Halcyon Digest

Writing on his Facebook profile page, Cox stated "The album's title is a reference to a collection of fond memories and even invented ones, like my friendship with Ricky Wilson or the fact that I live in an abandoned victorian autoharp factory. The way that we write and rewrite and edit our memories to be a digest version of what we want to remember, and how that's kind of sad."{{cite web|url=http://www.villanovan.com/arts-entertainment/deerhunter-debuts-new-mature-sound-on-halcyon-digest-1.1653466 |title=Deerhunter debuts new, mature sound on 'Halcyon Digest' |work=The Villanovan |date=2010-09-28 |access-date=2014-06-29}}

Answering the Q question as to whether the album was "...supposed to sound like a newsletter or bulletin board from somewhere mysterious", Bradford Cox said: "It's supposed to be like a collection of short dispatches". He called the use of the word 'Halcyon' misleading, adding: "It has a lot to do with the way people romanticize the past, even if it was horrific."Victoria Segal. Q magazine, November 2010. Q & A. Halcyon Digest album review. p. 113.

The album artwork was provided by renowned Atlanta photographer George Mitchell. Deerhunter drummer, Moses Archuleta, initially suggested a "stark black and white theme" with Cox ultimately selecting Mitchell's photograph because "it had an immediate connection to the music, especially songs like 'Basement Scene'."[http://blurt-online.com/features/view/734/ "IN THE HEADLIGHTS Deerhunter" ] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120601154025/http://blurt-online.com/features/view/734/ |date=2012-06-01 }}, Blurt Magazine. Retrieved 2010-10-21.

The picture portrays Dennis Dinion, a contestant in The Miss Star Lite Pageant at the Star Lite Lounge on Ponce de Leon Avenue in Atlanta, Georgia. It was shot by Mitchell on New Year's Eve, December 31, 1982, the last night the Star Lite was open. Dennis Dinion worked as a substitute teacher in the Atlanta Public Schools.[https://www.flickr.com/photos/44362663@N06/5010343828 Deerhunter CD cover] Bradford Cox described the artwork during an Instagram live on October 31, 2018, saying that a book fell off the shelf and opened to this page and he felt it was fate. It was a photo book of the Ponce de Leon area in Atlanta. Cox spent time in his childhood near the Star Lite Lounge; he was just a few months old the night of the Miss Star Lite Pageant.{{cite web| url = https://genius.com/album_cover_arts/294959| title = Deerhunter - Halcyon Digest Lyrics and Tracklist {{!}} Genius}}

To help promote the release of the LP, the group launched a new website[http://halcyondigest.com/ halcyondigest.com] where they urged fans to download a promotional flyer{{Cite web |url=http://halcyondigest.com/images/halcyonflyer.jpg |title=promotional flyer |access-date=2010-07-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101007054716/http://halcyondigest.com/images/halcyonflyer.jpg |archive-date=2010-10-07 |url-status=dead }} (created by Cox by photocopying images together) and email pictures of it "hanging in your town, neighborhood, bedrooms, etc." To reward those who had emailed photos, the band revealed the track listing and album artwork via email. The first single, "Revival," along with some unused demos and b-side "Primitive 3D" were also made available to fans who had posted flyers.{{cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/news/39516-hear-deerhunters-new-single/ |title=Hear Deerhunter's New Single |website=Pitchfork |date=2010-07-21 |access-date=2010-09-28}} "Helicopter" was later released as a single with a video available on September 8.{{cite web|last=Fitzmaurice |first=Larry |url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/tracks/11972-helicopter/ |title=Deerhunter: "Helicopter" | Tracks |website=Pitchfork |date=2010-09-10 |access-date=2011-09-26}}

About the flyer concept, Cox stated he was inspired by the record promotion he witnessed in the 80s. He recalls:{{cite web|author=Wednesday, 14 July 2010, 10:54 am Press Release: The Label |url=http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/CU1007/S00188.htm |title=Deerhunter announce fourth album | Scoop News |website=Scoop.co.nz |date=2010-07-14 |access-date=2010-09-28}}

{{cquote|...always being fascinated with the ephemera of 70's – 80's artrock in record stores like Wuxtry in Athens where I hung out as a kid or Wax 'N Facts in Atlanta. You'd see a photocopied faded B-52's flyer next to a poster for Lou Reed or XTC. It was like an artpunk scrapbook on those walls. It made my head spin. Who are these people? Who are the fucking Residents with these weird-ass eyeball faces?}}

{{Music ratings

| ADM = 8.1/10{{cite web |url=http://www.anydecentmusic.com/review/2145/Deerhunter-Halcyon-Digest.aspx |title=Halcyon Digest by Deerhunter reviews |website=AnyDecentMusic? |access-date=September 30, 2019}}

| MC = 86/100{{cite web |url=http://www.metacritic.com/music/halcyon-digest/deerhunter |title=Reviews for Halcyon Digest by Deerhunter |website=Metacritic |access-date=February 7, 2012}}

| rev1 = AllMusic

| rev1Score = {{rating|5|5}}{{cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/halcyon-digest-mw0002022940 |title=Halcyon Digest – Deerhunter |website=AllMusic |access-date=November 16, 2019 |last=Phares |first=Heather}}

| rev2 = The A.V. Club

| rev2Score = A−{{cite web |url=https://www.avclub.com/review/deerhunter-ihalcyon-digesti-45674 |title=Deerhunter: Halcyon Digest |work=The A.V. Club |date=September 28, 2010 |access-date=July 31, 2015 |last=Hyden |first=Steven |author-link=Steven Hyden}}

| rev3 = The Guardian

| rev3Score = {{rating|4|5}}{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2010/sep/23/deerhunter-halcyon-digest-cd-review |title=Deerhunter: Halcyon Digest |work=The Guardian |location=London |date=September 23, 2010 |access-date=September 24, 2010 |last=Hann |first=Michael}}

| rev4 = Mojo

| rev4Score = {{rating|4|5}}{{cite journal |title=Deerhunter: Halcyon Digest |journal=Mojo |issue=203 |date=October 2010 |page=90}}

| rev5 = MSN Music (Expert Witness)

| rev5Score = A−{{cite web |url=http://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/cg/ew2011-01.php |title=Deerhunter/Best Coast |website=MSN Music |date=January 14, 2011 |access-date=July 31, 2015 |last=Christgau |first=Robert |author-link=Robert Christgau}}

| rev6 = NME

| rev6Score = 8/10{{cite journal |url=https://www.nme.com/reviews/11578 |title=Album Review: Deerhunter – Halcyon Digest |journal=NME |date=September 24, 2010 |access-date=August 19, 2015 |last=Denney |first=Alex}}

| rev7 = Pitchfork

| rev7Score = 9.2/10{{cite web |url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/14681-halcyon-digest/ |title=Deerhunter: Halcyon Digest |work=Pitchfork |date=September 27, 2010 |access-date=September 27, 2010 |last=Hogan |first=Marc}}

| rev8 = Q

| rev8Score = {{rating|4|5}}{{cite journal |title=Deerhunter: Halcyon Digest |journal=Q |issue=292 |date=November 2010 |page=113}}

| rev9 = Rolling Stone

| rev9Score = {{rating|3.5|5}}{{cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/halcyon-digest-20100928 |title=Halcyon Digest |magazine=Rolling Stone |date=September 28, 2010 |access-date=September 28, 2010 |last=Rosen |first=Jody |author-link=Jody Rosen}}

| rev10 = Spin

| rev10Score = 8/10{{cite journal |url=http://www.spin.com/reviews/deerhunter-halcyon-digest-4ad |title=Deerhunter, 'Halcyon Digest' (4AD) |journal=Spin |date=September 9, 2010 |access-date=July 31, 2015 |last=Beta |first=Andy |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100921024159/http://www.spin.com/reviews/deerhunter-halcyon-digest-4ad |archive-date=September 21, 2010 |url-status=live}}

}}

Halcyon Digest received widespread acclaim. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 86, based on 33 reviews, indicating "Universal Acclaim". It ranked second in Exclaim!{{'}}s Pop & Rock Albums of the Year where Cam Lindsay credits Deerhunter with continuing their "impressive streak as one of the more consistent sonic explorer's [sic] within the indie rock canon."{{cite web|title=Pop & Rock Year in Review|work=Exclaim!|url=http://exclaim.ca/Features/YearInReview/pop_rock_year_in_review_2010/Page/2|access-date=2011-01-04|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121004065115/http://exclaim.ca/Features/YearInReview/pop_rock_year_in_review_2010/Page/2|archive-date=2012-10-04|url-status=dead}} The album also appeared at No. 3 on Pitchfork{{'}}s 50 Greatest Albums of 2010, where Rob Mitchum writes that the work's rough-yet-shimmery production and existential theme "demonstrates that the ache of mortality can be even more wounding in the bright glare of daytime than late at night."{{cite web|title=The Top 50 Albums of 2010|work=Pitchfork|url=https://pitchfork.com/features/staff-lists/7893-the-top-50-albums-of-2010/5/|access-date=2020-02-20|archive-date=2011-06-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110613041819/http://pitchfork.com/features/staff-lists/7893-the-top-50-albums-of-2010/5/|url-status=dead}}

The album was also included in the 2010 edition of the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.{{cite book|author1=Robert Dimery|author2=Michael Lydon|title=1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die: Revised and Updated Edition|date=2014 |publisher=Universe|isbn=978-0-7893-2074-2}}

The album was ranked the 3rd best album from 2010-2014, and 29th best in the 2010s in lists published by Pitchfork.{{cite web |url=https://pitchfork.com/features/staff-lists/9465-the-top-100-albums-of-2010-2014/5 |title=The Top 100 Albums of 2010-2014 |work=Pitchfork |access-date=2020-02-20 |archive-date=2016-03-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303150828/http://pitchfork.com/features/staff-lists/9465-the-top-100-albums-of-2010-2014/5/ |url-status=dead }}{{cite web |title=The 200 Best Albums of the 2010s |url=https://pitchfork.com/features/lists-and-guides/the-200-best-albums-of-the-2010s/ |website=Pitchfork |date=8 October 2019 |publisher=Pitchfork Media |access-date=9 October 2019}}

{{track listing

| all_writing = Bradford Cox, except where noted

| headline =

| total_length = 45:50

| title1 = Earthquake

| length1 = 5:00

| title2 = Don't Cry

| length2 = 2:49

| title3 = Revival

| length3 = 2:13

| title4 = Sailing

| length4 = 4:59

| title5 = Memory Boy

| length5 = 2:09

| title6 = Desire Lines

| length6 = 6:44

| writer6 = Lockett Pundt

| title7 = Basement Scene

| length7 = 3:41

| title8 = Helicopter

| length8 = 4:58

| title9 = Fountain Stairs

| length9 = 2:38

| writer9 = Pundt

| title10 = Coronado

| length10 = 3:19

| title11 = He Would Have Laughed

| length11 = 7:29

}}

{{track listing

| all_writing =

| headline = Japanese bonus tracks

| total_length = 53:56

| title12 = Rhythm

| length12 = 2:56

| title13 = Colorscale

| length13 = 5:10

}}

Credits adapted from Allmusic and album liner notes.{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/halcyon-digest-r1942223/credits/credits-asc|title=Halcyon Digest – Deerhunter Credits|work=Allmusic|access-date=December 6, 2011}}

{{col-begin}}

{{col-2}}

;Deerhunter

• Moses Archuleta – drums
• Bradford J. Cox – lead vocals, guitar
• Joshua Fauver – bass
• Lockett Pundt – guitar, lead vocals (6, 9)

{{col-2}}

;Additional musicians

• Bill Oglesby – saxophone (9 and 10)
• Paul McPherson – 12 string guitar (10)

{{col-end}}

{{col-begin}}

{{col-2}}

;Recording personnel

• Ben H. Allen – producer, mixing, overdubs, additional production (11)
• Deerhunter – producer
• David Barbe – engineer, mixing (7)
• Drew Vandenberg – assistant engineer
• Rocbert Gardner – mixing assistant
• Henry Barbe – producer and engineer (7)
• Winston Barbe – assistant engineer (7), intern
• David Barbe – mixing (7)
• Bradford Cox – recording (11)
• Joe Lambert – mastering
• Yousuf Ahmed – intern
• Matt Tuttle – intern
• Paul McPherson – assistant to the band

{{col-2}}

;Artwork

• George Mitchell – cover photo, photography
• Dennis Dinion – model
• Bradford Cox – typography, layout, design, additional artwork
• Will Govus – inside photo
• Deerhunter – photography
• Dan Gallo – layout assistance

{{col-end}}

As of 2011 it has sold 59,879 copies in United States according to Nielsen SoundScan.{{cite web |url=http://marathonpacks.tumblr.com/post/2728942718/data |title=Data |website=marathonpacks.tumblr.com |access-date=12 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130421005740/http://marathonpacks.tumblr.com/post/2728942718/data |archive-date=21 April 2013 |url-status=dead}}

{{Reflist}}

• {{official website|http://halcyondigest.com|Deerhunter - Halcyon Digest official website}}

{{Deerhunter}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Deerhunter albums

Category:2010 albums

Category:4AD albums