Don't ask Bradford Cox about 'Wild Things,' Karen O
Atlas Sound's "Let the Blind Lead Those Who Can See" could easily be a film score.
Its songs -- or sketches, rather -- drift in and out of one another, a dash of '60s pop and a wind-chime-like sparkle leads "River Card" into the underwater atmospherics and loose, melodic bass of "Quarantined." The ghostly voices and relaxing electronic soundscapes of "On Guard" contrast with the more warped and bouncy "Cold as Ice." It's built for headphones and creates a warm, psychedelic mood, albeit a slightly unsettling one.
Atlas Sound is the brainchild of one Bradford Cox (center, in orange), who also fronts the hypnotic-rock of Atlanta-based Deerhunter. In the latter, guitars and ambient noises howl around one another, with Cox's vocals looped amongst the swirl. Cox said Deerhunter will spend much of April recording a new album, one which will be far more glossy and poppy than previous efforts.
When it comes to working out his more atmospheric, cinematic side, Cox said he'll utilize Atlas Sound, or other side projects. One such endeavor that caught some attention was Cox's reported participation in the soundtrack to "Where the Wild Thing Are," the Spike Jonze-directed film of a Dave Eggers script based on the famed children's book by Maurice Sendak.
It's already leaked, via movie and music blog the Playlist, that the Yeah Yeah Yeah's Karen O would have some participation in the music for the film. Then Atlanta alt-weekly Creative Loafing revealed that Cox had worked with Karen O on the music for "Wild Things."
Having the opportunity to recently speak to Cox, the score was one of my main topics of concern, especially as "Wild Things" has been subject to a bevy of rumors about production problems and re-shoots (the Playlist, again, has done a bang-up job keeping track of all of this).
But Cox would have none of it.
As soon as I mentioned the word "score," Cox said, "I don’t want to talk about that, really. I’m surprised [the publicist] didn’t tell you that I don’t discuss that."
Would he at least confirm the Creative Loafing article, which had Cox and Karen O recording with all sorts of "bizarre instruments"?
"When your friend asks you to do something," Cox said, "I don’t want to use that to draw attention to my album. That’s someone else’s deal, and when the friend who I am talking about decides to start talking about this, then I will start talking about it. Notice I have not confirmed or denied anything."
Fair enough, but why the hush-hush? After all, much of the Atlas Sound album would sound perfect on the silver screen. Cox was kind enough to play along for one more attempt at getting some info, but that was it.
"I’m just not interested in talking about the soundtrack," Cox said. "It’s my close friend, and it’s not my place to talk about it. That’s on the list of things I do not talk about it."
On the list of things Cox does talk about is the upcoming Deerhunter album, which Cox said will be a drastic change of pace for the adventurous indie rockers. Expect the band, he said, to make a bid for a much more accessible sound. Having caught a couple songs from Atlas Sound at South by Southwest, Cox seems perfectly capable of pulling it off, as live, Atlas Sound took on a more '60s-inspired garage rock feel.
"I’d prefer Deerhunter to remain more refined," he said. "I’d like to use Atlas Sound to refine Deerhunter, to the point that Deerhunter is just making extremely high-quality records. The next record will be a pop record."
Further exploration: Check out a bevy of free music on Cox's terrific blog here.
Sample Atlas Sound's "River Card" below:
