May 06 2008 11:06 am,
Atlas Sound
'Let The Blind Lead Those Who Can See But Cannot Feel'
(4AD)
'Let The Blind…' is the debut solo release from Deerhunter's oddball frontman Bradford Cox, under a moniker he's used all his life, and under which he's littered the blogosphere with bedroom-born ambient pop on a near-daily basis for a few years now. 'Let The Blind…' is a modest, boiled-down best-of from this: a captivating listen of hazy experimental shoegaze.
Some pretentious ambition (see lengthy title) spoils its mood in parts, and occasionally Cox overedits himself, slurring vocals and overstretching every paint-stroke, making the likes of 'Small Horror' and 'Winter Vacation' queasy and hard to hold on to. But it works overwhelmingly for the most part, and Cox, narrating through some delicate, anxious and melancholic soundscapes, produces a mesmerising and frequently harrowing album.
