Deerhunter shooting up Hard Rock Live

At times, the members of Atlanta’s Deerhunter seem almost embarrassed by their pop smarts.

Take “Leather Jacket II” from their latest record, “Monomania,” the group’s sixth overall, where they subvert the tunefulness at the heart of the song with a 10-car pileup of discordant guitars and paranoiac reverbed vocals in what could pass for a Butthole Surfers B-side.

But on the very next tune, “The Missing,” the noise abates like waves of dissonance receding from a beachhead, revealing the pretty, plaintive songcraft that is this band’s strong suit, even if they often do their best to obscure its radiance like a solar eclipse swallowing the sun’s rays.

Contact reporter Jason Bracelin at jbracelin@
reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0476.