January 08, 2004
BIFF BANG POW
Deerhoof's Milk Man is already a strong contender for Top 10 of 2004. It's got everything: crash, snark, sweee and gaplourf. There is a Can impersonation on here that everyone in Williamsburg should marinate on before they start selling Krautrock cookies again. I would have said the more blippy things that interrupt the boofy explodo things are surprising, or that the heavier bottom buzz barnacles are new, but it all sounds like Deerhoof and any issue of surprise is an issue of misunderstanding. Deerhoof may be on some wacky arts and crafts shit, but they have been running a blue chip algorithm since they started. It goes like this: What do we do best X more horsepower. Take sum, subtract what didn't work, and repeat. So they read now like a pop band (while doing very little of what the Pop Dept. would accredit) because they are running Hit It And Quit It Version 6.0. If this happened more often, the world would be less boring and possibly better, in a Platonic sense.
But have you seen Greg Saunier play the drums? This is the real question. Have you? All ten feet tall and shit, playing a 37" parade kick (or close) with his bare feet? And no hi-hat? If you see them live, bring a stopwatch. Measure how long you watch each member of the band. You cannnot not watch Saunier for longer than you watch all the other band members combined.
Posted by Sasha at January 8, 2004 10:02 PM | TrackBack