Over the course of their career, Deerhoof have made each of their albums a matter-of-fact exploration of the kind of ADD genre-riddling songs which were so prevalent on their early records and which have been gradually refined on their most recent run of releases. And to a large degree, your acceptance of the various eccentricities on display across most of Deerhoof Vs. Evil may be born out of an inherent ability to accept what others may find as absurb as being part of something substantive. Because for all of it's clever conceptual levels, the new album by Deerhoof is a hell of a lot of fun.
Deerhoof have always known how to mix the serious with the outlandish. Take a quick look and listen through their discography and you'll hear a band who isn't afraid to take risks which other bands might consider crazy and who still, despite the disparate elements involved, create a cohesive album from the results. That penchant for instilling even the most self-styled seriousness with the goofiness of a group of high school kids on helium continues full steam across the 12 tracks which comprise Deerhoof Vs Evil. Songs like "Super Duper Rescue Heads!", with its' shimmering indie rock tendencies, or "No One Asked To Dance", which may be the most strangely hypnotic and beautiful song Deerhoof have ever released, show that through whatever refinements and changes they've made to their sound, Deerhoof still sound like themselves. They've managed to showcase the best parts of their past albums and successfully condense their history into a little over 30 minutes of music. And it may be in that brevity that the real strength of Deerhoof's music comes through. They've tied together our expectations with the forward momentum common to Deerhoof records and created a sometimes joyous, sometimes ridiculous--in the most fantastic way--album in which the free flow of ideas among the band members have free reign to expand and contract, and in that respect, feeling more like an improvised jazz album than an indie rock album released in 2011. Deerhoof continue to confound as much as gratify, and with Deerhoof Vs Evil, they expertly straddle the line between being too self-aware and coming off as completely unaware of current musical trends. And it's in this seeming indifference to those same musical trends that lends this album the heft needed to keep it grounded and never slip into parody. Say what you will about the constant genre switching or the eccentric vocals of singer Satomi Matsuzaki but Deerhoof have released consistently challenging--read, great--albums for almost 15 years and I'll be damned if I know what their next album will sound like. And I wouldn't have it any other way.
Tracklisting:
01. Qui Dorm, Només Somia
02. Behold a Marvel in the Darkness
03. The Merry Barracks
04. No One Asked to Dance
05. Let’s Dance the Jet
06. Super Duper Rescue Heads! (listen to the mp3 below)
07. Must Fight Current
08. Secret Mobilization
09. Hey I Can
10. C’Moon
11. I Did Crimes for You
12. Almost Everyone, Almost Always
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