Deerhoof

This post probably comes a little late for Australian audiences as they have recently completed a tour, however it would be a shame if this band went unmentioned. To put it simply, Deerhoof are one the weirdest bands you will ever come across. Their sound varies from pure genius at one moment to complete stupidity at the next. They create a barrage obscure sounds that are sure test the boundaries of what you consider a conventional song. They’ll be darting off in all directions (sometimes none) and very often the singing doesn’t manage to articulate into proper words. Now this may all sound rather unpleasant, but somehow they manage to pull it off in a way that works surprisingly well. Seeing them live them was an even more interesting experience, as all three band members had their own quirky characteristics. For starters, the drummer used the barest setup I’d seen, consisting only of bass, snare and two symbols. Yet within this he managed to play with enough depth and intensity that I found myself mesmerised by his every move. Meanwhile the guitarist had a habit of contorting his face with every note he played, to the extent that you could be forgiven for thinking he was making the sound with mouth. Finally, singer and bassist, Satomi Matsuzaki, could be seen jumping up and down, which was rather amusing considering how small she was. It was made even funnier by the fact that the drummer (who was fairly tall) would sporadically walk over to the microphone and have to bend down a good 50cm as he delivered random messages to the crowd. I’ll be the first to admit that Deerhoof’s music isn’t easy to get into, but if you do get there, do your best to go see them because it’s definitely a spectacle.

Wrong Time Capsule – This was the first Deerhoof song to really draw me in. It comes off the album ‘The Runners Four’ and one was one of the few tracks that could be classified as a complete song. It is solely thanks to this song that I didn’t chuck them in the loony bin.

The Perfect Me – This comes off the recently released ‘Friend Opportunity’ which I quite like. I’m not sure if that’s because it’s better than their old stuff or because I’m used to them now. Either way, I plan on venturing into their back catalogue once I build up the courage.

Bonus: Kidz Are So Small – Couldn’t help myself. Besides, I had to balance out the rather conservative song choices above.

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