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The group were originally formed by Rob Fisk and Greg Saunier, as a bass and drum pairing who focused on improvisation. A year later, singer Satomi Matsuzaki moved to San Francisco from her native Japan and quickly joined the band, despite having no previous experience of playing music. After a slew of early, four-track recorded singles and some support tours, the band released their debut album, ‘The Man, the King, the Girl’, in 1997. Since then, their output has been prodigious; they’ve put out a further twelve records, with six dropping between 2001 and 2005 alone.
They’ve continued to push the envelope sonically during that time; one of their signaure moves is to change sound abruptly between albums - take the jump from album one to two, which saw the noise rock element completely excised from their sound. They’ve turned their collective hand to electronica, girl-group pop and aggressive punk rock over the years; the 2011 full-length ‘Deerhoof vs. Evil’ is one of the best encapsulations of their constantly experimental sound. They’ve collaborated widely, too, with the likes of Jeff Tweedy, Busdriver and Of Montreal having contributed to their series of remixed seven-inch singles. They’ve toured with the likes of Sonic Youth, The Flaming Lips and Sleater-Kinney, a further testament to their versatility.
Deerhoof has built a reputation for themselves as being one of the most indecipherable bands in indie rock music. It seems nearly impossible to track where their sound is headed, and in large part this stems from the claim that neither do they. Not only are their transitions from album to album unpredictable, but the structure of their songs is also wildly erratic. "Panda Panda Panda" a song from their masterful "Apple O'" album starts out fully charged, but then unexpectedly jerks and lags about, creating great tension in the dynamical structure, then out of nowhere explodes with extreme magnitude. As indicated on such tracks like "Panda Panda Panda" their melodies are incredibly jarring and discordant, but have a tendency to get stuck into your head for days.
There sound is also so fascinating because they love playing around with polar opposite musical elements, testing how they clash and complement each other. Singer Satomi Matsuzaki's voice has a characteristic sweet and child like innocence to it; however it is often bizarrely paired with abrasive (sometimes borderline frighting) musical accompaniments. Deerhoof is also a band that has a rich understanding of pop music; however they will take it into their own territory: perverting it, capitalizing on its charm, and most importantly using it as a way to mess with the listeners anticipations.
Deerhoof is one of the most unique bands around and it is a wonderful experience to see them perform live. Their music is simply incomparable. In a way it is a mystery how they get such interesting sounds when using very conventional instrumentation. When I saw them live for their "Breakup Song" tour they performed their entire set using only a guitar, bass, drum set and microphone. I was mesmerized throughout the performance. It was one of the few shows I have attended in which I was absolutely absorbed in the music. They switched from songs like "Apple Bomb" which was a more contemplative track featuring fantastically odd chord changes to newer songs like "There's That Grin". "There's that Grin" has to be the catchiest Deerhoof track written. I couldn't believe how perfect they performed it live either. This is a song that features extensive use of synthesizers and yet it sounded just as good performed on the guitar and bass. Their drummer Greg Saunier also has one of the greatest improvisational styles I have seen in a long time.
Deerhoof is a band that's talent and versatility can't be denied. They have contributed to the ultra-macabre recordings of Xiu Xiu and have remixed hits by Maroon 5. Hearing them perform live it is no wonder why they are herald by so many artists and are invited on stage by the likes of David Bowie and Wilco.
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