To Get Older Still

Deerhunter @ Bowery Ballroom 11/8/2008

Cover Me (Slowly) / Agoraphobia / Cryptograms / Never Stops / Backspace Century / Spring Hall Convert / Nothing Ever Happened / Little Kids / Octet / Microcastle / Vox Celeste / Twilight At Carbon Lake // New Animals / Hazel Street / Calvary Scars

Deerhunter “Little Kids”

In the time since my first Deerhunter show about a year and a half ago, the band have shifted from provocateurs to professionals. In some cases, this could be a bad thing that signals a descent into bloodless careerism, but the reality is that Deerhunter are just becoming who they are, and getting comfortable enough in their skin to focus completely on performing their music up to a very high standard. In terms of Bradford Cox’s approach to rapidly accumulating songs in his discography, he’s turning into his generation’s Bob Pollard, but in the way his main band performs live, they run a strong chance of becoming something on par with Radiohead or Sonic Youth. Just like those bands, Deerhunter play their songs with stunning accuracy, but also a charge of energy and emotional commitment that amps up the power of the material, and keeps them from sounding rote and over-rehearsed.

Cox has become an increasingly subdued presence onstage since last year, which has its ups and downs. I would appreciate more of his banter — he’s such an effortlessly charming and funny guy, I don’t think anyone would mind him talking a bit more between songs. On the other hand, since he’s abandoned his old antics in favor of throwing himself into playing his guitar, it is easier to focus on the music itself, and make note of the nuances and parts that make the songs so remarkable. For example, Lockett Pundt’s chiming, ascending riff at the end of “Little Kids” is even more magical in concert, and Cox’s finger-tapped lead at the end of “Nothing Ever Happened” is even more mesmerizing as it accelerates along with the slightly faster bass and drum parts.

One of the more encouraging things about this show is that the audience was mostly quite young and enthusiastic — my friend and I were right behind a pack of guys who could best be described as “alt-bros” — which bodes well for the group’s future, provided they all don’t just abandon the group the minute they veer away from songs like “Nothing Ever Happened” and “Never Stops.”

Buy it from Kranky.