Deerhoof – Vs Evil
Deerhoof are a band of well-established contradictions, not just in terms of their skillful ability to combine leftfield musical experimentation with a solid pop sensibility, they have essentially become the standard-bearers for exploratory, genre-defying music – surely a heavy cross to bear because with each successive release the listener actually ‘expects the unexpected'.
But somehow, against all odds, they still manage to uncover fresh, innovative methods of communicating their ideas. Vs Evil belongs in the company of previous releases like 2007's Friend Opportunity and Milk Man (2004), sharing with them the kaleidoscopic musical themes and giddy genre-hopping that were perhaps less apparent on albums like Offend Maggie (2008) and The Runners Four (2005). Vs Evil has been recorded, mixed and mastered entirely by the band themselves and they've eagerly adopted the 'studio-as-instrument' ethos with masterful results.
Starting as they mean to go on with opener Qui Dorm, Només Somia, with skittering, abstract electronic textures quickly giving way to a flood of complex African-influenced guitar harmonies, then settling into a hiccupping groove, all within the first minute. They immediately nail their colours to the mast, not allowing the listener to become complacent for a second as the album carries on its course, hoovering up numerous styles and sounds. Super Duper Rescue Heads! embraces electronic pop in the finest possible way, while No One Asked To Dance is the soundtrack to a lazy heatwave in the Mexican mountains, replete with some truly accomplished duelling acoustic guitar-work.
Secret Mobilization, Behold A Marvel In The Darkness and the fantastic bubblegum-garage of Let's Dance The Jet embrace and refer back to the rough-hewn naiveté and caustic guitars of early albums like Apple O' (2003) and Reveille (2002), all the while giving the sound an overall spit-and-polish and bringing it up to date with well-crafted clarity.
Deerhoof have no right to still be producing music as refreshingly vivid and complex as they have here, it's practically gospel that any band with 16 years and 11 albums under their belt should have their best days behind them, but there's no sign here that this San Franciscan quartet have lost any of their playful, inquisitive instinct or ability to root out new methods of articulating their fervently individual sound. [John Keys]