Atlas Sound - Logos

 Be glad for Logos, because it almost never made it. After unintentionally leaking unfinished versions of every song on his solo project Atlas Sound’s second full-length, Bradford Cox nearly scrapped the entire thing in dismay. He ultimately came back to the material, giving it the treatment it deserves and, in the process, making one of the best shoegaze albums in a year chock full of them.

This statement is a testament to the enormity of Cox’s talent, but it doesn’t do justice to Logos or anything else Cox does, by himself or with original band Deerhunter. This is a deeply-layered album, one that veers with aplomb from bubbling, avant-garde electronics (opener “The Light That Failed”) to gorgeous indie-pop (“Criminal”). Cox has toned down the experimentalism of his last Atlas Sound release, Let the Blind Lead Those Who Can See but Cannot Feel, but Logos still gives you the sense that Atlas Sound exists to indulge Cox’s every sonic curiosity, no matter how disparate they might be.

And disparate they are. On one hand, Noah Lennox of Animal Collective collaborates on standout “Walkabout,” a psych-pop gem that sounds, well, pretty much like Animal Collective. On the other hand, Cox works with Stereolab’s Laetitia Sadier to make the nine-minute krautrock epic “Quick Canal.” One could criticize Cox for letting his guests dominate both tracks; it’s a valid claim but, in view of the remainder of the album, it doesn’t hold much weight. Logos is an exploration above all else, interesting and impressive enough to get away with the occasional meandering.