By: Paul Cordes Wilm

Down the Sparrow Hole

Holy shit! I just don’t know what to make of the new Deerhoof album

I admit, this was my initial reaction to Noble And Godlike In Ruin, Deerhoof’s brilliant brand new record. However, anyone who might be exclaiming the above sentiment may as well be also reacting to any one of Deerhoof’s 21 previous releases! But that’s what’s so incredibly fun about this particular San Francisco band : No one really ever knows what to make of their music or what to expect from their albums.

As for describing Deerhoof’s sound, allow me to use a direct quote from their Bandcamp page : “candy-coated hard-rock riffs and free-jazz percussive freakouts, sideways J-pop hooks and fearsome dissonance, trenchant social commentary and surrealist humor. A music that is joyful and foreboding, cybernetic and deeply human, carrying an implicit note of defiant optimism in their refusal to bow to convention or received wisdom.”

“Holy shit. I just don’t know what to make of that!”

Well, no one asked you to make anything of it! Instead of attempting to “get”  Deerhoof, why not try meeting them halfway instead and simply letting the vibrant melodies, rebellious noise and experimental spirit of their music wash over you with no preconceptions and no expectations.

Rule breaking seems to be this band’s prime mission in life. And you can hear in their songs just how much fun they have breaking those rules. For example : Rock n Roll doesn’t usually contain avant garde poetry. Rock n Roll isn’t normally considered art. Flip the coin : Experimental music isn’t normally danceable. Experimental music isn’t usually catchy.

See what I mean?

With this idea of rule-breaking in mind, the question of Deerhoof’s identity might arise.What exactly is this band’s identity? Could it be hidden in their oddball lyrics or album titles?  Noble And Godlike In Ruin’s title is actually a quote from Mary Shelley’s classic novel Frankenstein, and in turn the album’s cover art features the band member’s faces collaged and stitched together, creating a frightening, yet sympathetic-looking sort of monster. This is a perfect image to not only describe their identity, but also to accompany Deerhoof’s sound : finding the beauty in the ugly and the ugly in the beauty. And that paradoxical type of mindset seems to be an acquired taste of sorts; a learned behavior. It doesn’t come naturally, but it’s so mysteriously tantalizing you find yourself just blindly following it, accepting and eventually embracing it.

That’s the magic spell behind Deerhoof in general and this particular album. Imagine hearing the voice of a sweet little sparrow singing away and beckoning you into the deep, dark hole of a hollow tree. This pretty songbird voice belongs to lead singer, Satomi Matsuzaki and she will be your tour guide on this fantastic sonic journey, calmly coaxing and leading you further and further into an often chaotic, ever twisting and confusing realm, which is known to its otherworldly inhabitants as the deeply entrancing and highly enjoyable wonderland called Noble And Godlike In Ruin. Curious sounds and irresistible melodies continue to draw you deeper and deeper in, until before you realize, a trapdoor is slamming behind you and there’s no turning back! Kid, you’re hooked.

“Holy shit. I just don’t know where I am or who I am or how I got here, but I truly love this place!”