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OMG Fun Fun Fun Fest is getting closer and closer, and, with that, it's important to fill up the knowledge coffers on the stacked roster the two-day extravaganza o' awesomeness has to offer. This week, we're checking out a couple notable though not-terribly-well-known acts, acts that should help ensure that this year's Fest will be the best yet, for serious.
Atlas Sound
Bradford Cox is well known for a few things. One is his band, Atlanta thoughtful rockers Deerhunter, whose last album, Microcastle, was one of 2008's most replayable dynamos. Another is his incredibly prolific output, as it sometimes seems not a week can pass without him posting another song to his blog; additionally, the recording session for Microcastle was so massive the album was released in tandem with a second full-length, Weird Era Cont. Thirdly...about that blog. This is where Cox last year made himself perhaps the most laid-bare member of an increasingly exposed music scene, sharing with the world everything from his childhood experiences to his present prejudices, and often with a touch of eyebrow-raising honesty/craziness.
And that brings us to Atlas Sound, which is Cox's solo venture, and a name under which he's penned tunes since he was a teen. Lurking under the radar in the past, the Atlas Sound project received a shot of adrenaline this year when a guest turn by Animal Collective's Panda Bear made the song "Walkabout," and its accompanying album, Logos, a big to-do for the always-delightful blogosphere. Whereas Atlas Sound's official debut album, Let the Blind Lead Those Who Can See but Cannot Feel, was a far more ambient venture than anything Deerhunter had done, Logos sees Cox taking his bedroom sound to more dynamic levels, mixing his knack for unconsciously stunning pop hooks with an ear for subtlety that makes his music magic for headphones. Perhaps most memorable about Cox, though, is his stage presence: he's a bundle of awkward energy, and there's no doubt his performance at Waterloo Park will be one of the weekend's most anticipated.
Broadcast
There's no one else out there quite like Broadcast: they do what they do better than anyone, even if no one can quite nail down what exactly it is they do. An attempt: electro-influenced dark-hearted art-pop. With the dry and matter-of-fact vocals of Trish Keenan and James Cargill's assist on the captivating arrangements, the Birmingham, England duo makes music about as starkly and nakedly artsy as you can imagine. After all, their 2005 LP was called Tender Buttons, an ode to the major work of brilliant and wildly confounding modernist Gertrude Stein, and their last extended work (a collection of b-sides and rarities) was called Future Crayon, whatever that means.
To give even further credit to their musical vision, much-respected and much-reviled indie music tastemaker Pitchfork Media recently came out with a list of the two hundred "best" albums of the decade, and not one, but two Broadcast albums made the cut. But all accolades aside, it's Keenan's dour delivery that's made Broadcast one of the most consistently rewarding, even if sometimes forgotten on this side of the pond, acts making music today. That they're performing at Fun Fun Fun Fest is a rare treat.
Atlas Sound [MySpace] [Deerhunter Blog]
Broadcast [MySpace] [Blog]
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