By Mina Wiebe

Back in 2011 you couldn’t turn on the radio without hearing that one song by Foster the People—you know the one I’m talking about. “Pumped Up Kicks” was this smooth indie/pop- psychedelic tune that pulled you in with an upbeat drum and an oh-so-catchy chorus. I remember how obsessed everyone was with it, but I also remember that (seemingly) out of nowhere, people suddenly realized that the song was about a school shooting, and they were pissed. What amazes me to this day is that people were so shocked; the song doesn’t exactly hide its meaning—this wasn’t a moment of reading in between the lines. “All the other kids with the pumped up kicks/ You’d better run, better run, out run my gun” pretty much speaks for itself.

I get it though, I do. You hear the allure of upbeat instrumentals and vocals, and your brain automatically assumes it can rule out the possibility that the song is about such a dark topic. This is exactly what happened to me when I listened to the first track from Deerhunter’s newest album.“Death in Midsummer” is a track that tackles the dark existentialism behind the inevitability of death, and strangely enough it’s accompanied by an upbeat harpsichord. By title alone, I suppose I should have expected the dark themes, but my expectations were totally blurred by the delicate twinkling of the instrument and lead singer Bradford Cox’s smooth and bright vocals. When I finally listened closely to hear lyrics such as “[y]our friends have died/And their lives, they just fade away” along with “[a]nd in time/ You will see your own life fade away” I was shocked to say the least. Unlike the furious “Pumped Up Kicks” fans however, I didn’t feel a sense of betrayal. On the contrary, I was wildly amused at Deerhunter’s ability to mess with my expectations.

The harpsichord is definitely the song’s pièce de résistance, and it’s accompanied by simple keyboard playing and much-needed drumming. I say “accompanied” because it honestly feels like the rest of the music (aside from the vocals) is accompanying the harpsichord; it’s quite literally the first thing you hear, and it remains a focal point for the remainder of the song. Not to mention it provides a necessary lightness to the grim lyrics, almost acting as a counterbalance to the heaviness of the existential dread. The burst of drumming later in the song is absolutely necessary though, and I was relieved they brought it in when they did; as much as I enjoy the  unique sound that the harpsichord produces, the unchanging melody and rhythm would have been overwhelming on its own.

Most importantly though, the harpsichord does for “Death in Midsummer” what the upbeat drumming and vocals does for “Pumped Up Kicks”: the lyrics hide behind the bounciness of the sound, but once realized, blow your mind and remind you to pay attention to the damn song.