The band recorded their first studio album, Turn It Up Faggot (2005), with Josh Fauver occupying the vacant role of bass guitarist.

Following the album's release, Cox asked childhood friend, Lockett Pundt, to join Deerhunter as a song-writing partner, second guitarist, and occasional lead vocalist.

Recorded in two days, the band's follow-up, Cryptograms (2007), combined ambient work and more angular garage rock songs.

Cox, Pundt and Archuleta regrouped with new members, bassist Josh McKay and guitarist Frankie Broyles, to record the primitivist garage rock and musique concrète-influenced Monomania (2013).

The album expanded on a darker and more disturbing sound, complete with treated tape recordings of rats and insects, exploring themes of disassociation and mental illness.

The two bonded over a shared interest in Dada and 20th Century Composers Olivier Messiaen and György Ligeti, as well as British bands The Fall, The Raincoats, and Cabaret Voltaire.

After the release of Turn It Up Faggot, Cox asked his best friend from high school, Lockett Pundt, to join the band.

This tour culminated in a recording session engineered by acclaimed folk musician Samara Lubelski at Rare Book Room, New York City.

[9] This session failed to produce anything that could be used, due to Cox's mental and physical state at the time, as well as technical disagreements that emerged with Lubelski.

In 2006, before its release, Pitchfork Media added "Spring Hall Convert", a song from the record, to its "Infinite Mix Tape series".

In a comment left on the Deerhunter blog on February 28, Cox announced that Whitney Petty was no longer a member of the band, stating:[17] We will be a four-piece again for now.

"[20] During the hiatus, Bradford Cox continued with Atlas Sound and released his second album Logos, Josh Fauver resumed work with his record label Army of Bad Luck, Moses Archuleta enrolled in culinary school, and Lockett Pundt performed some shows in celebration of The Floodlight Collective, his debut album as Lotus Plaza released in March of that year.

Along with the Spoon tour, the group also announced some shows of their own, including stops at the 2010 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, and All Tomorrow's Parties (curated by Simpsons creator, Matt Groening.

)[21] During these shows, the band began to debut some new material, including the songs "Helicopter", "Primitive 3D", "Fountain Stairs" and "Revival",[22] all of which would end up being recorded for their next studio session to follow.

)[23] A week later the band launched a new website, where they announced the title and release date of the LP, along with a guerilla style marketing campaign.

In the same month, director John Albrecht posted a trailer for an upcoming live video on his Vimeo page set to be released later in the year.

[25] Halcyon Digest was released on September 28, 2010, to critical acclaim: it received a five-star review from AllMusic, and was ranked the third-best album of the year by Pitchfork.

[26][27] In 2012, it was announced that Deerhunter was to provide an original score to The Curve of Forgotten Things, a short film by the fashion line Rodarte starring Elle Fanning.

The album, entitled Monomania, was recorded in New York with frequent collaborator and producer Nicolas Vernhes at his Rare Book Room Studio, where Microcastle and Parallax were taped.

For Monomania, Josh McKay took over bass duties, and Atlanta native Frankie Broyles was brought in to play guitar.

[33] Deerhunter headlined and curated the All Tomorrow's Parties music festival held at Pontins holiday camp in Camber Sands, England from the June 21–23, 2013.

A separate entity to their eighth studio album, Why Hasn't Everything Already Disappeared?, "Timebends" is a partly-improvised stream-of-consciousness outpouring, recorded live direct to tape and in one take with minimal overdubs and mastered using a completely analog signal chain.

[43] The next day, Cox released the Myths 004 EP in collaboration with Cate Le Bon, recorded in Marfa, Texas as part of an ongoing series with Dev Hynes, Ariel Pink and Connan Mockasin.

The New York Times concert review mentioned "the Breeders, Stereolab, disco rhythm, krautrock, Sonic Youth’s noise breakdowns, girl-group pop, the picked eighth-note bass lines of 1980s indie rock", as influences.