Logos

Logos makes a terrific follow-up to 2008’s wonderful Let the Blind Lead Those Who Can See But Cannot Feel. There’s a slightly lighter feel here, and the disarmingly sunny “Walkabout” not only features the most upbeat, chirpy synth notes we’ve ever heard from Bradford Cox, but the icing may be the ethereally omniscient vocals of Animal Collective’s Noah Lennox. Cox has a fine voice himself, but hearing layers of Lennox’s vocals in a tunnel of reverb, with an inarguably “pop” wrapping of Cox’s design, is a real treat. “Criminals” is the musical equivalent of a languid afternoon on the beach, with the faintest tropical vibe lurking in the relaxed rhythm, sparkling guitar and muted woodblocks. There's plenty of ambient haziness (such as the fragile “Quick Canal,” featuring Stereolab’s Lætitia Sadier, and the bittersweet “My Halo”), but when Cox can coral those amorphous bits of beauty and give them a hook (such as the winsome refrain on “Sheila,” a stellar Cox vocal performance), that’s when the artist really lives up to the name Atlas Sound.