Deerhunter is a band which formed in 2001 in Atlanta, Georgia, United State… Read Full Bio ↴Deerhunter is a band which formed in 2001 in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The band consists of Bradford Cox (vocals, guitar, piano), Moses Archuleta (drums, synths), Lockett Pundt (guitar, organ, vocals), and Josh McKay (bass, vocals).

The group began with the ambition of fusing the lulling hypnotic states induced by ambient and minimalist music with the klang and propulsion of garage rock. The band has weathered chaotic line-up changes and the death of a member.

Cryptograms was the second full-length offering from Deerhunter, and their first for Kranky. The album took almost two years to finish and was the product of emotional, physical, and financial strain on the group. The result is an album that finds the band shifting from discordant catharsis, and forming a sonic identity that completely expresses the place from which they have arrived. The first half of the album was recorded first unsuccessfully in 2005. These recordings were a blur at best, wordless and bordering on psychological atrophy. The sessions failed to provide anything tangible, and were racked with technical and personal problems, including out-of-tune pianos, panic attacks, and a tape machine that seemed to fail to capture the full spectrum of ambience the band was exploring.

The band returned home, having failed, and considered giving up. The idea arose to give it one last shot and exactly one year from the date of the recording of their first self-titled LP at a small studio in rural Georgia, they returned to that same studio and plugged in. The session resulted in the first half of the record which was recorded in one day and completely filled the reel of tape they brought with them. Cryptograms’ first side begins with an introduction leading to the title track, and ends with the tape literally spinning off the end of the reel in the middle of a drone layered with bells and accordion (Red Ink). The second half of the record, also recorded in one day, in November of 2005, represents the band in an entirely different state. Spring Hall Convert opens with the line, “…so I woke up…” and introduces a set of focused psych-pop songs fixating on adolescence, illness, and failing connections.

On May 8, 2007, the group released the Fluorescent Grey EP, which was recorded in July 2006. This EP also garnered the title of "Best New Music" from Pitchfork Media. In the same month, the band released the Whirlyball 7" single, which was available at only one store in Atlanta, Georgia: Criminal Records. The single also acted as a ticket to a show, which featured the band along with The Carbonas, Selmanaires and The Coathangers. The single was available online for a limited time after the show due to popular demand, but only 200 copies were pressed, with 100 on black vinyl and 100 on clear vinyl.

The quartet's third album, Microcastle, came out in October of 2008 after being leaked accidentally in May. The physical release was accompanied by an album entitled Weird Era Cont.. They were both well-received, scoring a 9.2 and "best new music" on Pitchfork and taking the #1 slot for Tiny Mix Tapes' annual favorite albums list for 2008.

The band added guitarist Whitney Petty, a former sailor and high school friend of Cox's, to replace the departing Colin Mee in May 2008. She in turn left the band in February 2009.

The band followed up the critically acclaimed Microcastle/Weird Era Cont. set in May 2009 with an EP - Rainwater Cassette Exchange.

In September 2010, Deerhunter released Halcyon Digest on the label 4AD. The album received broad critical acclaim, including being rated #20 on the NME "50 Best Albums of 2010." Deerhunter made their US broadcast television debut on Conan, December 2, 2010, where they performed Helicopter.

Deerhunter released their sixth album, Monomania, in May 2013. It was their first album without bassist Josh Fauver, with Frankie Broyles and Josh McKay being added to the group. The Black Lips described the album as the "most punk album of the last 30 years."

On December 4, 2014, frontman Bradford Cox was seriously injured and hospitalized after being hit by a car in Atlanta. He has since described the incident as a “perspective-giving jolt” and cites the accident as a turning point for him in life. Deerhunter's seventh album, Fading Frontier, was released in October 2015. This was Cox's first musical output since the accident. The album also saw the departure of guitarist Frankie Broyles, who left the band to focus on his solo career.

In 2018, multi-instrumentalist Javier Morales was added as a permanent member, and the band embarked on a series of tour dates in the USA and Europe. Sold on this tour was a limited cassette-only release, Double Dream of Spring, comprised mainly of instrumental and experimental pieces. The band's eighth studio album, Why Hasn't Everything Already Disappeared?, followed in January 2019. Later in the year, a "12-minute opus" titled Timebends was released to streaming services as a one-off single. Partially improvised and laden with Cox's signature stream-of-consciousness lyricism, the track was "recorded live direct to tape and in one take with minimal overdubs and mastered using a completely analogue signal chain."

http://deerhuntermusic.com

Basement
Deerhunter Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

What's in the basement
Cool trick
It's twilight now
No fake shit

What's in the basement
Cool trick
Superimpose

Twilight effect

What's in the basement
What's in the basement
I'm in the basement

What's in the basement
I'm in the basement
With quick focus

What's in the basement
Cool trick
It's twilight now
No fake shit

Rained on youth
Soaked to skin
You're absent
Sent back again
You're absent youth
Rained on youth
Soaked to skin bruised
Black and blue refuged
Cobwebbed stripped and mildewed

I don't want to go down
I don't want to go down
You don't want to go down
You don't want to go down

I don't want to go down
You don't want to go down

What's in the basement
You're half naked

I don't want to go down
You don't want to go down
I don't want to go down
You don't want to go down

Basement
Basement
Basement
Basement

You're in the basement

Quick quick focus
Quick quick focus

You're in the basement
You're half naked

I'm in the basement
You're half naked

Basement
Basement

Basement
Basement

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Deerhunter's song Basement are cryptic and open to interpretation. The repeated lines of "what's in the basement" suggest a mystery or hidden secrets that are intriguing to the singer. The phrase "cool trick" also adds to the idea of something being hidden or unexpected. The mention of "twilight" and "twilight effect" could be referencing the time of day or a feeling of being in between light and darkness.

The second half of the song takes a darker turn, with the mention of "rained on youth" and being "soaked to skin." This could suggest a time of emotional vulnerability or hardship. The line "absent youth" suggests a feeling of being disconnected from the past or one's own youth. The repeated phrases of "I don't want to go down" and "you don't want to go down" suggest a reluctance to face or confront something.

Overall, the lyrics to Basement are enigmatic and could be interpreted in several ways. It is possible that the song explores themes of hidden secrets, emotional vulnerability, and reluctance to confront challenging experiences.

Line by Line Meaning

What's in the basement
Curiosity about what is hidden in the basement

Cool trick
An interesting, possibly unconventional idea or method

It's twilight now
The time of day when light is dimming and darkness is approaching

No fake shit
Authenticity is important; nothing unreal or deceptive shall be tolerated

Superimpose
To combine multiple images or footage to create a composite picture

I'm in the basement
The singer or singer is physically present in the basement

With quick focus
Being attentive and concentrated, ready to act swiftly

Rained on youth
The artist's youth was marked by unfortunate circumstances

Soaked to skin
The person was heavily exposed and affected by the elements

You're absent
The absence or unavailability of someone who the singer addresses

Sent back again
Someone is rejected and returned to a place or situation they left before