Deerhoof: Friend Opportunity : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

Begun as an art-rock duo more than a decade ago, Deerhoof have shifted in the course of eight albums toward exuberant riff-fueled pop. Most of Friend Opportunity, which the San Francisco three-piece wrote while on the road with Radiohead, sounds like a pure expression of musical joy. Over kitchen-sink instrumentation -- fuzzed-out guitars, organ, spooky synths -- Japanese vocalist Satomi Matsuzaki sings lovely, impressionistic lyrics in a childlike voice. Drummer Greg Saunier plays with an intuitive mastery that recalls Keith Moon, and guitarist John Dieterich shows off a Ric Ocasek-like facility for concocting perfectly awesome hooks.

A typical Deerhoof song has several distinct sections, and the shifts between them make for giddy, surprising listening. On "The Galaxist," folky acoustic strumming and muted horns suddenly collide with a monster Melvins-ish riff; "Matchbook Seeks Maniac" switches from a Phil Spector groove to a blast of indie-rock euphoria that the Flaming Lips would have a hard time matching. The former noise rockers can't help themselves on "Look Away," and they go back to their roots with a dissonant near-twelve-minute jam. But even here the pop sensibility prevails -- they wisely leave it for the end.