Chimpomatic

Deerhoof

Offend Maggie

Kill Rock Stars

The first thing you notice about the new Deerhoof record is the muscle in the guitars. The Tears And Music Of Love is an impressive way to open an album and after the first few bars of the duel guitar intro the new Deerhoof manifesto is firmly introduced. With the addition of a second guitar to the front line and an easing off in electronic production, the emphasis is on the live sound. To enhance this they have really stripped down the compositions allowing the twin guitars to stomp around in acres of space.

2007's fantastic Friend Opportunity signaled a veering towards accessibility for these art-rockers and its follow-up continues this trend. Offend Maggie successfully condenses the raw flair of this band and their frivolous tendency towards the unpredictable into near-perfect 3 minute pop songs but without compromising any of their avant-garde values. This is a trick bands have been looking to master forever and Deerhoof seem to do it effortlessly. Satomi Matsuzaki's sugar-sweet vocals are what has always kept this band well left of center and she doesn't disappoint here. She tends to sing in unison with the guitar melodies in a Malkmus kind of directional honesty, and it can really grate on songs like Basketball Get Your Groove Back, but her ability to quarry the purest of melodies out of such harsh musical surroundings is what makes their sound so addictive. She can deliver such cuddly and naive phrasing over jaunty percussion like on Fresh Born or make her distinctive voice float away on the intimate My Purple Past.

Deerhoof have always been masters of conjuring form out of formlessness and Matsuzaki's drifting style leads the way on songs like Eaguru Guru. Instead of the harsh changes of direction that have sometimes lurked around the corner on many of their past songs, the tendency here is to meander almost aimlessly into change with such ease and abandon that you really have to keep up or you'll find yourself in foreign territory quite often. Eaguru Guru strays way off the original course as the vocals drift by like tumbleweed, but those strays thinking that they're on to the next track are violently kept up to date as the whole thing is brought full circle with squealing guitars and calamitous, crashing drums. The effect is that the listener is repeatedly kicking themselves for thinking the band have lost their way.

This band never lose their way and yet again they have created a record that is built on chaos; for those willing to trust them the rewards are great. And though the pop structures that dominate this record make it much easier for the listener to trust than ever before, nothing has been lost. In fact, as a delivery device Offend Maggie is much more streamlined and is able to convey their love of the contrast, from form to formlessness, sweet to sour or soft to hard-as-hell, better than ever before.

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13th Oct 2008 - Add Comment - Tweet

Colin Meloy

Sings Live!

Kill Rock Stars

We all know that Denzel Washington never deserved an Academy Award for his role in Training Day, but was given it in light of the countless times he was overlooked for more worthy roles. Likewise in 2006, by some unforgivable act of neglect this revered website you look to for guidance failed to cover the release of The Decemberists major label debut The Crane Wife. After the roaring success of Picaresque, The Crane Wife was a significant rise in production and scale for this band and the result was stunning. I will not attempt to squeeze in a review here as the damage is done and it would be a case of too little too late. Instead I will adopt the Academy's logic and give this record a glowing review. The only difference being that Sings Live! doesn't suck like Training Day did and it is more than worthy of the praise it's about to get.

This album covers The Decemberists front man's 2006 solo tour and it features 13 Meloy originals, 2 of which are previously unreleased (although Meloy claims one of these is the worst song he's ever written.) Opening with Devil's Elbow, a song from his previous band Tarkio, this live set spans pretty much the full Descemberists back catalogue but sadly none from The Crane Wife. This show coincided with the 'tour-only' release of Colin Meloy Sings Shirley Collins, a six song EP paying homage to the British folksinger, one of which is featured here. This follows the previous covers EP Colin Meloy Sings Morrissey. This penchant for the cover version is expressed expertly in the form of a verse or two from songs by The Smiths, Fleetwood Mac, Pink Floyd and REM being sneaked on to the dying chords of many of the songs which really transforms this record from being simply a stripped down 'best of.'

It's no surprise that this particular songwriter should cover Morrissey, as since he first began he has shown a similar eye for the descriptive detail and the unique turn of phrase to express his wit and wisdom. His tales heave with historic passion, dripping with revenge and devotion and to hear them as distilled as this is a treat. The Picaresque songs like We Both Go Down Together and The Engine Driver are received with rapturous applause but some of the earlier material really shines like the sinister A Cautionary Song and the 12 minute marathon of California One/Youth And Beauty Brigade - both from Castaways and Cutouts. Closing with the rare and beautiful Bandit Queen from the Picaresqueties EP, this acoustic show is a unique opportunity to see the bare bones of this talent.

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7th Apr 2008 - 1 comments - Add Comment - Tweet