SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: DEERHUNTER – WHY HASN’T EVERYTHING ALREADY DISAPPEARED?

Deerhunter
Why Hasn’t Everything Already Disappeared?
4AD

Beloved Georgia experimental rock band Deerhunter’s new album, Why Hasn’t Everything Already Disappeared?, is incredibly dreamy in some places, alert and aware of modern times in others, and interesting everywhere. It is a post-modern look at what it means to be where we are now. The political climate, the musical climate, and the actual climate are behaving more strangely than they ever have in our memories. Deerhunter is acutely aware of this fact as they create an Elephant 6-inspired score to the end of the world. The first single for example, “Death in Midsummer”, sounds like an acid trip taking place in the Middle Ages. The lyrics point out the mortality not only of our lives, but also our work, which is ultimately insignificant in the long run.

While this album does bear on the dreary side lyrically, it most definitely has a sublime quality throughout. Its only fault is that it does not always hit the mark it aims for. Sometimes the bass lines and drums, trying for a funky groove, seem like simple necessities, not providing any major contribution to the song. Though it is a very spacey album, it can also get heads bobbing and feet moving. In closing, though it doesn’t always achieve its goals, Why Hasn’t Everything Already Disappeared? will be great for popping some headphones on while our economic structures collapse and everything we know crumbles.

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