Fading Frontier

In December 2014, Bradford Cox was involved in a car crash which left him "seriously injured, but also provided a perspective-giving jolt". Prior to the release of Fading Frontier, Cox stated that the accident "erased all illusions" and admitted that it was a definite turning point for him. Fading Frontier is Deerhunter's and Cox's first release since the accident.{{cite web|last1=Rachel|first1=T. Cole|title=Beyond Nostalgia: A Conversation with Deerhunter's Bradford Cox|url=https://pitchfork.com/features/interviews/9707-beyond-nostalgia-a-conversation-with-deerhunters-bradford-cox/|website=Pitchfork|publisher=Pitchfork Media|accessdate=22 August 2015|date=20 August 2015}} This album saw the departure of Frankie Broyles, who left the band in 2015 to focus on his solo career.{{cite web | url=https://www.stereogum.com/1822800/frankie-broyles-capturer/mp3s/ | title=Frankie Broyles – "Capturer" | publisher=Stereogum | date=August 14, 2015 | accessdate=October 12, 2015 | author=Birnstengel, Grace}} The song "Ad Astra" contains a sample from Bascom Lamar Lunsford's "I Wish I Was a Mole in the Ground".Joffe, Justin. [http://observer.com/2015/10/a-totally-batshit-conversation-with-deerhunters-bradford-cox/ A Totally Batshit Conversation With Deerhunter’s Bradford Cox]. Observer.com. 9 October 2015. Retrieved 17 November 2016.

Fading Frontier was announced via a countdown timer on Deerhunter's website, which ended on 16 August 2015.{{cite web|last1=Helman|first1=Peter|title=Deerhunter Launch Countdown For New Album Fading Frontier|url=https://www.stereogum.com/1824240/deerhunter-launch-countdown-for-new-album-fading-frontier/news/|website=Stereogum|publisher=SpinMedia|accessdate=22 August 2015|date=August 14, 2015}}

The first single released was "Snakeskin" on August 17,{{Cite web|title = Deerhunter Announce New Album Fading Frontier, Share "Snakeskin"|url = https://pitchfork.com/news/59481-deerhunter-announce-new-album-fading-frontier-share-snakeskin/|website = Pitchfork| date=17 August 2015 |accessdate = 2015-10-10|language = en}} followed up with "Breaker" on September 15, of which the video was directed by Cox himself.{{Cite web|title = Deerhunter Share Dreamy "Breaker" Video|url = https://pitchfork.com/news/61200-deerhunter-share-dreamy-breaker-video/|website = Pitchfork| date=15 September 2015 |accessdate = 2015-10-10|language = en}}

The cover art for the album is a photograph titled "Zuma" by the artist John Divola.{{cite web|last1=Helman|first1=Peter|title=Deerhunter – "Snakeskin" Video + Fading Frontier Details|url=https://www.stereogum.com/1824332/deerhunter-snakeskin/mp3s/|website=Stereogum|date=16 August 2015 |publisher=SpinMedia|accessdate=17 October 2015}}

{{Music ratings

| ADM = 7.7/10{{cite web |url=http://www.anydecentmusic.com/review/7571/Deerhunter-Fading-Frontier.aspx |title=Fading Frontier by Deerhunter reviews |publisher=AnyDecentMusic? |accessdate=December 4, 2019}}

| MC = 81/100{{cite web |url=https://www.metacritic.com/music/fading-frontier/deerhunter |title=Reviews for Fading Frontier by Deerhunter |publisher=Metacritic |accessdate=October 16, 2015}}

| rev1 = AllMusic

| rev1Score = {{rating|4|5}}{{cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/fading-frontier-mw0002870902 |title=Fading Frontier – Deerhunter |publisher=AllMusic |accessdate=May 13, 2016 |last=Phares |first=Heather}}

| rev2 = The A.V. Club

| rev2Score = A−{{cite web |url=https://www.avclub.com/review/deerhunter-grows-and-finds-peace-fading-frontier-226476 |title=Deerhunter grows up and finds peace on Fading Frontier |work=The A.V. Club |date=October 16, 2015 |accessdate=May 13, 2016 |last=Reiff |first=Corbin}}

| rev3 = The Guardian

| rev3score = {{rating|4|5}}{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/oct/15/deerhunter-fading-frontier-review |title=Deerhunter: Fading Frontier review – Bradford Cox's poppiest album yet |work=The Guardian |date=October 15, 2015 |accessdate=October 20, 2015 |last=Petridis |first=Alexis |author-link=Alexis Petridis}}

| rev4 = The Irish Times

| rev4Score = {{rating|4|5}}{{cite news |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/music/deerhunter-fading-frontier-album-review-1.2391615 |title=Deerhunter: Fading Frontier {{!}} Album Review |newspaper=The Irish Times |date=October 16, 2015 |accessdate=May 10, 2019 |last=Jones |first=Chris}}

| rev5 = Mojo

| rev5Score = {{rating|4|5}}{{cite journal |url=http://www.mojo4music.com/22086/deerhunter-fading-frontier/ |title=Deerhunter – Fading Frontier |journal=Mojo |date=October 16, 2015 |accessdate=October 16, 2015 |last=Chick |first=Stevie}}

| rev6 = NME

| rev6score = 5/5{{cite journal |url=https://www.nme.com/reviews/deerhunter/16285 |title=Deerhunter – 'Fading Frontier' |journal=NME |date=October 12, 2015 |accessdate=October 12, 2015 |last=Nicholson |first=Barry |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305135657/http://www.nme.com/reviews/deerhunter/16285 |archivedate=March 5, 2016}}

| rev7 = Pitchfork

| rev7score = 8.4/10{{cite web |url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/21039-fading-frontier/ |title=Deerhunter: Fading Frontier |work=Pitchfork |date=October 12, 2015 |accessdate=October 12, 2015 |last=Cohen |first=Ian}}

| rev8 = Q

| rev8Score = {{rating|3|5}}{{cite journal |title=Deerhunter: Fading Frontier |journal=Q |issue=352 |date=November 2015 |page=107}}

| rev9 = Rolling Stone

| rev9Score = {{rating|3.5|5}}{{cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/deerhunter-fading-frontier-20151016 |title=Fading Frontier |magazine=Rolling Stone |date=October 16, 2015 |accessdate=October 16, 2015 |last=Dolan |first=Jon}}

| rev10 = Spin

| rev10Score = 9/10{{cite journal |url=http://www.spin.com/2015/10/review-deerhunter-fading-frontier/ |title=Review: Deerhunter Destroy the World Just to Survive It on 'Fading Frontier' |journal=Spin |date=October 12, 2015 |accessdate=October 14, 2015 |last=Hogan |first=Marc}}

}}

At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has received an average score of 81, based on 27 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".

Consequence critic Sheldon Pearce wrote that the album is "one more gem from a well-traveled band that's still finding new territory to explore."{{cite web |url=https://consequence.net/2015/10/album-review-deerhunter-fading-frontier/ |title=Deerhunter – Fading Frontier |publisher=Consequence of Sound |date=October 13, 2015 |accessdate=October 15, 2015 |last=Pearce |first=Sheldon}} NME critic Barry Nicholson praised the record and gave it a perfect score, describing it as "a remarkable album, one that only grows more awesome with each listen." Ian Cohen of Pitchfork awarded the album with a "Best New Music" tag and wrote: "If there isn't a Deerhunter sound, there's a Deerhunter perspective that runs through their work, best summed up in 'All the Same'—'take your handicaps/ Channel them and feed them back/ Until they become your strengths.' The weird era continues." In The Guardian, Alex Petridis noted the album's more mainstream sound: "there are so many straightforwardly commercial-sounding songs here," he observed, "that Fading Frontier could conceivably be an album that turns Deerhunter from cult concern into mainstream success." Citing a lack of angst and urgency in comparison to previous efforts, Exclaim!'s Anna Alger wrote that "On Fading Frontier, Deerhunter focus on their ability as a band to hypnotize and confound, which make the explosive moments here stand out that much more."{{cite journal |url=http://exclaim.ca/music/article/deerhunter-fading_frontier |title=Deerhunter – Fading Frontier |journal=Exclaim! |date=October 14, 2015 |accessdate=January 7, 2016 |last=Alger |first=Anna}}

In a less favorable review, Clash critic Sam Walker-Smart wrote that the record "is by no means a poor album, and truth be told really doesn't possess a bad number on it." Nevertheless, he added: "When the oddities on this album ride so high they should have let complete weirdness take over."

{{cite journal |url=http://www.clashmusic.com/reviews/deerhunter-fading-frontier |title=Deerhunter – Fading Frontier |journal=Clash |date=October 9, 2015 |accessdate=October 12, 2015 |last=Walker-Smart |first=Sam}}

{{Track listing

|all_writing = Bradford Cox, except where noted

|title1 = All the Same

|length1 = 3:05

|title2 = Living My Life

|length2 = 3:49

|title3 = Breaker

|length3 = 3:31

|title4 = Duplex Planet

|length4 = 2:40

|title5 = Take Care

|length5 = 4:12

|title6 = Leather and Wood

|length6 = 5:55

|title7 = Snakeskin

|length7 = 4:20

|title8 = Ad Astra (*)

|length8 = 5:32

|writer8 = Lockett Pundt

|title9 = Carrion

|length9 = 2:58

}}

• The last thirty seconds of Ad Astra is Bradford Cox performing the traditional folk song I Wish I Was a Mole in the Ground.

Credits for the album were adapted from a press release by 4AD.

• Bradford Cox – lead vocals, guitar, percussion, keyboards, electronics
• Lockett Pundt – guitar, co-lead vocals (3), lead vocals (8), keyboards
• Moses Archuleta – drums, percussion, electronics
• Josh McKay – bass guitar, organ

• Tim Gane – electronic harpsichord (4)
• James Cargill – synthesizers, tapes (5)
• Zumi Rosow – treated alto saxophone (7)

{{reflist|2}}

• [http://4ad.com/artists/deerhunter "Deerhunter" on 4AD Records]

{{Deerhunter}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:2015 albums

Category:Deerhunter albums

Category:4AD albums

Category:Albums produced by Ben H. Allen