Wisdom is learned

I have many, many problems with Bradford Cox's sudden overwhelming superstardom, like the fact that he seemingly has chosen to re-write history and declare himself as being Brooklyn born and bred. Dude, if you're seeing this-and you aren't-you're from Marietta, the literal other side of the same tracks as I am.

Also, Deerhunter used to suck, massively-let's not forget about that.

Regardless, though, as Fader put it so well, for a full generation of aural junkies when we look back on our 20s the music Cox has made in any and all his various incarnations will play a major soundtracking role. For all his hissy-fits and freakouts, the guy is sitting on a mountain that will eventually be labeled "music genius".

All of this is to say that I don't really know where I stand with Logos, the new album from his solo Atlas Sound project. Bits of it are absolutely chilly and frigid, perfect for New York winters where it gets pitch-dark at 4 P.M.. Moments, though, like his Panda Bear collaboration "Walkabout", are fantastic individual songs-unusual for anything taking the form and shape of an Atlas Sound composition-but feel anachronistic. The album's one knot, though, the thing that holds it all together, is "Quick Canal", a Bradford Cox/Laetitia Sadier (Stereolab) collaboration. It's eight minutes of bliss that isn't bound to seasonal or emotional restrictions. It can be uplifting or heartwrenching depending on what it needs to be-it shapeshifts like that. I can see how, with Bradford's "la la la"-ing right behind Laetitia, it could be mistaken for a beach party anthem, but no-there's something cold and chipped hiding right beneath "Quick Canal"'s surface that isn't there on "Walkabout".

Video for "Quick Canal" by Fitz Vladich, from the 4AD site.