After the brilliant sprawl of The Runners Four, it would've made sense if Deerhoof continued in the same direction on their next album. It turns out that Friend Opportunity is a model of efficiency, packing just as much dazzling creativity into ten tracks as The Runners Four did into 20. This new approach could be seen as a reaction to the departure of Chris Cohen, who left to concentrate on his own band, the Curtains, but Deerhoof is such a mercurial group that some kind of change was inevitable. And, as good as The Runners Four was, Friend Opportunity just might be even better. It's as though the band took the ideas they tossed around last time -- more streamlined, structured songs combined with a wider sonic palette -- and threw in more highly concentrated sweetness and weirdness for good measure. Though most of these songs are short, they've got a lot of presence, and Friend Opportunity opens with three of Deerhoof's most adorable, accessible songs yet. "The Perfect Me" kicks off the album with galloping percussion and organs that sound like rays of sun bursting through clouds, two of Friend Opportunity's main musical motifs. "+81" is the single, which makes sense, since its collision of acrobatic guitars, subtle electronics, marching band snippets, and irresistible "choo-choo-choo-choo beep beep" chorus distills the album's kitchen-sink pop perfectly. "Believe ESP" is a surprisingly funky departure, with a slinky melody that lilts, slithers, and takes detours into chamber pop and noisy breakdowns, yet still sounds purposeful. Later on, this ultra-pop side of Deerhoof resurfaces with "Matchbook Seeks Maniac," which easily ranks as one of the band's best songs yet. It's also one of their most straightforward songs, with a soaring melody that leads into a bittersweet yet rousing chorus, but lyrics like "I would sell my soul to the devil/If I could be on top of the world" keep things nicely unpredictable. The other facets of Deerhoof's sound sparkle on Friend Opportunity, too: they explore their softer side with "Whither the Invisible Birds?," a symphonic allad sweet and yearning enough for a cartoon heroine, and "Choco Fight," which is surprisingly pretty and mellow, given its title. Things get more experimental as Friend Opportunity ends: "Kidz Are So Small" is a startling track, even by Deerhoof's standards, with Satomi Matsuzaki singing from the perspective of a dog and a man over tumbling beats and rubbery synths (based on this song and Milk Man's "Dog on the Sidewalk," man's best friend inspires some of the band's most out-there songs). "Look Away," an 11-minute suite-like piece, balances the rest of Friend Opportunity's poppiness with loping guitar riffs, rambling pianos, and keyboards that sound like feedback. Deerhoof is in an undeniable groove -- with each album, they make their flights of fancy seem easier, and push pop's boundaries farther. Friend Opportunity is the perfect name for their approach: they look for, and find, the best possibilities in whatever comes their way.
You take the cool, innocent look and voice of a tiny japanese girl and mix it with psychopath beats & grooves from a genius-drummer and merry melodies vs. blazing distortion guitars and you have something like Deerhoof. Little Satomi & Co made a great record with "Friend Opportunity". They make pop music most people wouldn't consider as such. It is too weird for my girl (we can only share so ma...
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It was terribly silly how anxious everyone was to see Deerhoof last night. Packed into the Hall of North American Mammals, a tiny sea of hipsters (not quite overkill) waited around for about 45 minutes past the scheduled show time amidst stuffed grizzly bears, cougars and of course... deers. Autolux played a less than stellar short set, but they looked rushed, it was good, i think people j...
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*No sunny spring is complete without a trip to Paris.* The bustling metropolis filled with busy terraces, ice cold Pastis and the brou-ha-ha of the emphatic french language is always welcoming.We trained in early afternoon and got ourselves settled near the "Bastille":http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bastille, eager for our three night line-up and the afternoons to come wandering the Parisian side-...
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Okay this album is, like, really weird...I LOVE IT! The instrumentals are fantasic and the singers good too, very unique. It took me a while to realize that Deerhoof have something like 8 albums before this. Thanks for keeping me in the dark. Anyway the best song is "The Perfect Me". Iwould really check this out if your into artsy stuff, or perhaps electronic music.overall 4/5
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Quite a show, and I'm still fighting a bit of deafness and extreme tiredness, as I'm running on four hours of sleep. This will not be a full-fledged review, as I don't feel knowledgeable enough about any of the bands involved, Deerhoof included.Soundtrack to the trip to OKC:The Cinematics - A Strange EducationDeerhoof - Friend OpportunityEcho & The Bunnymen - More Songs To Learn And Sing(thank ...
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Anybody else going? Just look for the 6' tall black guy (sans goatee) standing near the bar.
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DEERHOOF – FRIEND OPPORTUNITY (2007)To the uninitiated, San Francisco’s Deerhoof have been generating left field Art Pop since 1994, pushing through several albums that have been generally well received by Indie Rock critics in the States. There’s been a fluid movement of personnel during the period, and 2007 finds the band settled as a 3 piece, with frontwoman Satomi Matsuzaki handling voca
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The big debate over Deerhoof seems to be about whether they're a) wacky beyond the point of accessibilty b) challenging, but less so than they've been in the past c) crap d) genius creators of face melting music...Whatever they are - there's no doubt they leave people with an opinion - and in a world when the Yeah Yeah Yeah's are about as alternative or far afield from mainstream music that peo...
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Check out my deerhoof review for the mac weekly at http://www.themacweekly.com/articles/20070202/11008I dunno, its more bullshit.
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I had high hopes of taking Melissa to our first concert together in ages, to Snow Patrol on March 8, in Tulsa, but last night our hopes were dashed when I discovered that the tickets were sold out. I checked eBay, and found that pairs of tickets were going for at least $100, so forget that! I even suggested we go to Denver, but then she decided she really didn't want to go anyway. Bummer.Howeve...
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This album is incredible. I really can't decide on a favourite track.Their music makes me so excited.
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and some recent reviews:Stylus MagazineHere are nine really communicative almost-pop songs, subdued but no less ambitious follow-ups to similar tendencies on 2005’s The Runners Four. PitchforkDeerhoof, an indie band who have released plenty of discombobulated pop and no wave albums, have lately turned toward accessible, foot-stomping rock. It worked on The Runners Four, but it works better and .
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Deerhoof's new album (insert album title) arrived on my desk this morning, and it's already the album of the year so far. - insert copy about music coming from dreams- insert copy about tracks sounding like mutated nursery rhymes- insert references to bunnies and pandas- insert copy about Satomi's vocals being sweet / childlike- insert copy about the band losing a member last year- insert Radio...
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Today is the day we all go out and pick up the new Deerhoof record, Friend Opportunity. And by 'we' I mean 'you'. I'll be watching to make sure you go get it, or else. Spy on you...
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Greg from Deerhoof, who has a really cool MOG page, has made "+81," off the group's terrific new album, Friend Opportunity, available on his MOG:http://mog.com/deerhoofDeerhoor are an amazing experimental indie rock group. They have been creating challenging music for years, and are one of the most important contemporary bands. Radiohead chose them to open quite few of their shows earlier this ...
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Quite a show, and I'm still fighting a bit of deafness and extreme tiredness, as I'm running on four hours of sleep. This will not be a full-fledged review, as I don't feel knowledgeable enough about any of the bands involved, Deerhoof included.Soundtrack to the trip to OKC:The Cinematics - A Strange EducationDeerhoof - Friend OpportunityEcho & The Bunnymen - More Songs To Learn And Sing(thank ...
More >
I had high hopes of taking Melissa to our first concert together in ages, to Snow Patrol on March 8, in Tulsa, but last night our hopes were dashed when I discovered that the tickets were sold out. I checked eBay, and found that pairs of tickets were going for at least $100, so forget that! I even suggested we go to Denver, but then she decided she really didn't want to go anyway. Bummer.Howeve...
More >
*No sunny spring is complete without a trip to Paris.* The bustling metropolis filled with busy terraces, ice cold Pastis and the brou-ha-ha of the emphatic french language is always welcoming.We trained in early afternoon and got ourselves settled near the "Bastille":http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bastille, eager for our three night line-up and the afternoons to come wandering the Parisian side-...
More >
Greg from Deerhoof, who has a really cool MOG page, has made "+81," off the group's terrific new album, Friend Opportunity, available on his MOG:http://mog.com/deerhoofDeerhoor are an amazing experimental indie rock group. They have been creating challenging music for years, and are one of the most important contemporary bands. Radiohead chose them to open quite few of their shows earlier this ...
More >
DEERHOOF – FRIEND OPPORTUNITY (2007)To the uninitiated, San Francisco’s Deerhoof have been generating left field Art Pop since 1994, pushing through several albums that have been generally well received by Indie Rock critics in the States. There’s been a fluid movement of personnel during the period, and 2007 finds the band settled as a 3 piece, with frontwoman Satomi Matsuzaki handling voca
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deerhoof definitely holds the coveted spot of best album of 2007 "so far". the drumming on the album is very infectious. the bees come in a close second...very hard decision to make.
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Whoa!! Just finished my first full listen to my recently arrived new Deerhoof album "Friend Opportunity"....so good! I'm totaly thrilled to have it, i hope this one comes out before the year's over, it may be a top 10 contestant. Anyway the point of this was to promise to myself, and you guys that a review is comming soon, and that i'll stop being lazy! In the mean time why not just scroll down...
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It was terribly silly how anxious everyone was to see Deerhoof last night. Packed into the Hall of North American Mammals, a tiny sea of hipsters (not quite overkill) waited around for about 45 minutes past the scheduled show time amidst stuffed grizzly bears, cougars and of course... deers. Autolux played a less than stellar short set, but they looked rushed, it was good, i think people j...
More >
So, I had an interesting week. I went up to north-western Arkansas, got attacked by a horrible abomination referred to as a "turkin" (half turkey, half chicken), and watched as my newfound friends Noah and Josh caught a huge snake and proceeded to run it over with a car (which I didn't partake in, mind you). It was quite different... though, I learned that I'm truly a city-slicker; I missed civ...
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Deerhoof's new album (insert album title) arrived on my desk this morning, and it's already the album of the year so far. - insert copy about music coming from dreams- insert copy about tracks sounding like mutated nursery rhymes- insert references to bunnies and pandas- insert copy about Satomi's vocals being sweet / childlike- insert copy about the band losing a member last year- insert Radio...
More >
You take the cool, innocent look and voice of a tiny japanese girl and mix it with psychopath beats & grooves from a genius-drummer and merry melodies vs. blazing distortion guitars and you have something like Deerhoof. Little Satomi & Co made a great record with "Friend Opportunity". They make pop music most people wouldn't consider as such. It is too weird for my girl (we can only share so ma...
More >
Anybody else going? Just look for the 6' tall black guy (sans goatee) standing near the bar.
More >
The big debate over Deerhoof seems to be about whether they're a) wacky beyond the point of accessibilty b) challenging, but less so than they've been in the past c) crap d) genius creators of face melting music...Whatever they are - there's no doubt they leave people with an opinion - and in a world when the Yeah Yeah Yeah's are about as alternative or far afield from mainstream music that peo...
More >
If you're not too cool for iTunes, I recommend "iConcertCal":http://www.iconcertcal.com. I tag with Deerhoof because that's the first show I'm going to that I found with iCC.What a superb little gem for easing the muscles strained hunting for live shows we didn't even know were coming. I know these guys spent months working to build this, and for all that effort it's just a small program for m...
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well, i suppose everyone has long since heard of, obsessively researched, and subsequently moved on to other bands of the moment, but - gasp - i just heard deerfoot for the first time a few weeks ago! they were one of those bands - you know the ones - whose name i'd heard bandied about, i had heard raves about, i simply presumed i'd like their music, but never actually sought them out. and th...
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| Title | Lyrics | Buy |
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| 1 The Perfect Me |
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| 2 + 81 |
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| 3 Believe E.S.P. |
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| 4 The Galaxist |
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| 5 Choco Fight |
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| 6 Whither the Invisible Birds? |
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| 7 Cast off Crown |
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| 8 Kidz Are So Small |
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| 9 Matchbook Seeks Maniac |
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| 10 Look Away |
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Click to purchase…
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 "Friend Opportunity")
