Last year, Atlanta's Deerhunter came into its own with Microcastle/Weird Era Continued, a solid third album of garage psychedelia, with frontman Bradford Cox's beguilingly sedate vocals set against washes of pleasant fuzz and reverb-drenched sound. Sometimes the songs are breezy and ambient, other times driving and punk-insistent without ever becoming abrasive. Virtually every indie rock critic had the album on some end-of-the-year list or other. Pitchfork.com led the cheerleading squad: a rare rave review (9.2 out of 10) and a No. 5 spot on its "Top 50 Albums of 2008" list. Definitely a band worth checking out, especially since Cox is known for his unpredictable performance antics.
Deerhunter w/Summerbirds In The Cellar/Giddy-Up, Helicopter!, Mon., March 9, 9 p.m., Czar, Ybor City, $12 (all ages), aestheticized.com.
