Biography
Led by frontman Bradford Cox, Deerhunter surfaced in the mid-2000s as a group equally drawn to daring sonic experiments and luminous, introspective pop. Their work swung between abrasive provocation and hushed tenderness, sometimes within the same track, moving from the thickly textured self-titled debut of 2004 to the hallucinatory sprawl of Cryptograms in 2007. Wider recognition arrived with Microcastle the following year, a collection of rich, immersive guitar pop that drew widespread praise and gave the band its first Billboard chart entry. Even after that milestone, Deerhunter kept pushing boundaries, releasing the abrasive Monomania in 2013 and the delicate yet pointed Why Hasn't Everything Already Disappeared? in 2019.
Cox and drummer/keyboardist Moses Archuleta started the band in Atlanta, Georgia in 2001; bassist Justin Bosworth and guitarist Colin Mee came aboard shortly afterward. An early release, a 2004 split single with Alphabets, appeared on the local Die Slaughterhaus imprint. Bosworth died soon after the recording from head injuries sustained in a skateboarding accident, prompting Josh Fauver of the punk band Electrosleep to join on bass. The group’s raw 2004 debut album, also issued as Turn It Up Faggot, came out on another Atlanta label, Stickfigure Records. Guitarist Lockett Pundt, a longtime friend of Cox, entered the lineup shortly after the album’s release. His reverberant playing, combined with bells, keyboards, and tape loops, shaped the atmospheric Cryptograms, which was tracked in two days during November 2005 and released by Kranky in January 2007. That May the Fluorescent Grey EP arrived, introducing tighter songwriting within the same sonic palette. Around the same period Cox launched his solo project Atlas Sound.
In early 2008 Deerhunter contributed to the Living Bridge compilation of bands that had recorded at Brooklyn’s Rare Book Room studio. That April they covered Jay Reatard’s “Oh, It’s Such a Shame” for a split single, with Reatard in turn covering the title track of Fluorescent Grey. They returned to Rare Book Room to cut Microcastle, favoring shorter, sharper compositions. When the album leaked months ahead of its planned release date, the band quickly recorded Weird Era Cont., which was bundled with the official October 2008 edition. Although Weird Era Cont. also leaked early, Microcastle still debuted at number 123 on the Billboard 200. After Mee departed following the album’s release, the band issued On Platts Eyott, a limited-edition cassette of 200 copies documenting a live Microcastle-session performance. Additional material from those sessions surfaced in 2009 as the Rainwater Cassette Exchange EP and the Sub Pop Singles Club release Vox Celeste 5.
Once Microcastle touring concluded, Deerhunter paused. Archuleta enrolled in culinary school and Fauver focused on his Army of Bad Luck label. Pundt debuted his Lotus Plaza project with The Floodlight Collective in March 2009, while Cox released the second Atlas Sound album, Logos, that October. The band regrouped in 2010 to make Halcyon Digest with producer Ben Allen; the September release reached number 37 on the Billboard 200. Fauver left in 2012 just before work began on the fifth album. With Josh McKay on bass and guitarist Frankie Broyles added, Deerhunter tracked the raw, confrontational Monomania at Rare Book Room with producer Nicolas Vernhes. Issued in May 2013, it peaked at number 41 on the Billboard 200.
Cox was struck by a car in December 2014 and spent time recovering before the group resumed recording. Fading Frontier, featuring contributions from Stereolab’s Tim Gane and Broadcast’s James Cargill plus a Cox-Pundt duet, appeared in October 2015 and reached number 72 on the Billboard 200 that November. After touring the album, Deerhunter remained quiet until 2018, when they played shows in New York and Europe. The limited cassette Double Dream of Spring, pressed to 300 copies, sold out on the tour’s first night. In November 2018 former bassist Josh Fauver died at age 39. January 2019 brought the eighth album, Why Hasn't Everything Already Disappeared?, the first to include keyboardist/saxophonist Javier Morales and featuring work with Cate Le Bon and producer Ben Allen.
Cox and drummer/keyboardist Moses Archuleta started the band in Atlanta, Georgia in 2001; bassist Justin Bosworth and guitarist Colin Mee came aboard shortly afterward. An early release, a 2004 split single with Alphabets, appeared on the local Die Slaughterhaus imprint. Bosworth died soon after the recording from head injuries sustained in a skateboarding accident, prompting Josh Fauver of the punk band Electrosleep to join on bass. The group’s raw 2004 debut album, also issued as Turn It Up Faggot, came out on another Atlanta label, Stickfigure Records. Guitarist Lockett Pundt, a longtime friend of Cox, entered the lineup shortly after the album’s release. His reverberant playing, combined with bells, keyboards, and tape loops, shaped the atmospheric Cryptograms, which was tracked in two days during November 2005 and released by Kranky in January 2007. That May the Fluorescent Grey EP arrived, introducing tighter songwriting within the same sonic palette. Around the same period Cox launched his solo project Atlas Sound.
In early 2008 Deerhunter contributed to the Living Bridge compilation of bands that had recorded at Brooklyn’s Rare Book Room studio. That April they covered Jay Reatard’s “Oh, It’s Such a Shame” for a split single, with Reatard in turn covering the title track of Fluorescent Grey. They returned to Rare Book Room to cut Microcastle, favoring shorter, sharper compositions. When the album leaked months ahead of its planned release date, the band quickly recorded Weird Era Cont., which was bundled with the official October 2008 edition. Although Weird Era Cont. also leaked early, Microcastle still debuted at number 123 on the Billboard 200. After Mee departed following the album’s release, the band issued On Platts Eyott, a limited-edition cassette of 200 copies documenting a live Microcastle-session performance. Additional material from those sessions surfaced in 2009 as the Rainwater Cassette Exchange EP and the Sub Pop Singles Club release Vox Celeste 5.
Once Microcastle touring concluded, Deerhunter paused. Archuleta enrolled in culinary school and Fauver focused on his Army of Bad Luck label. Pundt debuted his Lotus Plaza project with The Floodlight Collective in March 2009, while Cox released the second Atlas Sound album, Logos, that October. The band regrouped in 2010 to make Halcyon Digest with producer Ben Allen; the September release reached number 37 on the Billboard 200. Fauver left in 2012 just before work began on the fifth album. With Josh McKay on bass and guitarist Frankie Broyles added, Deerhunter tracked the raw, confrontational Monomania at Rare Book Room with producer Nicolas Vernhes. Issued in May 2013, it peaked at number 41 on the Billboard 200.
Cox was struck by a car in December 2014 and spent time recovering before the group resumed recording. Fading Frontier, featuring contributions from Stereolab’s Tim Gane and Broadcast’s James Cargill plus a Cox-Pundt duet, appeared in October 2015 and reached number 72 on the Billboard 200 that November. After touring the album, Deerhunter remained quiet until 2018, when they played shows in New York and Europe. The limited cassette Double Dream of Spring, pressed to 300 copies, sold out on the tour’s first night. In November 2018 former bassist Josh Fauver died at age 39. January 2019 brought the eighth album, Why Hasn't Everything Already Disappeared?, the first to include keyboardist/saxophonist Javier Morales and featuring work with Cate Le Bon and producer Ben Allen.
Albums
Why Hasn't Everything Already Disappeared?
2019
Fading Frontier
2015
Monomania
2013
Halcyon Digest
2010
Rainwater Cassette Exchange
2009
Weird Era Cont
2008
Microcastle
2008
Fluorescent Grey EP
2007
Cryptograms
2007
Singles
