Deerhoof - Friend Opportunity

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I though someone should start an anticipatory thread for this one. I've heard one track, +81, and it leaves me speechless every time I've listened to it. I didn't think they could rise any higher, but I'm projecting album of the year, 2007, for this one. The hoof rules. Joy J J Joy. Beep. Beep.

― wonderwonder (wonderwonder), Tuesday, 7 November 2006 19:49 (eighteen years ago)

I'm looking forward to this one as well. I enjoyed a lot of The Runners Four, but I also thought it was a little too long. A while back I was going to remove some songs and make a condensed version, around 40 minutes. I think I remember reading some interview with Greg where he said he thought it was a little too long himself? Maybe I'm making that up.

Anyways, as I think they've shrunk back to the line-up that recorded Reveille, I have high hopes for this one.

― Zachary Scott (Zach S), Tuesday, 7 November 2006 20:06 (eighteen years ago)

anywhere to hear that track?

― like murderinging (modestmickey), Tuesday, 7 November 2006 20:06 (eighteen years ago)

i really love deerhoof and runners four was brilliant.

is there a new drummer on this one?

― M@tt He1geson: Real Name, No Gimmicks (Matt Helgeson), Tuesday, 7 November 2006 20:39 (eighteen years ago)

is there a new drummer on this one?

No, one of the guitarists, Chris Cohen, left. I think if the drummer, Greg Saunier, left, the group would break up, because Greg's the only original member left.

― Zachary Scott (Zach S), Tuesday, 7 November 2006 21:20 (eighteen years ago)

Not sure The Runners Four is too long, but it's certainly too long to work as a trad album. As a song container, though, it's just fine. Amazing live band, too. Very interested to see whatever happens next.

― Adam Beales (Pye Poudre), Tuesday, 7 November 2006 21:35 (eighteen years ago)

I like this record. The production is different than the Runners Four, much to the better imo (TR4 seemed muddy to me). Also, there are horns on a couple of tracks, cool sounding percussion here and there. for the most part, the songs are Deerhoof sounding pop songs, very short, usually in the 2-3 minute range, except for the last one which is an 11 minute dirge thing that i'm not crazy about.

― Dominique (dleone), Tuesday, 7 November 2006 22:21 (eighteen years ago)

is the new record on KRS?

― don weiner (don weiner), Tuesday, 7 November 2006 22:27 (eighteen years ago)

No fair, Dominique. Care to share?

― wonderwonder (wonderwonder), Tuesday, 7 November 2006 23:44 (eighteen years ago)

sorry, was sworn not to -- but I'm sure it will leak soon enough

― Dominique (dleone), Tuesday, 7 November 2006 23:56 (eighteen years ago)

Ethics and responsibility suck.

― Adam Beales (Pye Poudre), Wednesday, 8 November 2006 00:06 (eighteen years ago)

hoorah for more sound clarity. i was also kinda bummed on the recording of 'runners 4'

― 6335 (6335), Wednesday, 8 November 2006 00:08 (eighteen years ago)

If (hypothetically) one found "The Runners Four" a little too 'schmindie' for their tastes, how might this one sit in comparison?

― bangelo (bangelo), Wednesday, 8 November 2006 00:12 (eighteen years ago)

I'm curious about the 11 minute dirge even though Dominique's not keen on it.
My favorite song on Reveille was always The Last Trumpeter Swan, the 8 minute brillant centerpiece of the album, in my opinion. It seems like everyone (well, ok, the 2-3 people I've ever spoken to out loud about Reveille) always talks shit on that track, but it's nearly perfect.

― Zachary Scott (Zach S), Wednesday, 8 November 2006 00:46 (eighteen years ago)

the first time i saw them live they played a monstrous version of that song (it was right after reveille came out). it really blew me away to see greg pounding the shit out of his drumset from his little milk crate. i'm more partial to frenzied handsome hello on the album, but for me live that track can't be beat.

― wmlynch (wlynch), Wednesday, 8 November 2006 00:50 (eighteen years ago)

I saw the same thing, around 2002. Greg reinventing drumming on a milk crate, bass, snare and one cymbal. He was sitting so low, his knees were almost at headlevel.

― Zachary Scott (Zach S), Wednesday, 8 November 2006 00:56 (eighteen years ago)

12 minute epic is not like Trumpeter Swan. Very different... I've never heard anything like it. It sounds like a band playing Hindemith. But not quite as good as that description sounds.

The rest of the record is giddy and fabulous.

― Owen Pallett (Owen Pallett), Wednesday, 8 November 2006 01:54 (eighteen years ago)

Count me among those whose ears perk up instantly at the phrase "11 minute dirge thing," no matter what's being said about it.

― Adam Beales (Pye Poudre), Wednesday, 8 November 2006 02:04 (eighteen years ago)

Argh! I can't wait to hear the full album. I've been pretty much continuously listening to +81 for a couple days now. Please Dominique...please....

― wonderwonder (wonderwonder), Wednesday, 8 November 2006 04:23 (eighteen years ago)

And, for the record, I adored The Runners Four. Brilliant. The Hoof never disappoints. (The new Curtains is not bad either!) I'm frothing at the mouth in anticipation as I truly cannot find a band as relevant, earth shattering, and paradigm shifting as Deerhoof.

― wonderwonder (wonderwonder), Wednesday, 8 November 2006 04:25 (eighteen years ago)

owen, my love, it sounds like you've heard it. can't you please share some more information about it? Is it as delicious as +81 leads me to believe? I'm so desperate for my Hoof fix...

― wonderwonder (wonderwonder), Friday, 10 November 2006 04:37 (eighteen years ago)

On one song, Satomi sings, "If I were man and you were dog, I'd throw a stick for youuuuu."

― Owen Pallett (Owen Pallett), Friday, 10 November 2006 15:37 (eighteen years ago)

But other than that it sounds a lot like a Deerhoof record.

The only new features are the addition of trumpets, MIDI orchestration and a kick drum that goes "thwap", not "boom".

― Owen Pallett (Owen Pallett), Friday, 10 November 2006 15:39 (eighteen years ago)

Oh crikey I'm really very excited now. Very intrigued to see how Cohen's departure changes the 'Hoof's output.

― boney (b0n3y), Sunday, 12 November 2006 03:03 (eighteen years ago)

Just when you think you're too jaded to swoon over anything, or clasp your hands to your chest and just smile and say "Yes!" out loud when it gets to your favorite part of a song, well, throw on Friend Opportunity and give it a few spins so it sinks in. Songs like the "The Perfect Me" have three or four sections of heart-stopping epiphanies of the sublime; "Matchbook Seeks Maniac" pulls a "99 Luftballoons" breakdown move in the middle, rocks a Brahms interval in the pop-narcotic chorus, and the Beach Boys and the Who are all over the mix – it's one of the most glorious things I've ever heard.
On previous albums, one of Deerhoof's main weapons was negative space – the band members were like painters who'd leave bare patches of canvas to highlight their strokes; now they're more inclined to fill in each square inch, inviting us to revel in every brilliant corner. "The Perfect Me," "Believe E.S.P." and "Choco Fight" are vastly more groove-oriented -- and yeah, sexy -- than anything they've ever done, but it's integrated into something inexpressibly beautiful, juxtapositions that honest to goodness make you reconsider what is possible in music. "Believe E.S.P." opens with Deerhoof's take on get-down funky slinkopation but the next passage sounds like something out of Palestrina, and so many of these songs are like a scenic drive that flows seamlessly from one astonishing vista to the next, from wide, shimmering deserts to foggy canyons to staggering, snow-peaked mountaintops.
Deerhoof is not one of those quotational, ironic, postmodern bands that pervaded indie rock for so long. Maybe that's because they're so clearly in love with the power of music, and are such incredible musicians and composers. Yeah, I said "composers" – there's a symphonic conception at work here, entire worlds within chords, genius hooks that may or may not swing by again, a programmatic, narrative flow that takes us from one place and drops us off in another, like an exhilarating abduction. As Mike Watt once said of his band the Minutemen, Deerhoof doesn't write songs, they write rivers. Their music has an ineffable logic, as if they dream this stuff and somehow remember what they dreamt and forge it into music before it evaporates from their minds. They're a rock band doing the work of an orchestra, compelling reveries alternating with powerful rushes of sinuous melody, lyrical power-plays and overwhelming joy; when Satomi sings, it's a pure, child-like voice wandering in an enchanted Miyazaki forest.
Where on earth does this stuff come from? Their antenna are up, they're receiving frequencies from all over and integrating them into something totally, thrillingly sui generis. But here's one important source: For at least 20 years, hip-hop has made the most outlandish, experimental music the pop world has ever seen. Why can't rock music do the same thing, in its own way? So while Friend Opportunity does tangentially cite hip-hop (and various eras of rock at its most adventurous), it mostly just applies the same mindset – what if we just let our imaginations run free?
The band hit one of the crossroads it's periodically encountered in its 13-year existence when guitarist Chris Cohen, who'd been on board for four years, left the band in May of 2006 to concentrate on his band the Curtains; the new Deerhoof mutated – Satomi sings more sweetly, John takes a giant leap to the fore, and now there are those man-machine beatbox rhythms, with Greg outpacing the technology like a John Henry with two wooden dowels in his hands instead of a sledgehammer. But just as importantly, you can hear how Deerhoof took a little something from each of the bands they'd toured with — Radiohead, the Roots, and Wilco — although they don't sound like any of those bands. It's more like some strange new mountain of music that came from several tectonic plates of colliding conceptions, a stunning upheaval that scrapes the skies and etches mind-boggling mandalas into the clear blue. Friend Opportunity is a feat of reinvention that could only come from artists willing to rethink everything. Even though Deerhoof has been around a long time, they're still restless, still hungry for the rush of the new. Not coincidentally, and fortunately for Deerhoof, they've attracted a burgeoning following who absolutely love to be challenged – from album to album, from song to song, from moment to moment. Friend Opportunity will not disappoint them. Or anyone else.

–Michael Azerrad

― Shlomo Shemesh (Shlomo Shemesh), Sunday, 12 November 2006 17:47 (eighteen years ago)

heard it. OMG the hoof rules
Who else making music out there (well, maybe Owen!), can touch this stuff? So ahead of the curve.
Brilliant.

― wonderwonder (wonderwonder), Sunday, 12 November 2006 23:06 (eighteen years ago)

I like the horns. Front-loaded?

― struttin' with some barbecue (jimnaseum), Sunday, 12 November 2006 23:10 (eighteen years ago)

headphones listen
I change my last post to Holy Fuck!
Orgasmic indeed. YES!

― wonderwonder (wonderwonder), Sunday, 12 November 2006 23:16 (eighteen years ago)

I know how irritating it is to have someone say this, as there's nothing much to be done, but *lord* Satomi's voice is still keeping me away from this band. I remember, when Apple O' and Kaito's "Band Red" both came out around the same time, wishing that Nikki Colk could just take lead in both groups: her approach to gibberish is *so* much more inspired, and I've somehow reached my limit for cute whimsical asian girl la la la's (or choo choo choo's as the case may be)(speaking of which, how to get ahold of the latest Bleach album and a new dose of cute whimsical asian girl lung shredding?).

Anyway, sorry, and back to the adoration.

― dlp9001 (dlp9001), Monday, 13 November 2006 02:41 (eighteen years ago)

Is Satomi trying to be "cute"? I personally don't think so. Never bought that criticism. And gibberish? Words are sounds. Just another instrument, no? Dan Bejar belting out his "la la la la la la la"s is not gibberish. Just because she is a beautiful asian woman, try not to pigeonhole her with your own bent biases. Look deeper, dlp...try to let go of stereotypes...and actually listen. You may find it refreshing, and you may start to enjoy Satomi for the amazing musician that she is.

― wonderwonder (wonderwonder), Monday, 13 November 2006 02:52 (eighteen years ago)

The vocals are kind of annoying in a schmindie way but the dissonance/weird time signatures in the music makes up for it. That's why Deerhoof is one of the few newer bands that I actually try to keep up with.

― Lee is Free (Lee is Free), Monday, 13 November 2006 02:55 (eighteen years ago)

keep it up retards

― cutty (mcutt), Monday, 13 November 2006 02:56 (eighteen years ago)

Yeah, I mean I wouldn't even care about the vocals if they weren't kind of interfering with some interesting stuff. I guess "makes up for it" is in the eye of the beholder...

btw, wonderwonder, I have no idea what she looks like. Hell, I had to google to confirm that she was asian (though I was pretty sure she was). I just own a bunch of their CDs.

xpost to Lee is Free

― dlp9001 (dlp9001), Monday, 13 November 2006 03:13 (eighteen years ago)

And the kind of funny think is that I thought *Nikki Colk* was Japanese for the longest time (must start using google image search more). Was shocked to learn that she's English pretending to be Swedish, or something like that.

― dlp9001 (dlp9001), Monday, 13 November 2006 03:15 (eighteen years ago)

hmm i think kaito woman's voice is way way more irritating than deerhoof woman

― electric sound of jim [and why not] (electricsound), Monday, 13 November 2006 03:42 (eighteen years ago)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v509/jobhosle/Picture1.jpg

― zappi (joni), Monday, 13 November 2006 09:34 (eighteen years ago)

Amazing record. '+81' is a fucking monster of a track as well. Massive w00tage to the 'h00f.

― boney (b0n3y), Monday, 13 November 2006 23:53 (eighteen years ago)

I love "Believe E.S.P." And yeah, I agree with dleone in that the *sound* is so much better on this album.

― Turangalila (Salvador), Tuesday, 14 November 2006 02:45 (eighteen years ago)

what's the official release date on this?

― Hoosteen (Hoosteen), Tuesday, 14 November 2006 02:50 (eighteen years ago)

2007 according to the torrent!

― struttin' with some barbecue (jimnaseum), Tuesday, 14 November 2006 09:36 (eighteen years ago)

Well now. I hate to be the queen of hype...but someone has to say (and I know this has been said before but) Greg is THE best drummer in the land. Truly the best. And, yes, their mixing abilities/production work/engineering continues on its interstellar trajectory. Damn this band is good.

― wonderwonder (wonderwonder), Wednesday, 15 November 2006 05:07 (eighteen years ago)

Seriously I wish there was a cafe or something where we could get together to discuss this album. Imagine what it was like for friends to gather and discuss Abbey Road back in 69. Where are my friends?

― wonderwonder (wonderwonder), Wednesday, 15 November 2006 05:10 (eighteen years ago)

here? http://www.friendopportunity.com/

― zappi (joni), Wednesday, 15 November 2006 05:22 (eighteen years ago)

almost a masterpiece.
their sort of a change of musical direction is surprising and with wonderfull results.i like the "dirty" sound too.
very impresive indeed.

― emekars (emekars), Tuesday, 21 November 2006 15:35 (eighteen years ago)

last track reminded me of slint, then colossamite, and then squarepusher-y synth-indulgences at later points

― held tony (held tony), Tuesday, 21 November 2006 21:56 (eighteen years ago)

Compared with TRF, is there a loss of complexity and density in the music? Is the absence of Chris Cohen noticeable? When I saw them recently as a trio they sounded too thin.

― cosmo vitelli (cosmo vitelli), Tuesday, 21 November 2006 23:39 (eighteen years ago)

no and no.

― 6335 (6335), Tuesday, 21 November 2006 23:50 (eighteen years ago)

err, to expand more - this record sounds more dense and rich than TR4 and the arrangements are fairly complex for how fluidly the songs roll. monster album, one listen in

― 6335 (6335), Tuesday, 21 November 2006 23:52 (eighteen years ago)

It's Greg Saunier singing on "Cast Off Crown," right? My favorite song on the album.

― Turangalila (Salvador), Wednesday, 22 November 2006 07:48 (eighteen years ago)

Firey Furnaces influence are all around the album i think

― emekars (emekars), Wednesday, 22 November 2006 18:29 (eighteen years ago)

two months pass...

boku album arts

― held tony (held tony), Wednesday, 24 January 2007 21:21 (eighteen years ago)

three months pass...

I'm starting to like the poppier, sappier departures on this album better than the rock stuff. The last track is great - part of it sounds like a late 60s Wayne Shorter tune.

― Hurting 2, Friday, 11 May 2007 03:47 (eighteen years ago)

it sounds like us maple, which is a good thing. i love that song.

― M@tt He1ges0n, Friday, 11 May 2007 15:53 (eighteen years ago)

Thirded (??). I like the whole album pretty much but the closer gives it edge.

― sonderangerbot, Friday, 11 May 2007 18:11 (eighteen years ago)

Drumming is so bonkers. Assholes who still think cowbells are too gauche for words (LOLCHRISWALKEN.JPEG) should peep the first two tracks with a quickness.

― Whiney G. Weingarten, Friday, 11 May 2007 19:35 (eighteen years ago)

Unfortunately, i don't have the patience to make it to the sappy closer, but that;s more my problem then deerhoofs

― Whiney G. Weingarten, Friday, 11 May 2007 19:35 (eighteen years ago)

eight months pass...

i picked this up just the other day, and as with a number of other unexpectedly impressive 2007 gems, i shouldn't have waited so long.

'+81' and 'believe e.s.p' are two of my favourite songs they've ever done. a real conciseness and directness to both those tracks that serve the band really well. elsewhere, the album is a little bit more ADD prone, but still excellent.

― Charlie Howard, Wednesday, 30 January 2008 11:28 (seventeen years ago)

I got to know Deerhoof around Reveille era when my old band was playing gay bars and basement warehouse shows with them in the Mission district. I can't being to explain how happy I am that they've come so far. Most kind and deserving folks ever. Greg is a genius and a sweetheart. Yay for Deerhoof.

― Nate Carson, Thursday, 31 January 2008 11:55 (seventeen years ago)

I can't begin... (not "being").

― Nate Carson, Thursday, 31 January 2008 11:55 (seventeen years ago)

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