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Dec 20, 2010 Web Exclusive By Hays Davis

The prodigiously prolific Bradford Cox delivers another new set of tracks with Vol. 3 of his Bedroom Databank series, recorded this year at various locations. For a group of such disparate tunes, they generally mesh for a pleasing whole that seems to offer something new with each run-through.

Not surprisingly, many songs play from an acoustic-guitar base, though Cox usually follows through in taking his ideas to their logical ends by adding additional instruments. “Dreamy Color” begins strong, with Cox singing from what sounds like a morphine haze, though the song simply runs out of gas by its close. “Crossfire” similarly wrestles with coherence, but the spirited “Comet 8” immediately follows and rescues the moment. More fully realized is “I Can’t Take It,” which sounds like something Wilco might have stolen for themselves.

Noteworthy here is the strength of some of the album’s instrumental tracks. “Indian Bitrate” sounds like a lively workout from R.E.M.’s Murmur tapes. There’s a ramshackle charm to the upbeat “Yards of Silk,” whereas the closing “Epilogue” is more experimental, shuffling various electronic effects. However, “Notown Phase” is a bit of a test, with three minutes of electric-guitar repetition broken up by a long closing passage of fiddling. And “Drums & Pissing” is 2:46 of exactly that, minus the pissing.

Uneven as this collection can be, there’s still an off-kilter charm that merits return spins. Couple the best of this set with that of Cox’s Vol. 4 for a real keeper. (www.deerhuntertheband.blogspot.com)

Author rating: 6/10