Atlanta's Bradford Cox has become something of an underground celebrity of late. From his loping gait and distinctive emaciated frame to his out-and-proud gay virgin sexuality to his much discussed accidental leaking of new material on the internet (and the subsequent ongoing message board meleé) Cox courts controversy at every turn. Whether this is intentionally or (as I believe) inadvertently, it has certainly intensified the interest on his various music projects. Nothing if not prolific, Bradford works constantly under a variety of monickers, the main two being solo ambientXcore project Atlas Sound and his four piece "ambient-punk" band Deerhunter.'Microcastles' is Deerhunter's second long player, and their most coherent. It's a sonically gorgeous record, drenched in rich reverb throughout, spacious, immersive, constructed from pitching, rolling troughs and peaks. The songs flow in and out of each other seamlessly, slowly bringing the whole vision of the record into view... from the gentility of opener 'Cover Me' to the hypnotic insistence of 'Never Stops', to the fragile, lilting purity of the 'Calvary Scars' / 'Green Jacket' / 'Activa' sequence. The single 'Nothing Ever Happens' is a mini-epic in it's own right and the centrepiece of the record, a twisting maelstrom of locked-pattern chord sequences that plateaus into a jaw dropping pitch shift/whammy pedal mangling guitar solo at the finale. 'These Hands' drifts from delicate post-MBV sounds into twinkling piano, before the tumultous climax of 'Twilight At Crystal Lake'.This is a rich, warm, thoughtful and beautifully realized record. Bradford Cox will inevitably continue to grab headlines and message board thread titles with his spiky and combustible character, but when he's producing music with the crafted, shimmering, timeless quality of 'Microcastles', every inch of column space is thoroughly deserved. 85% Deerhunter on MySpaceCOMPETITION WE HAVE TWO DEERHUNTER GOODIE BAGS TO GIVE AWAY WHICH INCLUDE  A COPY OF MICROCASTLE ON VINYL + A LOVELY POSTER. TO BE IN WITH A CHANCE OF WINNING SIMPLY EMAIL YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS TO COMPETITION@THELINEOFBESTFIT.COM WITH THE SUBJECT LINE: DEERHUNTER GIVEAWAY.WINNERS WILL BE PICKED AT RANDOM AND CONTACTED BY EMAIL. CLOSING DATE IS FRIDAY 7TH NOVEMBER