Deerhoof tread softly
When you’re opening for Radiohead, things can’t be so bad. That seems to be the trend for any number of hip art-rock bands that are being thrown into larger tours with the likes of the aforementioned Brits or Nine Inch Nails, who have recently boasted Liars and Grizzly Bear, as well as Deerhunter and HEALTH, respectively, as additions to their tour lineups.
Bay Area art-rock cutesters Deerhoof have had the pleasure of doing so in 2006, dosing the California coast with their brand of bombast and kitsch, playing off the release of 2005’s “The Runners Four.” At the same time, they were poising themselves for 2007’s “Friend Opportunity,” well-received by press and public alike.
How do you come down from success like that? Slowly and simply. This seems to be the approach they took with their latest album, “Offend Maggie,” an offering that is less obtuse than its predecessors.
Originally toted as a “two act” album, the track listing has changed to suggest that the opus they had originally planned has somehow transformed. If one compared album art alone between this year and last year’s releases, the David Shrigley pieces on “Friend Opportunity” suggest the nature of the music in the release – colorful, busy and maybe even a bit obnoxious.
“Offend Maggie” gives the listener a blank canvas. Just as the music has developed into a more airy and less raucous effort, the art suggests there is more space and opportunity for interpretation.
But in its obvious maturity and darkness, Deerhoof can’t seem to shake its trademark adorability (see: “Basket Ball Get Your Groove Back,” in which vocalist Satomi Matsuzaki sings “Pivot Pivot Pivot Pivot Escape/Dribble/Bunny Bunny Bunny Jump”), contained in the tiny Matsuzaki. Amidst the cuteness that rears its bunny head in many of the band’s previous louder songs, the band chooses a subdued version of theirselves for “Offend Maggie.” Drummer Greg Saunier takes a break from his usually maddening, crashing drum work to help guide more pop-sensible songs. He shrugs off some of the band’s more free-jazz skittishness for moodier, early-’90s rock, channelling Pavement and Stephen Malkmus.
Matsuzaki’s vocals, however, remain the focal point for many songs – interesting, considering it was never easy to understand her in the first place. This time she ventures to sing in Japanese on several tracks. It adds a layer of incomprehensibility to her sweet yips that make the album sound like an interpreting of alien pop music.
That being said, “Offend Maggie” does put a halt in what one has come to expect with the band, but it also displays the ability of Deerhoof as one of the frontrunners for modern indie art-rock with a bit more accessibility for good measure.
The album crash-lands in our human hands October 7, just three days after the band hits San Francisco’s Great American Music Hall with bands Okay and Happy Hollows. For those of you who wish to treat yourselves to a great concert, the show starts at 9 p.m. and is hardly offensive at $15.
Deerhoof
Offend Maggie
Release Date: Oct. 7
Genre: Indie Rock, Art-Rock
Grade: B+
Van Pham can be reached at editor@nevadasagebrush.com
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on Tuesday, September 30th, 2008 at 12:05 am and is filed under Album Reviews, Arts & Entertainment, Vibe.
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