Rainwater Cassette Exchange – Deerhunter

by Jack Diablo

Release Date: May 18, 2009 (digital), June 8, 2009 (CD/vinyl) on Kranky/4AD
Deerhunter’s new EP opens with a bossa nova beat but it’s not a cover of ‘The Girl From Ipanema,’ it’s the title track from Rainwater Cassette Exchange. And it’s a tasty, groovy little number with some creepy lyrics about a deadly love at first sight encounter and reincarnation all squeezed into under two and a half minutes.
The five song EP format has allowed Deerhunter to craft a tight album devoid of filler but with enough room to stretch their songwriting and stylistic abilities. The Atlanta art rockers have a hint of The Strokes’ garage rock and a sprinkle of Clinic’s psychedelia mixed in with a few Caribbean rhythms that make for a very interesting listen.
‘Famous Last Words’ features what sounds like a cartoon ghost howling behind some lightly distorted vocals and a straight-ahead marching beat. Bongos and a piano open ‘Game of Diamonds,’ a floaty, dream-like track that puts your mind instantly at ease. The final song, ‘Circulation,’ begins as the most radio-friendly, only to devolve into dissonance and noisy samples of channel surfing during the second half.
Altogether, Rainwater Cassette Exchange is a short but impressive album that gets better with each consecutive listen.