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."

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Lake Somerset
Deerhunter Lyrics

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It pays to kill
Anyone who has information
In the park, we hide behind rocks
We urinate on rocks
Until the sun comes up
Encrypted in flesh
Concrete soaked in sweat
We lived in Lake Somerset

It was south of Dallas Highway
Just east of a drained lake
Orchids disolve
Equations solved
Psychic Landscape
To know there is a limit to what you can experience

These walls I know, I grew up here
(No satisfaction)

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Deerhunter's "Lake Somerset" appear to describe a sinister secret hidden within a park. The lines "It pays to kill, anyone who has information" suggest that there may be an illicit trade taking place, with people being killed to keep their knowledge of it secret. The imagery of hiding behind rocks and urinating on them also creates a sense of secrecy and danger. The reference to "encrypted in flesh" could suggest that this secret is somehow deeply ingrained in the people involved, perhaps through a kind of brainwashing or cult-like indoctrination.

The next lines, "Concrete soaked in sweat, we lived in Lake Somerset" describe a physical location where these events take place. The song provides some geographical details, placing it south of Dallas Highway and east of a drained lake. The reference to orchids dissolving and equations being solved suggests a sense of decay and chaos. The final lines "Psychic Landscape, to know there is a limit to what you can experience, these walls I know, I grew up here" suggest that the singer is intimately familiar with this place and its secrets, perhaps even bound to it in some way.

Line by Line Meaning

It pays to kill
Killing or getting rid of anyone who has information can be beneficial in some way.

Anyone who has information
People who have information can be a threat or problematic in some way.

In the park, we hide behind rocks
This line could be an allusion to hiding or avoiding something in real-life that's dangerous or unwanted.

We urinate on rocks
The act of urination on rocks is symbolic of marking their territory or asserting dominance, with rocks being a metaphorical symbol for people or places.

Until the sun comes up
They don't stop their activity until it's safe or until there's no longer any need to.

Encrypted in flesh
Some secrets are deeply embedded within us and are not easily revealed or discovered.

Concrete soaked in sweat
Physical labor and exertion can make a person's environment less comfortable and more difficult.

We lived in Lake Somerset
The phrase refers to being 'in' a specific place or state that was difficult to escape from or leave behind.

It was south of Dallas Highway
This adds a specific location to the story which may or may not be important to the meaning.

Just east of a drained lake
The location being near a drained lake may indicate something ominous or foreboding about the setting.

Orchids disolve
Orchids, known for their beauty, may symbolize something fragile and perishable in nature or a reminder that even beautiful things can fade away.

Equations solved
The idea of solving mathematical problems could be a metaphor for discovering hidden truths about themselves or their surroundings.

Psychic Landscape
This line may imply that this location holds some deep psychological or emotional significance to the singer or the characters in the story.

To know there is a limit to what you can experience
Realizing that there's only so much a person can experience gives one a sense of humility or limitations to their perspective about the world.

These walls I know, I grew up here
The phrase 'These walls I know' is another way to say that they know this place inside out, which is reinforced by the line 'I grew up here'. This familiarity may give a sense of comfort or confinement.

(No satisfaction)
This could be interpreted as the frustration or dissatisfaction with their present circumstances or experiences.

Contributed by Adeline J. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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