Deerhunter, Sala Apolo, Barcelona

If there is such a thing as some untouchable, God-like genius of the indie world, He who can do no wrong in the eyes of the masses, with a strong, nay flawless back catalogue of work, it may well be Bradford Cox of Deerhunter. Lauded as a perfectionist – mainly because, as an uber fan of music himself, he knows what it means to followers – you’re unlikely to find him writing jingles for Coca Cola or swanning around in a huge yellow ‘Rolling Record Store’ pushing over-priced Collector’s Editions anytime soon. Instead, he has dedicated himself to the craft of not just song writing, but also producing and arranging, so that not content with official releases by either Deerhunter or his solo alter ego, Atlas Sound, he frequently dumps hours of stuff on his blog, some of it fragments, some fully formed, for fans to enjoy.

And all this despite favouring a stream-of-consciousness approach to everything he does including, allegedly, their live shows, claiming that ‘I don’t have an agenda. I have no idea what I’m doing, at all, about anything.’ That was around the time of ‘Cryptograms’, when their shows were confrontational, raw and visceral, Cox often appearing in dresses or covered in fake blood. Now, that approach may well have suited the swirling psych-rock of their early tunes, but these days, they’ve shed the histrionics and melodrama. What’s more, having challenged himself to write ‘some really good hooks and more pop’, gone are the ambient soundscapes and 80’s references, making ‘Halycon Digest’ their most accessible LP to date. Today, they’re just four normal guys who stroll on stage, say hello, get plugged in and launch into newbie ‘60 Cycle Hum’.

It seems they’re also not keen on reliving past glories, as we get only ‘Hazel St.’ and fan favourite ‘Octet’ from ‘Cryptograms’, with the rest being drawn from their most recent two albums. Despite this dip into their back catalogue, they both fit seamlessly into the set despite their more challenging nature. Stripped of any effects or electronic frippery they sound better played by a regular four piece, giving them some space to breathe, particularly ‘Octet’, which sounded fantastic as a near ten minute final farewell. Elsewhere, everything has a crispness to it, especially Lockett Pundt’s guitar on ‘Revival’ and ‘Helicopter’, where the latter’s simple riff was transformed into something akin to church bells. Similarly brilliant was the acoustic interplay between Cox and Pundt on ‘He Would Have Laughed’, which in true Deerhunter style (and a very clever touch) not only ended the set, but stopped mid-note, just like the album version.

If there is a criticism, it’s that occasionally the tonal texture and layers of sound, one of the highlights of ‘Digest’, is lacking, although it could also be argued that it’s a blessing they didn’t even try to reproduce it. The simplicity of just two guitars, bass and drums highlights the quality of Cox’s composition and the strength of the material, and that they still sound remarkably poignant is testament to their musicianship and tightness. There wasn’t even any dramatics or posturing, save for a few guitar spazz-outs at the end of ‘Desire Lines’ and ‘Rainwater Cassette Exchange’, but even they were entirely in keeping with the performance, and not at all indulgent. Cox once proclaimed that he was tired of attracting attention for all the wrong reasons, and that ‘I don’t want my mouth to drown out my guitar.’ Sounds like he’s finally getting his wish.