twice this week, and I wasn't able to go to either. I've never seen Deerhunter, so as a consolation to myself, I went through most of the Bradford Cox catalog. (Cox is the formidable lead singer / mastermind of Deerhunter and authors the solo side project Atlas Sound, which is probably even better. He is one of the golden boys of the indie rock world right now.)

When their debut, Cryptograms, came out, I liked it ok. I thought it was a little monotonous and dissonant, not a great combination. But it's been on the shelf for a while, and having fallen in love with everything since, I figured I was probably missing something the first time around. And for once, I was right.

It's amazing how you acclimate to new sounds - how your ears are trained to hear different things upon repeated listens or a couple years of continually redefining your tastes. The dreaminess of Cox' voice, the inventiveness of the layers of liquid, digital wash. It's so obvious to me now, while the pulsating beats and simple Sonic Youth guitar riffs that distracted me before are just a framework, a canvas, for the artist to do his work.

If you're not tuned in yet, I'd recommend working backward, starting with the Atlas Sound Logos album, Deerhunter's Microcastle, Atlas Sound's Let The Blind Lead Those Who Can See But Not Feel, and then this one. The DH Rainwater Cassette Exchange EP is outstanding, too.