The ever-excitable bloggerati anointed these Atlanta art-rockers early on, but they've spent their first two albums (plus tons of legendarily raucous live shows) veering disconcertingly from raging noise to dreamy ambience and back. Microcastle, by contrast, wisely digs in and develops a single coherent sound. The band settles on a neo-shoegaze approach, layering blankets of fuzzy guitar texture to exquisite effect. And they complement their newfound stylistic focus with their tightest batch of honest-to-God songs to date. Finally, a Deerhunter album that satisfies as much as it impresses. B+
Download This: Listen to the song ''Never Stops'' on the band's MySpace
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