Deerhunter have made quite a name for themselves over the last few years, and you really have to to hand it to them – since 2007 they’ve released 3 albums, 2 EPs, countless online demos and mixes, as well as spawning Atlas Sound and Lotus Plaza, each to pretty much rapturous critical acclaim. They’re probably one of the most praised bands in North America right now, despite making making music that’s often rather inaccessible and introverted and almost completely at odds with modern indie trends. How did all this happen?

First encounters with Deerhunter are oft unmemorable; you’d be hard picked to cite any particular song as a landmark, yet each of their releases are captivating – dense and strange collections of songs that flow in and out of each other hauntingly. Their live show leaves a similar imprint; lulling you and pulverising you in equal measure, slowly overriding the senses and drawing you into a strange new place. Famously described by Karen O as “a religious experience”, a Deerhunter show is hard to describe just in terms of songs or moments – it’s best experienced as a whole.

Last night’s show was no exception. The sold-out show in Andrew’s Lane which was my third encounter with the band, who are now playing as a 4 piece again after the departure of last year’s recruit Whitney. Opening with the title track off their new release Rainwater Cassette Exchange, and then the sinister bass-heavy Cryptograms; it’s clear that the sound suffers a bit in the  venue (especially later on during the wig-out section of Nothing Ever Happened, which doesn’t quite come across as epic as it should). Melodic numbers like Hazel St and Never Stops are matched with experimental ones like Octet, where the throbbing bassline almost resembles the Simian Mobile Disco remix more than it does the original.

Between songs the banter is kept to a minimum, apart from the standard declarations of love for Ireland and Bradford Cox’s desire to talk to us about “the issue of dead babies” (turns out his bandmates are the babies in question), but the band seem if good spirits and happy to please the crowd, as they do by honouring a call to play Flourescent Grey.

Somewhere mid set; Deerhunter perform a version of White Ink that builds into an epic noise assault, catching their audience off guard with violent torrents of volume. As ALT trembles, many punters block their ears and wince, while others succumb to a trance-like state. It’s hard to gauge how long passes until the roaring subsides and the band release their grip on the room, I’d guess maybe 8 minutes or so. The experience is equal parts bliss and discomfort, a direct tribute to the art/noise ‘Holocaust‘ performances pioneered by My Bloody Valentine, of whom Cox & Co are big fans.

As the room recovers and eardrums readjust; the gig resumes with Microcastle, where Bradford showcases his croony vocals in solo fashion until his bandmates once again join around him to whip up a storm. Similarly Agoraphobia proved a highlight with the crowd joining in the lyrical hook “come for me/comfort me” that runs throughout the song.

After about an hour and a half onstage, proceedings come to a close with Calvary Scars, where once again the band scale the decibels and test the limits of the ALT soundsystem in apocalyptic fashion, departing the stage to looping waves of droning feedback and amplifier hiss that played out as the frazzled audience begin their slow shuffle towards the streets… it remains lodged in my head still today and probably still will tomorrow; cracking and fizzing away in place of what was once silence.

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