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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Little Kids
Deerhunter Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Little kids see that man walking down, the dirt road
These kids see this guy
And they think of him dressed in flames
Kids walk behind, slowly stalk, that old man
To get older still (x4)
Where he turns on the radio, and smokes a cig
These kids cover him in gasoline, and they strike a match
to get older still (repeat)
The lyrics of Deerhunter's "Little Kids" tell an unsettling story of young children engaging in violent and potentially deadly behavior. The first verse sets the scene of kids drinking gin on their front lawn and catching sight of an old man walking down the dirt road. The children start to follow the man, imagining him dressed in flames, before eventually trapping him in his shed and setting him on fire.
The haunting refrain of "to get older still" repeated throughout the song suggests a desire for these children to grow up faster, to become more powerful and take control of their lives in a brutal and destructive way. The lyrics paint a dark picture of the consequences of young minds being exposed to violence and the desire for power at a young age.
Overall, "Little Kids" can be interpreted as a commentary on the dangers of childhood trauma and the impact it can have on a person's psyche. The lyrics suggest that these children may have experienced abuse or neglect themselves, leading them down a path of violence and seeking control.
Line by Line Meaning
Kids drinking gin on their front lawn
Children are consuming alcohol in their own yard
Little kids see that man walking down, the dirt road
Small children observe a man walking on a dirt path
These kids see this guy
The kids notice this man
And they think of him dressed in flames
They imagine the man engulfed in fire
Kids walk behind, slowly stalk, that old man
The children follow the elderly gentleman at a leisurely pace
To get older still (x4)
This phrase is repeated four times but its meaning is ambiguous and subject to interpretation
These kids followed him in, into his shed
The children trail him into his workshop
Where he turns on the radio, and smokes a cig
Here, the man listens to music and smokes a cigarette
These kids cover him in gasoline, and they strike a match
The children douse him with fuel and ignite him
Lyrics © WORDS & MUSIC A DIV OF BIG DEAL MUSIC LLC
Written by: BRADFORD COX, LOCKETT PUNDT
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
DominiggaChanigga
reminds me of when i was a teenager smoking weed
Comrade Sandwich
As a kid, I never blamed the kids but as an adult, I now think they're little piss pots. Even kinda scared now.
frank Stich
Had an ingrown removed while listening to this...
Neon
Wow
Comrade Sandwich
ikr