All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

100

Tiny Mix Tapes

It may end angrily, but when it’s all said and done, Microcastle is a blissful retreat from the known.

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100

Sputnikmusic

But for all the praise it should receive for being the record Deerhunter were destined to make, what will make Microcastle a classic (and this has every right to become a classic) is what the album means to the person listening.

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Pitchfork

Here, the band comes into their own by applying their own inspiringly distinctive, bleakly appealing sensibility to whatever ideas happen to move them.

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Lost At Sea

Deerhunter have indeed created a masterpiece. While it's not perfect, it has the charm and scope and full realization that was lacking in the band's earlier work.

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The Onion (A.V. Club)

The bolder sound signals that Deerhunter is now less concerned with the scarring effects of loss, conflict, and the passage of time, and more concerned with the ways to escape those things--even if that escape is fleeting.

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Drowned In Sound

Where the split-personality of Cryptograms hinted as much, a cohesive effort on Microcastle delivers the goods in its entirety.

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musicOMH.com

The sounds on Microcastle form a lush landscape.

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Paste Magazine

Though Microcastle is hardly straightforward, it’s an aggressive step toward the mainstream that sacrifices none of Deerhunter’s woozy adventurousness.

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Slant Magazine

In putting the brakes on their revolutionary impulses to instead embrace old tropes and familiar sounds, Deerhunter has hit upon an endearing, awesome universality.

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Filter

Microcastle shows Deerhunter [sic] progresing with reason, creating one of their best releases yet. [Fall 2008, p.92]

Under The Radar

The recording is their cleanest yet, but worry not--there's plenty of ambience and guitar noise to be had. [Fall 2008, p.74]

Hartford Courant

It's a very consistent record, with lots of wide-open spaces and quivering quietness, and just about every sound seems to fit perfectly exactly where it sits.

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All Music Guide

Microcastle proves that Deerhunter can make music that sounds very different from what they'd done before, yet still feels of a piece with their body of work.

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Billboard

Another winner full of eerie beauty and restraint.

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Dot Music

That rare thing in modern music, you feel Deerhunter grow with each second of song that passes, a band who delight in running under their own graceful steam rather than gasping at the airs of others.

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Prefix Magazine

Continuing the convention-defying structure that Deerhunter pioneered with "Cryptograms," Microcastle starts slow and spirals into something much larger.

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NOW Magazine

If you’re not up on that stuff, Microcastle may seem like a more impressive creative breakthrough than it actually is, which could explain the gushy reviews.

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Mojo

Microcastle could be 4AD's best release in well over a decade. [Dec 2008, p.108]

Sputnikmusic

The placement of certain tracks on Microcastle are an obvious glaring weakness, but one cannot take away the pure execution and quality of the songs.

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Spin

Where Cox's Atlas Sound output is scattered and eclectic, Microcastle, Deerhunter's third album, is focused and consistent.

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The New York Times

In Deerhunter’s latest songs Mr. Cox sings about time, perception, crucifixion and murder, while the band maintains its gift for realizing just how far a small idea can be carried through repetition and accretion.

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The Guardian

Fresh on the heels of his deliciously spooky Atlas Sound solo album, the bizarre and beguiling Bradford Cox outdid himself again on his Brooklyn-based band's third record.

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Magnet

The constant fluidity here makes the album’s unpredictability seem grounded and cohesive instead of erratic.

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Los Angeles Times

It’s an excellent indie starter kit for the kids just plucking “Loveless” out of the bin.

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cokemachineglow

Smartly, Microcastle stops short of alienating, an adjective more than a few scribes have lobbed at "Cryptograms."

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Alternative Press

The richly recorded songs spool out with a natural ease. [Nov 2008, p.154]

Almost Cool

Less visceral than "Cryptograms," this follow-up shows two sides of a group that still hasn't quite figured out exactly what they want to be.

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Urb

The ’Hunter may not have bagged a 14-point buck this time around, but Microcastle is still good enough to stuff and mount on the wall.

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Dusted Magazine

The music doesn’t go far enough--it’s too restrained and mellow--but the point of view is crystal clear. This is alternative rock clinically perfected in a perpetual adolescence.

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Rolling Stone

On the group's third album, the usually extroverted singer, known for sporting dresses onstage, seems to be withdrawing, embracing a more delicate, acid-dipped sound. Microcastle has only one rave-up, but it's a killer: 'Nothing Ever Happened.'

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Blender

Scary. And at times, scary good. [Nov 2008, p.73]

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PopMatters

By discarding the hazy ambience of "Cryptograms" and revealing their winsome heart, Deerhunter have rewarded those who applauded their bravery and may even convince the doubters that they are as significant an act as their fans have faithfully prognosticated.

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Q Magazine

An intriguingly woozy melange of out-of-focus vocals, feedback squalls and metronomic beats, everything coming together just so on the compelling 'Nothing Ever Happened.' [Nov 2008, p.121]

Uncut

Much of this album sounds like its been stitched together from 4AD's finest moments. [Dec 2008, p.88]

Hot Press

Deerhunter's latest features more pop melodies and fuzzy soundscapes, forsaking the raw, intense sound we all love.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this album is 8.9 (out of 10) based on 44 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

mark o gave it a10:
Really a remarkable album; i would argue that this was my favorite of the decade.

Chris gave it a10:
A really awesome album that has made this band one of my favorites.

Tom P gave it a10:
A completely unique sound. No weak tracks anywhere on the album, and for me, slightly reminiscent of Pink Floyd. Arguably the best CD of 2008.

Nicholas gave it a7:
There are plenty of amazing sounds on this record, but throughout Deerhunter fail to take their concept and draw it out; compared with the repetitive and extended versions of songs in concert, this record is somewhat disappointing in that regard.

nas haq gave it an8:
Well this is unusual. A bit addictive after a few listens.

Pino gave it a10:
Simply the best album of the year.

rodnim gave it a5:
Please dont compare this to Loveless, they are Irish heroes.. this is emo drivel for the most part.

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Microcastle

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