The biggest point of interest in the four track Deerhunter session posted by Daytrotter yesterday is clearly a glimpse into the band's next album, tenuously titled Microcastle. And of the two previously unreleased songs, it's "Calvary Scars" that presents the more tantalizing way forward. Instead of pretty dread leading to eventual guitar bombast, we get sustained pretty dread peppered with some mighty disturbing imagery. According to a blog post earlier this year, the song was inspired by a sketchy photo of a boy crucified by his Norwegian black metal hero. Cox's identification with the hapless boy (and the whole scenario in general, really) is yet another example of his preoccupation with the themes of cult author Dennis Cooper. But that unbearably sad, searching voice that gives those jet black images life is the singer's signature. "Crucified on a cross, in front of all my closet friends," he sings, with his band mates inching along. After a year where his every move was documented, dissected, and commented on from all corners, I suspect that the line isn't purely speculative.
As we noted yesterday, you can download the entire session at Daytrotter.com.