Fluorescent Grey

Deerhunter's second full-length, Cryptograms, out in February 2007, was a dull, dry affair, overly obsessed with itself and its image rather than its actual substance, more boring than anything else. For the Fluorescent Grey EP, however, recorded while Cryptograms was being mixed, and issued in April, the band seems to have taken a step away from their über-pretension and actually focused on the music. The opening song, "Fluorescent Grey," manages to combine a real attention to form and melody while still retaining the kind of repetitive experimental drone-rock that Deerhunter loves. Maybe this is also able to happen because the EP is only four tracks long; the self-imposed length constraints force the band to get to the point, even if said point is wound around reverberating guitars and echoing, amphibious vocal lines. Who knows if this is the direction Deerhunter is taking for the future: by the time they get to recording their next album they may have switched tactics altogether, but as it stands, Fluorescent Grey EP shows off an innovative, creative group who have a lot to offer and a lot to say, things that weren't necessarily apparent on their other releases.