Deerhoof

Add Date: January 25 

Artist: Deerhoof 

Album: Deerhoof vs. Evil 

Label: Polyvinyl 

Genre: Rock, experimental 

Comments: Welcome back to one of the most original rock bands on this or any other planet. Deerhoof vs. Evil is the San Francisco quartet's 11th studio record--and their first for Polyvinyl (of Montreal, Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin). A decade and a half into their tenure, Deerhoof's combination of artsy alternative, noise pop and hard rock is still as intriguing, engaging, and unclassifiable as ever. Reviewing the record on Pitchfork, Douglas Wolk refers to them as "a fast-and-bulbous hybrid of a super-heavy, experimentation-minded art-rock band and a sweet little pop group, equal parts chirp and pummel."

Often, those two styles clash within the same song, which is one of the reasons that any Deerhoof release commands your attention from start to finish. Each record brings something different and refreshing, but the music is still instantly recognizable from bassist Satomi Matsuzaki's charming vocals, Greg Saunier's percussion, and the guitar work of John Dieterich and recent addition Ed Rodriguez. On Deerhoof vs. Evil, start with the quirky pop song "Super Duper Rescue Heads!," but branch out to hear the math rock-leaning opener "Qui Dorm, Nomes Somia," the distorted indie pop number "Behold a Marvel in the Darkness" and the warped New Wave of "I Did Crimes for You."