Bradford Cox Revives Atlas Sound With First Live Show in Seven Years
Deerhunter frontman Bradford Cox made an unexpected live return on September 20, reviving his project Atlas Sound for its first show in seven years at Philadelphia’s Making Time festival. Performing solo on the Transcendental Stage, Cox debuted eight entirely new songs during a half-hour set.
The Surprise Return at Making Time
According to reports from NME, the performance marked the first announced Atlas Sound concert since Cox performed under the moniker at Desert Daze in 2019. Both Atlas Sound and Deerhunter have effectively remained on unannounced hiatuses since that year, outside of an impromptu experimental noise performance Cox delivered at a vintage market in Athens, Georgia, in 2023. Making Time organizers announced Cox as a surprise addition to the festival lineup just over a week before the event.
Performing on the festival’s Transcendental Stage, Cox sang while playing bass, hand bells, and a sampler. He opened the set by leading the crowd in a rendition of “Happy Birthday” for his mother Edie, who was in attendance to celebrate her 80th birthday. Cox also thanked festival founder Dave P for encouraging his return to the stage, telling the audience, according to NME, “Thank you to Dave for having me because if it weren’t for him, I might’ve stayed at home for another seven years.”
New Material and Setlist Details
The half-hour set consisted entirely of previously unheard material. Based on fan-captured recordings and setlists shared at the venue, the new compositions featured meditative soundscapes with influences from Eastern instrumentation and dense, multi-layered textures.
The complete Making Time setlist featured eight tracks:
- ‘Octoberland’
- ‘Arcadia’
- ‘Akron’
- ‘Day For Night’
- ‘My Ship Sank In Daylight’
- ‘Come And See’
- ‘Roots Without A Tree’
- ‘Kora’
Following the performance, Cox handed out physical setlists and lyric sheets to audience members, signing copies for fans. Attendees noted that the lyric sheets were printed in blue ink and stamped with the word “DRAFT” in red.
Catalog Context and Past Work
The performance marks a notable shift in visibility for Cox, who has largely stayed out of the public spotlight since the release of Deerhunter’s eighth studio album, Why Hasn’t Everything Already Disappeared?, in 2019. Atlas Sound’s last full-length studio release remains 2011’s Parallax, which followed previous records Let The Blind Lead Those Who Can See But Cannot Feel and Logos.
Throughout the 2010s, Cox maintained a steady output with Deerhunter, releasing albums such as Monomania in 2013 and the critically acclaimed Fading Frontier in 2015.