Deerhoof’s recently released album “Friend Opportunity” opens with singer Satomi Matsuzaki’s high-pitched voice layered over organs, changing key signatures and deep, sassy guitar riffs. “Friend Opportunity” would complement a lively game of hop-scotch in Tokyo. The childish lyrics and silly trumpet or cowbell sounds meld surprisingly well on top of choppy electric guitar with sneaky-sounding melodies.
Unexpected sounds will pipe in, matched by one- or two-syllable words. In the song “Believe E.S.P.” it’s difficult to decipher Matsuzaki’s poetic intent beyond singing whatever sounds spew out of her mouth.
“Paranoia boogie woogie come to ooze,” she sings.
Who doesn’t like a little onomatopoeia? The longest word on the album may be “chocolate” as Matsuzaki chirps about miracles. Not all the songs take a whimsical tone. In “+81,” Matsuzaki’s lyrics comment on the cosmopolitan squall of the city streets: “The building from the side to side/All over cell-phone talkers need chit chat/So many many people trying hard to climb over the floor.”
Halfway through the album “Wither the Invisible Birds” offers a softer, piano/synth-driven track to accompany the more choppy, rock-outish songs. Just a few songs later, Deerhoof crosses the experimental, “cool” line with an annoyingly quirky rap about men and dogs. But the track that merits the most discretion, ironically named “Look Away,” runs almost 12 minutes. Every other song stops below three and a half minutes. “Look Away” deserves a long, meditative listen so all the rhythms and subtle or strikingly odd melodies can be fully inhaled.
If you’re new to experimental music, don’t expect anything (in a good way). Deerhoof has mastered the art of surprise and succeeds in staying unpinnable. If you’re an indie-rock lover, listen to the new album start to finish, and you may renew that jaded appreciation for, dare I say it, “art rock.”
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