Questions about the placement of Deafheaven on the metal spectrum have been discussed to shreds. They are generally moot when it comes to songs as sprawling and intricate as “Come Back”, the second single from their upcoming album, New Bermuda. The nine-minute track opens with crystalline guitar work backed up against a wall of nasty noise, all fangs and claws, which rattles and hisses until it breaks open roughly halfway through. At this point, the reptilian evolves into the birdlike, the fluttering melody of blissed-out chorus and delay alighting here, then there, all dazzling color and massive wingspan.
“Come Back” is Deafheaven at their best, ambitious and atmospheric and exploratory. With so much attention, both praise and vitriol, focused in their direction following the success of Sunbather, they’ve found themselves trying to figure out how to craft a new album that truly represents them as musicians at this time and place. “Come Back” is a genuinely beautiful song, even when it’s “ugly” and blistering and noisy, and it shows the care and attention Deafheaven have taken to let songs grow into their organic form through production. It’s a confident and mature move for a band that’s found its stride.