Welcome to the wonderfully weird world of Deerhoof
By Kernan Andrews
INDIE IS a great place for the experimental pop brain. You can draw from any genre you like, but are not bound by its rules - making indie/alternative the best laboratory in pop and rock.
The Japanese/American band Deerhoof are a good example of this. Their music is hard to define. The Observer Music Monthly called it “prog-rock post-punk Afro-Oriental art-pop folk-jazz”. It’s all of those and none of those.
Deerhoof’s music is its own thing. It’s far out and crazy, but also infectious and catchy (just try getting those ‘Choo, choo, choo, choo, beep beeps’ in ‘+81’ from Friend Opportunity out of your head!).
Perhaps the best summation came from The Wire, which said Deerhoof sound like “a group mind at work, deep in spontaneous collective play - but a kind of play taken very very seriously.”
With Deerhoof - John Dieterich, Satomi Matsuzaki, Ed Rodriguez, and Greg Saunier - every song is an adventure to explore music, create something new, and have a lot of fun in the process.
From the cartoon surrealism of Milk Man (2004) or Friend Opportunity (2007) to the gritty realism of Apple O (2003) and Offend Maggie (2008), Deerhoof are an inspiration because they have stayed DIY, positive, and pure.
Deerhoof play the Róisín Dubh on Saturday July 11 at 8pm. Support is from The Dudley Corporation and So Cow. Tickets are available from the Róisín Dubh and Zhivago.