The once bedroom-confined solo project of Deerhunter frontman Bradford Cox has reached new levels of maturity with the release of Parallax, Atlas Sound’s third album. Cox’s methodology, consisting in stream-of-consciousness writing and production, when unshackled from the restraints imposed by the differing creative desires of bandmates, could easily have produced a record lacking in cohesion. Thematic exploration of cosmic reverie finds ‘entire galaxies’ encroaching upon the hazy sonic daydreams constructed by the methodology, a spaced-out feeling persisting throughout, providing a central frame of reference for the sprawling range of variety on show and swiftly allaying earlier fears over cohesion. Combining the best of Cox’s creativity with the sharp focus of a Deerhunter record; hypnotic electronic repetitions layered with unabrasive yet enchanting hooks create an astral atmosphere over which a crooning Cox masterfully presides. An immersive opalescence pervades each song on the record, from the shoegaze styled ‘Mona Lisa’ to the melancholic folk-lament ‘Terra Incognita’, heightening the sense of escapism characteristic of a Bradford Cox record. A line from the pensive ‘Flagstaff’ serves as a self-contained description of ‘Parallax’ itself – ‘I’d describe it, but your jaw would drop’.