Let the Blind Lead Those Who Can See but Cannot Feel is the debut album by Atlas Sound, the solo project of Deerhunter frontman Bradford Cox.

The lyrics of Let the Blind Lead are autobiographical, reflecting abuses he received as a child, past drug addictions, and his hospitalization as a teenager due to Marfan syndrome.

Brian Foote of the band Nudge assisted Cox in the production of Let the Blind Lead, by showing him the basics of the software, and aiding in the selection of equipment that would be used on the record.

[1] The album's title is derived from a dream Cox had in which he saw a group of protesters, one of whom was holding up a sign reading "Let the blind lead those who can see but cannot feel".

[3] The North American album cover artwork originates from a medical journal Cox discovered in a thrift store.

[4] Let the Blind Lead has been characterized as ambient, psychedelic,[5] and pop music,[6] similar in style to Cox's previous work with Deerhunter, such as the band's 2007 album Cryptograms.

He considers music "the only art form I know of that has such an immediate effect on the human psyche", and found the time he first met and talked with Oliveros as being "like meeting a hero of mine.

Instrumental track "Ready Set Glow" is supposed to "create the impression of passing out and falling back into a bed of strobe lights."

The self-titled final song of Let the Blind Lead, another instrumental track, was intended to bring the album full circle, having it start and end on an "ambient note".

Lockett Pundt, a recurring focus of the album's lyrics, created a guitar loop which was the basis for the song "Cold as Ice".

[1] While Cox was working with Deerhunter to produce Cryptograms, it was considered Kranky policy to not print the lyrics of an album in its liner notes.

This was a rule enforced by label owner Joel Leoschke, who believed the practice "demystifi[ed] the experience of a rock record."

Despite largely agreeing with this sentiment, Cox chose to print the lyrics of Let the Blind Lead, in part because he wanted to "see what they looked like," having ad-libbed the words of every song on their first take.

In an interview with Pitchfork Media, Cox described the lyrical origins of each song on Let the Blind Lead; they are largely autobiographical in nature, reflecting life experiences of his.

The story tells of a boy who falls in love with his reflection in a river, believing it is another person, similar to the Greek myth of Narcissus.

The lyrical contents of "Quarantined" were inspired by a Russian article Cox read about children born with AIDS, confined in hospitals due to the "various lifestyles and mistakes" of their parents.

In the song, Cox references an experience he had when he was kissing a man who bit him "really, really hard" on his shoulder, leaving bite marks "for like two weeks."

[1] A recurring source of lyrical subject matter in Let the Blind Lead is Cox's best friend, Deerhunter guitarist Lockett Pundt, whom the album is dedicated to.

On Metacritic, Let the Blind Lead Those Who Can See but Cannot Feel has received an average critic score of 81 out of 100, based on 23 reviews, indicating "Universal Acclaim".

[19] Marc Hogan of Pitchfork Media praised the album in his review, writing that it "works best as a swirling, disorienting whole," and "those drawn to his lovesick, evolving audio presence have…an entire world to explore."

Dominic Umile of PopMatters found the album's "lovesickness and confessions" to be "as tenderly delivered as its hazy atmospherics are", and, in their "bare authenticity…far more compelling in repeat indulgences than Deerhunter’s explorations.

"[15] Wilson McBee of Slant Magazine was more negative towards the album, writing that "Let the Blind Lead presents an intriguing mixture of sounds, but rarely does Cox whip them into anything very exciting."

"[9] Jonathen Cohen wrote in his review for Magnet that "Cox’s narratives make little sense", noting "much of the time, he’s not even singing so much as wailing wordlessly".