Friend Opportunity : Deerhoof : Review : Rolling Stone

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.

JONATHAN RINGEN

(Posted: Jan 22, 2007)

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4of 5 Stars

Im shocked! Rolling Stone magazine actually knows good music when they hear it...This rarely happens within this rag. This is one of the best indie rock albums of 2007. Buy now!

May 18, 2007 01:03:33

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