Deerhoof - Deerhoof Vs Evil

by Maarten Schiethart

published: 16 / 1 / 2011

Label: Polyvinyl Records
Format: CD

Muted tenth album from the once excellent Deerhoof, which finds the San Francisco experimentalists moving further away from their classic downbeat art rock sound into punk pop.

Review

'Offend Maggie', Deerhoof's previous album, hinted that their music was developing from eerie and downbeat art-rock into punk pop. 'Offend Maggie' was also a marked step down. And I am afraid 'Deerhoof Versus Evil' follows further down that path. The frantic song patterns soften around the edges while pure Deerhoof extravaganza remains in only little spaces. And as you may have feared, the album puts concept over performance, mocking Deerhoof's pop sensibilty. On 'Vs Evil' Deerhoof again fail to raise eyebrows. Lacking an overall finger-clicking edge, tracks like 'Secret Mobilization' nonetheless offer some consolence. Weary of its lack of originality, 'Vs Evil' employs 'Super Duper Rescue Heads!' which captures the prototype Deerhoof sound, although it doesn't help saving 'Versus Evil' from being a random pastiche of earlier Deerhoof recordings. Right from the first track, insecurity stands out. Deerhoof hold back, reconsider and ultimately withdraw. By their own self-created high standard, Deerhoof have failed. Very few bands raise the bar this high. 'Super Duper Rescue Heads!' alone makes this new Deerhoof worth getting but it's far from their best.

Track Listing:-

1 Qui Dorm, Només Somia
2 Behold A Marvel In The Darkness
3 The Merry Barracks
4 No One Asked To Dance
5 Let's Dance The Jet
6 Super Duper Rescue Heads!
7 Must Fight Current
8 Secret Mobilization
9 Hey I Can
10 C'Moon
11 I Did Crimes For You
12 Almost Everyone, Almost Always

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