[rating: 4.5]

Release date: November 8, 2011In the past year, Bradford Cox has asserted himself as one of the most important musical figures of this generation. Four, full-length, outtake and rarity albums, a massive tour with Deerhunter, and the release of his career-defining album Parallax. Up until this point, so much of Cox’s solo work was indistinguishable from his other projects — different store fronts for the same product. But on Parallax, the output is entirely unique and tremendously enjoyable.Previous Atlas Sound albums have always been an atmospheric and moody affair, but there’s a certain aura to Parallax that’s lacking in the former works. Maybe it’s a byproduct of the autumnal change, but the album contains a certain lively spirit that is hard to describe. “Terra Incognita,” a slow-rolling, acoustic piece is the soundtrack to lonely walks on uneven sidewalks. Cox’s haunting voice matches the deathly look of the leaves. It’s a beautiful landscape he paints, and it’s just one of the many focal points on the record.

The real weight of Cox’s work comes from the sense of isolation he creates on Parallax. Where most albums involve the world outside the artist, this album feels completely on its own, a summary of Cox’s stream-of-consciousness style of song writing and perfectly arranged instrumentals. While piecing the tracks together doesn’t necessarily reveal a coherent story or theme, the tone and rhythm of each song, strings together in movie score-esque pattern. Infectious guitar chords on “The Shakes” are echoed deep within the closing track “Nightworks,” in a tangentially related but familiar way. There’s a pattern to so much of Cox’s work, but it’s never boring or predictable. The subtle piano keys on “Mona Lisa” differentiate it from the rest of the album, but the same guitar effects are present along with Cox’s echoing vocals.

The album’s highlight, which truly showcases Cox’s ability to arrange and perform a song, is “Te Amo.” One of the best tunes this year, “Te Amo” has a simple lyrical structure, but is amazingly complex and breathtaking when taken as as a whole.The scaling piano keys at the beginning are entrancing, compounded by the slam of a drum that all lead into the explosion of Cox’s vocals. “We’ll have such strange dreams,” Cox sings in the third verse, the tune, by this time, having fallen into a hypnotic pace. On its own, the tune is perfect. But even as it transitions to the next track on the album, you can hear how it fits perfectly within the context of the rest of the album. And that’s where “Te Amo” excels: in its ability to stand alone as a great single, without retracting from the contained experience of Parallax.

There’s usually little to be learned from an album’s cover art, but Parallax has a story to tell. Cox, grabbing the microphone, standing half-lit and alone, is presented in his truest form. While his other projects also flourish, Cox is at his best when solo, left unaffected by outside voices and concerns. His ability to write hermetically, and at the rate and range at which he does, proves Cox to be an important, if fringe, member of the modern music scene. Parallax challenges current experimental pop music’s tropes and habits, vastly exceeding all expectations as one of the best albums this year, and certainly the best of Cox’s already-storied career.

– Erik Burg

MP3: Atlas Sound :: Terra Incognita
MP3: Atlas Sound :: Te Amo