Deerhoof - "Deerhoof vs. Evil"

With more texture than a box of Triscuits, Deerhoof sated my affinity for crunchy biscuits with a good port wine cheese without having coughed up one dry strand of wheat. This band has something I’d not heard in quite some time: smart hooks, good musicianship, and a firm grasp on song constructs. Having a command of dynamics and rhythms, their direction was purposely mapped, wrapped and jettisoned into the atmosphere. Dynamics are so important to the emotional structuring of a song, and the concept is typically elusive for many of the newer acts. There is no deficit of compositional comprehension amongst the songwriters. Being slightly reminiscent of Dirty Projectors (or perhaps Dirty Projectors are reminiscent of Deerhoof), they hoist the coolness flag proud and high. Their sound is distinctly west-coast with the hipster vibe of Brooklyn and a sprinkling of '90s Alternative favorites Papas Fritas.

Deerhoof's publicist, Marisa Handren, has this to say about them:

“Having formed in 1994, Deerhoof is now that fateful age and by rites it's the band's turn to go out and challenge the world. The same way a rebellious adolescent turns tough and irrational, Greg Saunier, Ed Rodriguez, John Dieterich, and Satomi Matsuzaki just up and split from San Francisco, the only home they've ever known as a band, and left behind all notions of what a Deerhoof record sounds like."

The result is Deerhoof vs. Evil. The musical equivalent of hormones raging out of control, it explodes out of the speakers with its gawky triumph and inflamed sentimentality. These are songs that practically demand that you dance and sing along (however elastic the rhythms, or abrupt the melodies). Right from “Qui Dorm, Només Somia” (sung in Catalan), you know you're hearing a daring band, unafraid of the consequences of failing (critics be damned)."

Deerhoof has engaged in a musical wife-swap of sorts for this album, trading instruments and creating a fresh sound for a historically prolific act. Hearing this album has excited me more than usual as there are few acts these days that can reinvent themselves with every new release.

I’ve recently moved. Yep, I’ve moved again. I seem to’ve done that quite often recently. Finding myself now in Maine, my senses were alive with the scent of lobsters and the feeling as though nothing could further impress me when I plugged my iPhone into my new Chevy Traverse and was summarily overawed. I stared at the Nubble Light while my engine was running, snow flying, gulls screaming with clown-like tourists trying to take pictures of the lighthouse with auto-magical digital cameras. For a moment it was Deerhoof vs. Me. The first track entitled ‘Qui Dorm, Només Somia’, which roughly translates to “I’d like a merkin to wear with my meatballs” tickled my inner texture-guy. (I’m just kidding. I have no idea to what Qui Dorm, Només Somia translates.) It started with a Latin-type Bossa groove and broke into a sweeping guitar riff over a half-time reggae-riff groove: hip was the word. It was a heavy groove that caused me to involuntarily fist-pump and rock, most definitely looking like the type of person who lived in my car's registered state, but had joyfully left behind. I've since changed my 'hood moniker from 'The Situation' to something more suitable for fear of being dragged from my car and being beaten.

I love a Telecaster played through a Super Reverb and the guitar on this track sounded much like that combination. It’s entirely possible that they recorded the guitar through a POD or using software such as Amplitube (which a few engineers have told me defies one to know the difference between real and simulated), but with this mix, I had a hard time discerning. There were many layers of sounds: vibrato on guitar, xylophone patches, bells and other buried gems. ‘Qui Dorm, Només Somia’was a fantastic introduction to Deerhoof.

I’d known of them but not heard them before so I was compelled to do some research after the first track. Because the iPhone can multitask, I was able Google whilst listening. ‘Behold a Marvel in the Darkness’ started playing. Technology is pretty OK with me.

Deerhoof's frontlady, Satomi Satsuzaki, was totally cute in this song. 'Behold a Marvel in the Darkness' begins with a moon-bounce beat reminding me of bubbles bursting forth from melted caramel. I couldn’t stop moving. (Actually, I can’t stop moving listening to them whilst writing this review.) They really captured a vibe there: alternating between squeaky-keen ascending acoustic chordal progressions and brash, bombastic interludes. All the parts sat very well in the mix. To that point, the mixes had been perfect. It’s not often bands find the right mix for their material. Corporate bands are most often mixed/mastered down to Original Flavor Cream of Wheat consistencies with no dynamics or textures while Indie bands with their homegrown mixes often struggle to get the bass out of the way of the kick which is in the way of the vocals which steps all over the guitars which all-together squash any semblance of keys or strings; run-on sentence I know, but I think you get the point. This album’s production is impressive.

I started the car and drove off to the Market Basket to get some eats. 'The Merry Barracks' racked next and laid down the law. With a heavy backbeat, syncopated orchestration and Fripp-like guitar parts, I was caught again gyrating and ululating. There’s great tension between the verses and choruses for which they assembled a cohesive flow out of seeming disparity. I enjoyed how the distorted bass and distorted guitar do not compete for frequencies. The lo-fi mix of the drums works well as do the somber vocals. The vocal lines Deerhoof add to their songs border saccharine quality but juxtapose the music perfectly. I quite enjoyed the duet between drummer Greg Saunier and Satomi. This is a song I should have listened to first while artificially cognitively compromised.

‘No One Asked to Dance’ opens with a light 3/4 Spanish feel and very delicate with fragile vocals. This song immediately reminded me of Papas Fritas’ ‘Girl’ from Buildings and Grounds. At just over two minutes, this is a treat and genius in album-placement. I love when guitars are played cleanly and forward into the mix as done here

Ouzo should be stirred and not shaken! ‘Let’s Dance the Jet’, a cover of an obscure Greek film soundtrack instrumental, reminded me of a cross between espionage and Led Zeppelin; a neat little instrumental that lived up to its name. Deerhoff obviously employed techniques in mic placement to capture the live sound of the room in which they’d performed. It’s a technique that can be challenging because it’s very easy to capture all the wrong frequencies making it nearly impossible to mix properly. Done correctly though, you can achieve the huge, cavernous sounds Jimmy Page achieved on John Bonham’s behalf. I’m a firm believer in room miking over close miking and would much prefer a three-mic room mix over dozens of close-mics any day. I’ve recorded that way for years and would never change. The key to success is tuning the room and placing the mics in just the right places.

The closest this album seemed to have come to pop was with the next song ‘Super Duper Rescue Heads!’ “Me to the rescue, me to the rescue, me to the rescue, me to the rescue. Hello, hello. You lucky so and so...” Made me laugh. They have a great sense of humor. The subject matter of these songs really defies convention and - although the vocals are as indecipherable at points as in early REM recordings - the emotion and intent comes through in the melodies and orchestration. It’s quite obvious Deerhoof’s well-skilled in their craft and probably should have after ten albums. They took 'Super Duper Resue Heads' in XTCish turns and twists by modulating for minor breakdowns to seemingly dissimilar keys, but always resolved cleanly, which was the genius of Andy Partridge and Colin Moulding.

“Don’t marry me, I’m just a dream. I’m gonna sue you. I’m gonna sue you. I’m just a dream, you see...” This song had made me afraid. I don’t wanna be sued. Another Spanish-flavored, arpeggiated guitar/synth song that kept my attention. It seems that great thought goes into these productions and arrangements. I would most certainly be proud of this release had it been mine.

By this time I’d arrived at the Market Basket. ‘Hey I Can’ just began and I paused it to get out of the car, but then started it again. Beginning with a solid and hypnotic synth beat, the song quickly morphed into an anthemic marching beat championing the notion of success. I decided it was time to grab a Hungry Man and pushed pause on the iPhone when a sudden tempo change grabbed me and I had to start it again. I was suddenly shuttled through time to XTC’s Drums and Wires again. Slight dissonance applied to very bright pop melodies is a tried and true formula of XTC, which Deerhoof has studied and applied. I was getting angry by this time because this music was preventing me from getting food. I needed food. I decided to play the song to the end and shut it off regardless of what was coming next.

As I was deciding between Salisbury Steak with the Apple Crumb Desert or the Buffalo Chicken with the Brownie, I heard REM’s ‘Crazy’ play across the in-store music system. I had to stop and was taken aback. On what planet was I?

I paid for my buffalo chicken and some chewy chocolate cookies and raced back to my car and my iPhone/iPod.

‘C’Moon’ is a clever song: a very tense melody nary a happy tone. I didn’t understand a word Satomi sang, which led me to believe she was singing in another language, possibly Asian. Like a whirling dervish, this song danced a melancholic two-step atop my spirit. I was smitten. I did some quick thumbing of the iPhone to discover this was Japanese to which I was listening: “Kage no naka nigashita moon.” At this point I usually start losing interest in albums so I was perplexed at how this album continued to crescendo. ‘C Moon’ was quickly becoming my favorite track on Deerhoof vs. Evil. I loved the diminished changes throughout the darkly flavored minor chord progressions but with two tracks left and ten minutes to reheated processed food heaven, I fought not to repeat ‘C’Moon’ and to finish the album.

It seems that Deerhoof has a great big toolbox from which to draw their inspirations and compositions. In a cursory overview this album may seem haphazard or even schizophrenic with their mix of textures, sounds, tempo-changes, etc., but there’s a method here as well as an impressive maturity. “This is a stick up. This is a stick up.” worked perfectly over the hand-claps and subdued guitar chunking on ‘I Did Crimes for You’. Drawing from ‘80s and ‘90s New Wave/Alternative roots, they craft a beauty here. A love song-theme perfectly juxtaposed to the strange flow of the music.

Just when I though this album couldn’t go in any more directions without losing coherence, ‘Almost Everyone, Almost Always’ disarms me completely with its B-side to Oranges and Lemons or Skylarking approach. In his best Thurston Moore-Daydream Nation/Colin Moulding-Dying vocal style, Greg croons his way through this thoughtful and synthesized ballad with vocals teetering between chest and falsetto. His approach to the vocals makes this song truly endearing and certainly reminiscent. Using Farfisa on this song and throughout the album proved they have a good knowledge of history. This song was a great summary to Deerhoof vs. Evil and I was as happy as I was hungry. I unplugged my iPhone and ran into the house with my “over a pound of food” meal and chucked it in the microwave. My spirit was sated with Deerhoof. My stomach was about to be sated with processed chicken, corn and a brownie.