Deerhoof is one of those bands that at first listen, you tilt your head to the side and say “huh?” The experimental rock veterans have never been ones to play it safe when it comes to their music, with spastic guitar riffs, the odd vocals of Satomi Matsuzaki, and melodies that would otherwise never be put to record. With their latest effort, Deerhoof vs. Evil, Deerhoof actually manages to make their almost psychotic brand of indie rock catchy. Think in the similar vein of the Dirty Projectors’ critically-acclaimed Bitte Orca – give a crazy band some time to chill out, and you’ve got something that a lot more people can enjoy.
Not that I’m saying I didn’t like Deerhoof before, and not that I’m saying Deerhoof fans will be displeased, quite the contrary. But I find this record much easier to listen to. In fact, I listened to it almost all day today, several times over. And not just because I had to thoroughly absorb it because of this review, but because I enjoyed it a lot.
From the twitchy and cute “Qui Dorm, Només Somia” to the guitar fuzz laden “The Merry Barracks,” Deerhoof vs. Evilremains true to the band’s bizarre song-crafting but brings in a melodic quality that they haven’t embraced as much with the past ten or so albums. Heck, “No On Asked To Dance” has a hook that sounds like classical Spanish guitar. Now there’s something you wouldn’t expect to hear from Deerhoof. Actually, you should never expect anything from Deerhoof, because you’ll most likely be wrong.
“Super Duper Rescue Heads” also has strong pop influences with adorable synthesizer and the ever-simplified lyric “Me, to the rescue! How low, how low, you lucky so-and-so?” It’s so fun that after a couple minutes I actually realize that I’m dancing around my kitchen to Deerhoof music.
One thing I particularly liked about this album is that Deerhoof didn’t rely heavily on Matsuzaki’s vocals, and took a bit more care in the harmonies between the band members’ singing parts. It made for a more dense listening experience, and it’s also part of that “more people will like this music” argument. Similar to Dirty Projectors’ Dave Longstreth, and even Joanna Newsom, Matsuzaki has a love-it-or-hate-it voice. And the more chance people get to love it, I say yes.
Further along the album, we get the eerie “Must Fight Current,” which as I said before, explores the vocal harmonies and contrast more than ever before. My personal favourite, however, and then one that I’ve listened to probably about 15 times in the last 24 hours, is “Secret Mobilization,” a track that starts out with simple jazz guitars, catchy hooks, and soft lilty “la la la la las” from Matsuzaki around the middle. But it breaks into this thrashy minor chord progression at the end of the song that catches you so off guard that it’s like an awesome right hook to the face.
Once you’ve been metaphorically smacked into submission, the rest of the album is relatively low-key compared to the earlier songs. “Hey I Can” and “C’Moon” feature some Japanese lyrics which – if I had the energy – I would go translate for you. But this gives you incentive to buy the album. Then it ends on the loveliest songs on Deerhoof vs. Evil, the sunny hand claps on “I Did Crimes For You,” and the haunting sexy synthesizer reverb on “Almost Everyone Almost Always.”
I, for one, am ecstatic to get the chance to see Deerhoof play any of these songs on their spring tour coming up, and I’d go so far to say already that Deerhoof vs. Evil will be on my best of 2011 list.
January has been a good month.
Track Listing:
1. Qui Dorm, Només Somia
2. Behold a Marvel in the Darkness
3. The Merry Barracks
4. No One Asked to Dance
5. Let’s Dance the Jet
6. Super Duper Rescue Heads !
7. Must Fight Current
8. Secret Mobilization
9. Hey I Can
10. C’Moon
11. I Did Crimes for You
12. Almost Everyone, Almost Always
I like Regan Farquhar. My wife likes Regan Farquhar. Over the past few years, I have influenced my wife to enjoy numerous indulgences that she previously did not: Guinness, the novels of John Irving, the comedy of Patton Oswalt. However, music has rarely (if at all) been something that I’ve been able to alter for her; although she sees merit in As I Lay Dying and Killswitch Engage, she will probably always hate most metal and all of Blink-182 (while I will most likely continue my distaste for Latin music and the work of Soulja Boy Tell ‘Em).
Why should you care? Good question. You should care for the same reason that you should care that I like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and my mom likes Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. I’m not talking about universal appeal here; it’s not even worth mentioning that everyone likes Elton John’s music or Robert Zemekis films (and for those of you who think that you don’t, you do. Trust me. Turn on Tiny Dancer and watch Back to the Future and revel in liking the same safe, saccharine art that your parents enjoy(ed). It’s okay). The idea is that Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind makes my mom feel COOL for liking it because it’s a “weird” film. No one feels cool because they like Elton John unless they are trying to be ironic, in which case…fuck off. Irony is unquestionably the most overused device in…well, everything, in 2010. Music. Art. Personal Relationships. Personal taste. Fashion. And goddamn has it gotten TIRED. I read a review of I and Love and You by The Avett Brothers on a website that I won’t mention *cough PITCHFORK cough* that actually criticized the album for its over-sincerity (read: lack of irony). Since when is this a bad thing??? What the hell? As Chuck Klosterman said, “I honestly believe that people of my generation despise authenticity, mostly because they’re all so envious of it.” ANYWAY, let’s talk about Regan’s new 7” entitled Hoofdriver; it’s about time, I know.
Hoofdriveris a “split,” although both tracks feature the aforementioned Mr. Farquhar and, according to the press release, both tracks “spawned from [his] mind.” The first track features Farquhar (better known as Busdriver) and Deerhoof in a collaboration (of sorts). In reality, “I Did Crimes Behind Your Eyeslids” (cool song title, methinks) is simply a new Deerhoof track with Busdrivercrooning alongside the instrumentation. If this sounds forced to you (insert obscure yet topical reference to a forced musical collaboration), leave your reservations at the proverbial door (or the literal door…although that makes much less sense). I honestly don’t know whether or not Busdriver and Deerhoof even know one another, but there’s an undeniable chemistry present between the two parties. The song is catchy as hell, but not in an obvious way; in other words, it isn’t “infectious” per se, but you’ll find yourself humming the melody “…there’s an ocean behind your eyelids…” while being neither annoyed nor annoying. That’s more than most pop songs this catchy can say about themselves.
Track two on Hoofdriver is entitled “On the Brink” and is by another Farquhar project, Physical Forms. The musical style is similar to the first track, but what On the Brink lacks in catchiness and instant accessibility, it makes up for in exuberance and frenzy. The drums and keys are reminiscent of Boston’s Foreplay (I mean that as a compliment), and the vocals once again mesh wonderfully with that’s going on instrumentally. If nothing else, you will get a caffeine rush listening to this one. At most, this song will have you reevaluating your entire stance on post-modernity, the emotional possibilities of electronic music, and the historical accuracy of the works of Frank Miller. Or something.
By this point, you’re probably thinking, “Goddamn, that was a long review with very little substance for a 7” split with two tracks.” Well check it out: this shit’s about to come together like the end of a Guy Ritchie movie. Remember my mom who felt cool for liking Eternal Sunshine? Well, that’s the power of these tracks and these bands. They don’t have “universal appeal;” I’m not sure that anything new in 2010 does anymore. Instead, they have the power to appeal to multiple niche markets, which is (in a way) even more powerful than widespread acclaim.
Buy this very inexpensive EP, listen to the tracks, and understand fully what I’m saying.
On paper,Jamie Stewartis a little intimidating. He writes brooding, intelligent lyrics for a band that I hold in high regard: Xiu Xiu. He is opinionated, but he has the wit to back his opinions whether on politics, social issues, the economy etc. Faced by the prospect of interviewing him, I was slightly trembling. What if I couldn’t reach his standards and came off as some dumb rando?
We found a “quiet” place for the interview just a block away from the interview: Pita Pita. I sat across from Jamie and he politely mumbled an apology for eating during the interview. Then, he began to stab his cup of fruit with a straw. A small smile crept up as I watched him use the straw. There was something so grounded in his behavior. My fear melted away and we began to discuss his band, his writing process, politics and a possible collaboration with bees…
Bethany Smith, PopWreckoning: Let’s start with your songwriting process. Especially with your last album, Dear God I Hate Myself, you have a lot of dark subject material/heavier subjects, but then you have some lighthearted things. How do you balance the dark and the light and where do you get the inspiration for what goes on to a record like that? Jamie Stewart, Xiu Xiu: There is not really any attempt to balance it at all. It’s always an attempt to talk about the things that are happening in the lives of the people that are close to me and in my life and sometimes in politics. Sometimes those things are a little bit lighter and sometimes those things are incredibly morose and heavy. So, if it is a year that is entirely filled with hilarious things, then it will just be hilarious. I hope the next record will be hilarious, but if it is a year that’s entirely filled with doom, then it will be doom-filled. I guess that answers the second part of the question, too.
BS: With the politics angle, it seemed like while Bush was in office there were more political records and you had songs about that, but with Obama, there’s been a change in the volume of political angles. What’s changed with you with Obama in office and the change of politics and the changes with stuff like health care? JS: I don’t the President is a maniacal idiot anymore, but he’s a politician still. I mean, I like him, twenty percent more than I liked Bush. He doesn’t terrify me, but the war is still in full swing, just not being escalated. I appreciate that he’s not giving up on health care, although the health care bill is…in theory, I’m glad it exists, but it doesn’t seem like it is going to help people particularly. He’s kind of exactly the way I expected him to be and its exactly the way I expected things would get in politics. I expected things would get a tiny, tiny bit better and slightly less terrifying, which they have. I didn’t expect the worst, but I didn’t expect anything wonderful to happen.
BS: Moving on from the lyrical aspect, how do you come up with some of the musical aspects like using a Nintendo DS for a song like “Dear God”? How do you think this would be a cool instrument to use? JS: It’s kind of just that. Before I got into song writing, I was mostly interested in engineering and spent a lot of time initially just working on sounds before I really started trying to become interested in narrative songwriting. I have a lot more experience with that than actual writing. And probably trying to make sounds as important emotionally as harmony and lyrics, a lot of times, those begin with a sound and we try to work that into a song or build up a song around it.
Joshua Hammond, PopWreckoning: Based off what she said there with the sound, you seem to be the only consistent member of the band from beginning to end, how does that affect how your sound shifts from album to album: Seven people or primarily you? JS: Depends on the song. Like the last song on the record, “Impossible Feeling,” Ches Smith played on it and Angela [Seo] played on it, then I played on it. And a cellist, our friend, played on it, and it does have a particular sound, but then on a song like “Dear God I Hate Myself,” I played everything. And that was a different type of sound. This is an obvious answer, but different people put their own hearts and own ideas and own interests in there. I don’t feel territorial at all ,but Ches lives in New York and Angela lives elsewhere, so there are days when I get to work with them and days when I don’t want to not work, so I keep going.
BS: There’s been a lot of controversy over your music video for “Dear God, I Hate Myself.” did you expect such extreme reactions?
JS: No. We were really surprised. We were particularly surprised that a lot of the criticism had a racist orientation to it. A lot of them seemed to stem from this belief that Angela, because she’s an Asian woman, is this terribly helpless person who couldn’t decide to do something totally gross of her own accord. The whole video was totally her idea, but there was all this speculation that I coerced this poor little Asian girl into doing something like that. If it had been some other chick, no one would have said anything like that. We were really, really surprised. It wasn’t overt racism, but it was racism by proxy of making stupid, ignorant comments and people accusing me of drugging her and insane things like that. We weren’t expecting it at all. We expected some people to like it and some to say it was stupid. There is a point to it, but as with everything, we figured some would get the point and others wouldn’t get the point. The other stuff we were really surprised by. BS: I know when I watched it, it was hard to watch it because.. JS: It’s gross. It’s totally gross. BS: It is gross, but it does make a lot of sense with the song and it is an important thing to get out there on a subject that a lot of videos wouldn’t even mess with in a two minute sphere; it’s something usually saved for a two hour drama trying to get an Oscar nomination.
JH: In some ways do you find the controversy has helped a little bit for people who might normally pay attention to you? JS: Oh, I think if I looked on the internet, I’d have an answer for that, but I get way too freaked out and try to stay as far away from it as possible. JH: Yeah, I never thought of that until right now. JS: I’m sure there are, but it hasn’t changed our career.
BS: I think with that video, a lot of what helped me understand you weren’t doing anything malicious and just trying to get an issue across is that you’re involved with charities. Like on this tour you’re working with At the Crossroads. Would you mind telling our readers what At the Crossroads means and how you got involved? JS: How we got involved, Brenda, who is a friend of Angela’s, does it and she came on this tour with us so it makes sense we’d do some work for it anyways and what it is is a referral and counseling service for homeless youth in San Francisco. BS: How did you come up with the idea to take images and photos with fans to give to people for it? JS: Yeah, each sort of level of donation, somebody can get something back for it. I wish that Angela and Brenda were actually here because while I’m involved, they’re doing most of it. If you donate at all, you get a poster; if you donate five bucks you get a little device from a truck stop and we’ll mail it to you. BS: Have you already done some of these purchase? JS: Yeah. BS: What are some of the devices you got people? JS: Actually, they did those. The one thing I did, there’s a set of unrealesed Xiu Xiu songs and if we raise a certain amount of money then we’ll release those for free download. Even if we don’t make the money I think we’ll still do it because the goal is pretty high, but still. If you donate 50 then this photographer shooting us will help make a special photo book for that person out of his photos. It’s pretty cool. It’s going pretty well actually. People can do it on our website at xiuxiu.org or at shows directly. BS: Cool.
JH: You guys, throughout your career, have done a number of pretty amazing covers. I’m a huge fan of the “Under Pressure” one. JS: Thanks. JH: When you pick a song to cover, how do you choose that process? Is it just songs that you guys personally love? JS: Yeah. that’s the only criteria. That it, within one way or another, meant something to us. It’s always an attempt to say thank you to that song and those artists. The motivation is never to remake a song or be better than that artist. It is an attempt to be gracious to artists that are really important to us. BS: Yet you guys covered the Pussycat Dolls? JS: Yeah. Haha. BS: How’d that get in there? JS: It’s a really filthy song. I loved how dirty it was. I spent a lot of time on the dance floor enjoying myself to that song.
BS: Haha. Yeah, I was just like on Youtube watching your covers and being like, ok Queen, Shangri-la and Pussycat Dolls… In addition to a lot of covers, you do a lot of collaborations. Do you have any upcoming collaborations? And following that, are there dream collaborations you’d like to do someday? JS: I just finished doing one with Jonathan Mieburg from Shearwater and with John Congleton from Paper Chase producing it. That was in February. That’s not really a Xiu Xiu thing, that’s just Jonathan and myself. And at the end of April, Xiu Xiu and Deerhoof are playing all of Unknown Pleasures at a festival and then again in New York. I think that’s all that is coming up. As for dream ones, i don’t have any dreams ones. Usually anyone I want to collaborate with, I’m friends with and it isn’t unfeasible to ask friends to do it. It’s more fun to work with people whom you are pals with and know really well. It’d have to be something really insane then..like 50 million bees or something like that or with a volcano or something completely impossible. JH: Which makes no sense at all, but when I was thinking who I’d like to hypothetically see you work with, I was thinking I’d like to take this band and Imogen Heap together because she does interesting things like using the poles of her staircase and stuff to record. Musically, it doesn’t remotely sound the same, but creatively, I’d like to see what would happen together. I wouldn’t mind seeing something something with The Books, too, because they have an album where they just walk around and record sounds. JS: Yeah. I like that approach to things.
BS: Yeah, that stuff is becoming more popular. Like we played a piece called “Rollercoaster” and took a chainsaw to a ladder to be the coaster going up the ramp. I’d like to hear this bee collab…For a final question, there have been talks of a DVD. Is there anything more to that? JS: Yeah. It came out with the last record. JH: First thousand copies. JS: It ended up being the first 2000. It was like a video collection. BS: I thought I saw something about a DVD history story. JS: Oh, we were going to do that at one point, but it ended up not happening, so we did this video approach instead.
At this point we got sidetracked by Jamie’s tattoo on his left arm. A combination of a deer with a human face, but arrows sticking out of its side. Slightly unjarring, but beautiful. Jamie said it was too personal to elaborate on, so after some more small talk we moved on back to the venue to see the band perform.
There’s not much about this band that isn’t a giant version of WTF?! But before we determine that such a statement can only bring about negative connotations, realize that a lot of WTF?! objects can sell for lots and lots of money and be declared as “revolutionary” and “artistic” and “rare genius.” I’m silently giggling to myself but perhaps after a few tracks off of the self titled collaboration of “genius,” you’ll appreciate just how indie these cats know how to sound.
Honestly, this review would go nowhere without the explanation of their name: UUVVWWZ. Don’t be all normal and pronounce it out. Direct from an adorable illustration on both their blog and their Myspace, you’re supposed to say “double you, double vee, double double you, zee.” Or shorten it and call it the double unit, but not simply “double you” because they worry that’s too lonely. They are worry warts, the illustration tells you. Mmmkay.
Moving on, the album starts out with the calm, odd chanting of Teal Gardner, but if you manage to hold on for a minute more, you’ll be rewarded with some sultry drum beats and growling distortion. Without such atmospheric repetition you’d have nothing to get stuck in your head (“I like the blackberries/cause they cannot entangle me”) as you pass the fruit section of the grocery store, so accept it. For the rest of the album, don’t be alarmed when the acceptance could possibly turn to a slight adoration and suddenly, maybe it’s too much for you, and then you find out you just need it. The love-hate relationship with her shrilling could come at fever pitch on “Jap Dad”, where instruments go chaotic and she keeps right up. It’s also at that point when a younger, crazier Karen O seems channeled. Remember the frenzy of Fever To Tell? Haunting shrills and leaps and bounds, all out of a tiny little stage queen? You’ve got that here—or at least the potential of it. When they start getting a bit experimental – a bit “break the mold” – songs like “Trapezus” happen, and it might take an altered mind to understand anything that happens there. There are no rules. It’s as if they picked up instruments and said, “okay, everyone just follow everyone—now go!”
Luckily, the smooth and seductive “The Sun” could be the saving grace of this entire endeavor, because when a song sets a mood for the listener, you’ve got yourself a winner. The track begins with a taunting much like the hypnotic, epic Salma Hayek scene in From Dusk Till Dawn, and each note seems to tiptoe some elliptical dance. When the band finally lets it all go, a third into the song, you’re already in love with the southern influence and lingering swoon to even care that Gardner’s voice is in hyper-drive again.
Chords of the Deftones, hints of Bjork, and a more modern link to Deerhoof are all you need to know in order to decipher that this band is something only the artsy-est of art kids could discover. My prediction is that Saddle Creek made a good move (although seriously unpredicted) in taking them under their financially supported wing. Could this rugged power zap! bam! boom! movement be the new sound of ’10? Maybe, as long as the show can hold up to the intensity of rare genius. Oops. I said it.
Fun Fun Fun Fest (FFFun Fest) is a festival in Austin, Texas that is a blend between both AustinCityLimits (ACL) and South By Southwest (SXSW). FFFun Fest is a quad-fecta of punk rock music, dance music, indie music, and standup comedy on four different stages located at Waterloo park in downtown Austin.
This year, FFFun Fest brought in a few bigger named bands that might appear at ACL, as well as some other smaller ones that you might find in the lineup of a venue during SXSW. However, since it is an Austin festival, and we do like to keep things on the weird side, this festival had it all. Everything that the concert goer might want at a music festival, they could find at FFFun Fest. The festival was equipped with the good eats of Austin, a few local shops, the 101x radio crew booth, as well as a half-pipe for whom ever wanted to skate it between bands.
The first day was filled with music pleasurable to your ears with such bands as The National (8:40 pm – 9:40 pm), Atmosphere(7:35 pm – 8:35 pm), Deerhoof(6:30 pm – 7:30 pm),…And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead (4:50 pm – 5:35 pm), all of which played their hearts out. Whether it be lions and tigers masquerading on the stage during Deerhoof or the drunkenness of The National, everything went pretty smoothly, other than the technical delays that occurred after every single band that went on. However, it did not make that big of a difference in the waiting time between each band. Unlike most music festivals, there was no hour long wait between each band. Each one went on right after the other with only a five to ten minute wait between them.
Later in the day, after everyone was done wandering from stage to stage checking out the different kinds of music that Fun Fest had to offer, when …And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead came on, it was then that everyone started to stake out their own spot for the headliners that were to come on shortly thereafter. I must say Trail Of Dead put on quite the performance for their fellow Austinites. It was not until Atmosphere came on that first night that anyone could really tell how many people where there at the festival (or how dusty it had gotten from the loose dirt on the ground that everyone seemed to be kicking up). Everyone in the audience was ready and Atmosphere knew it. And like all great musical front men (or women), he knew exactly how to work the crowd and get them involved to feel like a part of the music.
Once the crowd used up the last of their energy that they had for the day, it was time for the National to come on to play their mellow indie rock, which would end the night on a perfect note. Having never seen them live, I was unaware of how much alcohol the band could consume in one night, which only added to their performance: Matt Berningerfell over after trying to sit down on one of the monitors, randomly threw his mic stand into the audience in the middle of one of his songs, and ended the night by throwing his mic into the audience to fight over as he walked off the stage. No matter how drunk he might have been, the music was perfect. And that was only the end of the first night.
The second day was not as dramatic as The National’s performance, but was nonetheless entertaining. The headlining bands of the second night included Clap Your Hands Say Yeah (8:40 pm – 9:40 pm), Minus the Bear (7:35 pm – 8:35 pm), St. Vincent (6:30 pm – 7:30 pm), and Bad Brains (8:45 pm – 9:45 pm). Starting with St. Vincent (whom I had the pleasure of meeting after her set, lovely lady!), goes above and beyond when playing everywhere that she goes. She played her music from her soul and everyone listening knew it. Unlike the day before, the technical delays of day two were minimal, so Minus The Bear went on right after St. Vincent with perfect ease. Having played several songs off their new EP, the feeling that people got from their music was contagious and spread like a wild fire in California. The night ended with Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. Perfect is about all I can say: it was beautiful.
Make the journey to Austin next fall to see what all Fun Fun Fun Fest is about!
On their debut albumFantasy Black Channel, Late of the Pier have created twelve consistently exciting tracks throbbing with dance beats, Mick Ronson-esque guitar lines (though less glam rockish) and wicked clubby synths. And of course Samuel Eastgate’s sexalicious vocals, which are pure Bowie.
Kicking off with the epic, almost Battles-like “Hot Tent Blues†which segues into “Brokenâ€, LotP try and explore as many different variations of electro-pop (with every possible synth sound setting they can find) over the course of the next ten tracks. Among these are the riff-rocking “Space and the Woodsâ€, the poppy “Random Firlâ€, the neon-lit “Heartbeat†and the club-y “Fockerâ€, which sounds like Bowie remixing Wolfmother. I don’t even really know how to describe “The Bears Are Comingâ€, which is probably the only electro song I’ve ever heard to make use of tablas. Even when LotP are pushing themselves and making interesting choices on FBC, they never hit a wrong note and never repeat themselves.
Though the entire ordeal is accomplished with zest, zeal and panache, one can’t help but feel as though this album represents a band in its early stages of development. LotP’s sound is comprised of so many different elements that it would be too much to expect the band to have already fused them together to arrive at a signature sound so quickly. Since this is LotP’s debut album, this is only to be expected and is not in any way a slight against the band and their skill. Besides, the large majority of bands that arrive too fully formed from the onset quickly peter out (Oasis, Stone Roses, hopefully not The Strokes) while bands with potential that develop gradually often have long, fruitful careers (Wilco, Deerhoof, Blonde Redhead).
As a debut, FBC is not only promising, but is also a significant accomplishment in itself. This is one channel you don’t want to skip.
Fantasy Black Channel is available now from Parlophone Records.
Tracklisting: 01. Hot Tent Blues
02. Broken
03. Space And The Woods
04. The Bears Are Coming
05. Random Firl
06. Heartbeat
07. Whitesnake
08. VW
09. Focker
10. The Enemy Are The Future
11. Mad Dogs And Englishmen
12. Bathroom Gurgle
Apparently last year’s Friend Opportunity wasn’t friendly enough, or maybe it was too friendly. Whatever the case may have been, Deerhoof try for the best of both worlds on that album’s follow-up, Offend Maggie. The band continues to embrace its new-found accessibility while reviving some of the sprawling ambition of its 2005 epic The Runners Four. Now, I’m not sure who this Maggie person is or what she has done to provoke these guys, but I’m curious to know what she thinks of this new batch of songs, as they don’t offend so much as challenge, confound and ultimately astonish.
Theoretically conceived as two separate “acts,†Maggie plays surprisingly well when taken in as a whole. Unlike previous efforts where Deerhoof sounded like they were consciously trying (and succeeding) to push themselves, much of the songs here sound remarkably effortless, almost reflexive in their quality and consistency. The band’s trademark eclecticism is still very much in tact, but reveals itself in a far smoother fashion.
For example, rather than crashing to a jarring halt as it may have on albums past, the muscular propulsion of opener “The Tears and Music of Love†softly segues into the sweet shuffle of “Chandelier Searchlight,†a number that wouldn’t sound out of place on The Breeders’ Pod. The first half of the album follows a similar trajectory, ebbing and flowing both within and between songs before climaxing with album apex “My Purple Past,†a formidable usurper to the “Matchbook Seeks Maniac†title as Deerhoof’s best individual song. Patient yet commanding, the guitars and electric piano swell as Satomi Matsuzaki sings a simultaneously quirky and haunting narrative about a cowboy and sailor who seem to swap identities.
That crest alone would be enough to end an album on, but Maggie is a generous dame and has a whole second act to enjoy. Originally released as sheet music for fans to record for themselves over the summer, “First Born†still manages to surprise in spite of myriad “covers†on the web, beginning as a lovely chime before changing abruptly into to a playful shimmy. Meanwhile, the pair of songs that close the album – “Numina O†and “Jagged Fruit†– each take a page out of Sonic Youth’s playbook, the former with its Dirty pop melody and the latter with a droning dirge that frustratingly recalls Opportunistic afterthought “Look Away†(the last album’s only misstep) before simmering to life with a snarling cacophony of guitars.
Speaking of guitars, Ed Rodriguez proves a worthy, if not necessarily equal, successor to the dearly departed Chris Cohen. As for the veteran players, Greg Saunier’s percussion continues to explore new subtleties while the aforementioned Matsuzaki has never sounded better or sweeter. The lyrics she sings range from clever (the telemarketing as metaphor for unrequited love in the title track) to literal (her cheerleading in “Basket Ball Get Your Groove Backâ€) to head-scratching (how many times does she have to ask “Buck and Judy†about that damned fruit?).
As with all past Deerhoof efforts, you’ll either love it or you won’t. For every song that can potentially convert the skeptics (pretty much any of the above), there will be one that fuels the argument that they’re simply experimental for experimental sake (“This is God Speakingâ€). But the rest of us who were wise enough to jump on their opportunity for friendship will only love them more for these minor flaws. We know better, and so do Deerhoof. They may not be actively seeking new friends this time around, but that doesn’t mean they won’t readily reward them.
Hear the new material live as Deerhoof embarks on a national tour beginning in October through mid-November before heading across the Atlantic for a series of European dates in early December.
Tracklisting:
01. The Tears and Music of Love
02. Chandelier Searchlight
03. Buck and Judy
04. Snoopy Waves
05. Offend Maggie
06. Basket Ball Get Your Groove back
07. Don’t Get Born
08. My Purple Past
09. Family of Others
10. Fresh Born
11. Eaguro Guro
12. This Is God Speaking
13. Numina O
14. Jagged Fruit
Deerhoofhas just finished a new album,Offend Maggie, to be released on Deerhoof’s longtime home, Kill Rock Stars.
One song from Offend Maggie will soon be available from an interactive website as a downloadable written score. Fans (or foes, or perfect stangers) can then record the song and share their mp3s with others on the website. It is not yet known which song it will be. Everyone can hear Deerhoof’s own solution to the song when the album is released October 7.
The October release will be followed immediately by a world tour of all-ages venues and low ticket prices.
In the meantime, Deerhoof will join their hip-hop buddies The Roots this weekend by performing at The Roots Picnic in Philadelphia along with Gnarls Barkley and others before heading off to tour Japan, then a free show in Brooklyn, an appearance at the Halifax Jazz Festival, and a night at the Hollywood Bowl. They continue to perform songs from Offend Maggie throughout these shows. Catch them if you can!
Tracklisting: Act 1
01. Offend Maggie
02. Fresh Born
03. Chandelier Searchlight
04. The Tears and Music of Love
05. Buck and Judy
06. Don’t Get Born
07. My Purple Past
Act 2
08. Basket Ball Get Your Groove Back
09. Numina
10. This Is God Speaking
11. Eaguru Guru
12. Snoopy Waves
13. Jagged Fruit
14. Family of Others
Tour Dates: jun 07 – Philadelphia, PA – The Roots Family Picnic @ The Festival Pier (w/ The Roots, Gnarls Barkley, Sharon Jones and The Dap Kings)
jun 14 – Tokyo, Japan – Liquidroom (Kill Rock Stars showcase w/ Xiu Xiu, Mika Miko, Panther)
jun 15 – Osaka, Japan – Shangri-la(w/ Xiu Xiu, Tenniscoats, Shugo Tokumaru)
jun 16 – Nagoya, Japan – Club Upset (w/ Xiu Xiu, Tenniscoats, Shugo Tokumaru)
jun 18 – Sapporo, Japan – Bessie Hall (w/ Tenniscoats)
jul 18 – Brooklyn, NY - Prospect Park (w/ Metropolis Ensemble)
jul 19 – Halifax, NS – The Marquee Club for the Halifax Jazz Festival
jul 27 – Hollywood, CA – KCRW’s World Festival @ The Hollywood Bowl (w/ Gnarls Barkley)
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Concert Calendar
Nov 23, 2011
HaHa Tonka @ Recordbar, Kansas City MO
Nov 25, 2011
Thee Oh Sees @ The Granada, Lawrence KS
Deerhoof is one of those bands that at first listen, you tilt your head to the side and say “huh?” The experimental rock veterans have never been ones to play it safe when it comes to their music, with spastic guitar riffs, the odd vocals of Satomi Matsuzaki, and melodies that would otherwise never be put to record. With their latest effort, Deerhoof vs. Evil, Deerhoof actually manages to make their almost psychotic brand of indie rock catchy. Think in the similar vein of the Dirty Projectors’ critically-acclaimed Bitte Orca – give a crazy band some time to chill out, and you’ve got something that a lot more people can enjoy.
