One of Out's latest obsessions is the ridiculously talented Bradford Cox, the self-described asexual front man for Atlanta-based psych-punk group Deerhunter. The band's critically hailed 2007 release, Cryptograms, was an eerie, enigmatic labyrinth of an album, one I find myself trying to solve again and again -- but, luckily, to no avail.
Last week Cox released his stellar debut solo album, Let the Blind Lead Those Who Can See But Cannot Feel, under the name Atlas Sound. He calls the ambient song cycle "healing music," and though the album's fuzzy, intricate bedroom-pop is still haunting and dark, Let the Blind does unfold like a strange yet cathartic journey. It's like waking from a dream, feeling a bit hazy, but ultimately more enlightened and secure.
I sat down with Cox for an exclusive interview, which turned out to be a pretty heady trip itself. We talked not only about the new album and his organic songwriting process, but also about his unhinged stage persona, his painful youth, and his experience growing up gay in the South, explained here:
"What I remember hearing when I was growing up was this mythology of the 'Athens gene' -- that's what I associate with the South. It was like you've been with a boy one week and a girl the next. It was awkward and experimental. And then, it was very much about punk rock. People were trying to be transgressive. They were trying to find something through tearing down all the moral structures they’d been raised by."
For the full interview, head to Out.com, and keep up with Bradford at the Deerhunter blog.
-- JASON LAMPHIER
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