Actually, You Can

Deerhoof

It was a bit of a coincidence that I recently revisited one of Deerhoof's classics, Apple O', when I did because I was unaware - or totally forgot - that a new Deerhoof record was down the pipe. Regardless, I wanted to hear this one as I haven't really digested a Deerhoof record since 2014's La Isla Bonita. I was curious, not because I expected some grand progression over the course of the last 7 years, curious because Deerhoof always seems to keep you guessing as to the musical direction they will take you in. They may go more rock or more electronic. They may go more melodic or they may deliver something more noisy and wild. Maybe they'll give you their own rendition of songs from The Shining. You never know.

After sitting with this one for a bit, I can say I do like this record. I think it is consistently pretty solid. However, I'll admit it is not as bombastic as I maybe would've hoped for. Usually the one thing you can count on with a Deerhoof record is some wild and crazy drum performances or rhythms from Greg Saunier, and I didn't really get that impression this time around. In fact, I think this is a much more guitar focused record. There are so many good riffs and loads of epic guitar runs all throughout this record. It definitely does most of the heavy lifting. One element on this record that is new (at least to me) are the baroque-pop type melodies. It's like I'm at a renaissance fair, or listening to a crunchier, more energetic version of Vampire Weekend's debut. There are quite a few tracks that exhibit the qualities I've mentioned, but my favourite is definitely on the final track Divine Comedy, where the band puts everything on the table. For three minutes, Ed Rodriguez and John Dieterich go off on so many wonderful guitar adventures, leading Satomi Matsuzaki and Saunier through a curious journey. This grand climactic moment is what the album has been building towards for a majority of the time, therefore, to end the album this way in such spectacular fashion was very satisfying.

There were some songs that I wasn't too excited about, namely We Grew, and We Are Astonished mainly due to the fact that I feel like I've heard Deerhoof do this kind of sound before as well as not really doing all that much to progress the song from where it began. I have similar feelings regarding Our Philosophy Is Fiction, however, I did like the spooky vibes that track gave off in the end. Other than that, I thought it was a pretty decent Deerhoof record. Tough to hold a candle to some of their best works, but I thought it had a cohesive direction and sound, excellent guitar work as per usual, and while I was hoping for something a little more rhythmically memorable - I'm thinking on the level of The Perfect Me - Greg Saunier is still there making a racket behind the kit.