If Dora the Explorer cut an album with Sonic Youth, it might sound like Deerhoof. The California band has blended Satomi Matsuzaki's little-girl vocals with avant-garde rock experiments for a decade, but Deerhoof never really broke until they went pop with 2007's Friend Opportunity. Offend Maggie finds the group getting gnarly again, thanks to new guy Ed Rodriguez, who brings gritty six-string action to tunes like "Buck and Judy," a nifty noise-pop cut with a fat-bottomed bass groove and drummer Greg Saunier's muscular stomp. Matsuzaki's childish free associations like "Downy hairy tiptoeing mooney" are sometimes corny, but Deerhoof offset the cutesiness with fuzzed-out riffs and brawny beats that even AC/DC fans could dig.

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KEVIN O'DONNELL

(Posted: Oct 30, 2008)