This is my favorite song on the new Deerhoof album. It has plenty of what I love about the band–John Dietrich’s guitars and Greg Saunier’s drums–and not too much what I’m not 100% about–Satomi Matsuzaki’s vocals.
The guitar chords that introduce the song are brooding; preparing. They are porcupines patrolling the edge of their forest, preparing for an army of wolves. They give sideways glances. They know they are going to die. But they survive. Although there is a frenzied climax around the seven-minute mark, the very end of the song signifies that nothing catastrophic went down. A nice little keyboard line and tasteful vocals from Matsuzaki segue into a held-out chord that works perfectly.
To me, the eleven minutes feel like three. This is what I always wanted Deerhoof to sound like, what I always wanted them to do: destroy their boundaries and give their ideas the freedom to live and explore. Reveille, Apple O’, and even Milk Man are just collections of brilliant moments to me. I like traditional pop songs…okay, so “Look Away” isn’t a traditional pop song either. But you get what I’m saying, right?
Buy Friend Opportunity here.
Comments 1
am i the only person who actually likes her voice?
its particularly good when seen in live context (and again, perhaps they do not do this anymore, as i saw them in a park in minneapolis after apple o came out): she does these fucking jumping jack dances with hand-gestures in time to the guitar parts. its exactly how you would think a nine year old girl that has a mild conception of cheer leading would dance. somehow it works.
Posted 16 Jun 2007 at 2:29 pm ¶Post a Comment