Deerhunter

Deerhunter’s extensive catalog serves as a master template for 21st-century indie. Formed in 2001, the Atlanta band has constantly evolved, exploring art rock, avant-pop, shoegaze, psychedelia, and ambient sounds that often balance pure noise with raw beauty. Over the years and through several lineup changes, commanding frontman Bradford Cox, guitarist Lockett Pundt, and percussionist/keyboardist Moses Archuleta have remained Deerhunter’s sturdy core. Cox carries his stream-of-consciousness musings and musical whims from album to album with an almost childlike zeal, even when he’s exploring the darkest corners of his psyche—which is often. Where 2007’s Cryptograms—Deerhunter’s debut for experimental record label kranky—has Cox brooding and bellowing in dense swirls of fuzzed-out guitars and hypnotic electronics, later releases like 2010’s Halcyon Digest and 2015’s Fading Frontier emphasize his sharp melodic instincts with shimmering dream-pop gems such as “Helicopter” and “Breaker.” As Deerhunter continue to explore the infinite depths of sound from every possible angle, they remain one of indie rock’s most uncompromising voices for the outsider.