Atlas Sound / Mexcellent

Sometimes the songs that don't fit are just as important as the recognized accomplishments in understanding an artist's drive. Atlas Sound is the solo moniker for Deerhunter frontman Bradford Cox, sculpting surface noise and dust-bunnies-on-the-needle beats. "(F. Grey)" is a skeletal version of Deerhunter's "Fluorescent Grey," channeled through an acoustic guitar over a brittle falsetto voice, stretching into echoing resonance. Strung-out ambiance follows, creating an atmosphere of dirty and drug-addled bliss, highlighting a pronounced, albeit obscure side of Cox's songwriting.

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On the flip side, Mexcellent draws out a bleak, industrial slur. "Rhonda's Price" is the soundtrack to a bad trip and "RGDWTJPM" flourishes in the dark, soft lumber of electronic music circa 1981. Voices and vaguely recognizable samples melt into a magnificent jumble of blackened and abstract beats, chopped, screwed and drowning in morphine reverberation.4 stars