Bradford Cox dropped out of sight at the very start of the decade, and many fans have hoped for his return to prominence ever since. Progress has been incremental, but it has arrived. He resurrected his solo project Atlas Sound last month, marking his first substantial live appearance in seven years, as he introduced an array of new songs at Philadelphia’s Making Time ∞ festival. In the wake of that performance, news emerged of a collaboration between Cox and Deerhunter colleague Lockett Pundt for Knoxville’s Big Ears festival in April, and Atlas Sound appeared on bills for Salt Lake City’s Kilby Block Party in May and Barcelona’s Primavera Sound in June.
And now, a fresh recording is upon us. “Octoberland,” Atlas Sound’s first track in nearly 15 years, is released today. It stands among the new material Cox unveiled at Making Time ∞. The piece is spare and measured, accompanied by a music video directed by Cox. See it below.
The “Octoberland” lyrics, provided in a press release:
Air becomes hollow.
And orange flash
Pale in the moonlight
And flying fast
Witches burning
In vanilla smoke
Heritage wounded
And I am told
The virus flies every night
God of death
To village find
Women and children
The vanilla smoke
All is orange flash
From the brown oaks
Rub your lesions with this ointment
Made of crushed cicadas
From two months ago
The air is hollow
The air is hollowNightflight
Over Cleveland tonight
Steam rises
Into hollow air
There’s nothing thereSpirits floating into the night
Will they ever find their way
Will they ever find their way
Spirits floating into the night
Will they ever find their way
“Octoberland” is out now on 4AD.
