The Music Box: Deerhoof Battles The Pink Robots On “Deerhoof vs. Evil”

Tracklisting:

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
13. Pinhead (Live at Brudenell)
14. The Perfect Me (Live at Brudenell)

Release Date: 1/25/10

The Band:

If CAKE is a forgotten treasure of the ’90s, Deerhoof is still buried on some uncharted Caribbean island.  The San Francisco Experimental-Rock act started blowing minds back in 1994 and is on the brink of releasing its 11th studio album, Deerhoof vs. Evil, the best and most accessible record of the bunch.

The Review:

The best way to describe Deerhoof vs. Evil is as such: The best record the Flaming Lips never made.  If Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots actually had more than one song that’s story was dedicated to a girl named Yoshimi who was trying to save the world from annihilation via pink robots (the title track, part 1), then Deerhoof’s upcoming release would be the perfect follow up.

With all its imagery of guerilla warfare, mental anguish, and emotional confusion when it comes to matters of the heart, one could make the statement that Deerhoof vs. Evil is Yoshimi’s famed skirmish played out from her own first-person point of view, and I’m the one who just made that assertion.

However, I am just one dude, and willing to admit that it’s an ambitious concept I’ve just slapped upon this collection of songs.  For those not willing to come along with me on this one, I don’t blame you, and will say this…Deerhoof vs. Evil is not akin to the hazy, malaise filled music being generated on the West Coast so frequently these days.  In fact, you’d be hard pressed to find any fuzz on this record.

“Behold A Marvel In The Darkness,” our main character’s tearful interrogation of the universe in which she questions “What is this thing called love,” rapidly shifts between an acoustic guitar-riff ridden number and a huge, electrified, amalgamation of sounds as her emotions swing from one end of the spectrum to the other.

“Behold A Marvel In The Darkness”

In “The Merry Barracks” the world is on the cusp of blowing itself up and the citizens are’t happy with the pen holders for they know Fat Man and Little Boy are incapable of deciphering between the wicked and the well.  But its the tempo changes in this track that hook you.  What starts out a slow trudging Synth-Pop tune suddenly turns over the reigns to a repetitive Garage-Rock guitar lick, before inserting the likes of a 1960s Psych-Pop chorus, and finally ending with the shit-hammer crushing the fan in the form of a Crystal Castles-esque meltdown.

“The Merry Barracks”

The instrumental piece “Let’s Dance The Jet” seems to act as the transition into revolution, the fight song of our Yoshimi-like leading woman, for it introduces tracks like “Super Duper Rescue Heads,” in which she places the liberation/recruitment process into effect, “Must Fight Current,” where she cuts ties with loved ones so as to better focus on the task at hand, and “Secret Mobilization”…that one is self-explanatory.

“Super Duper Rescue Heads”

Deerhoof vs. Evil is a voyage into the mind of a strong young woman, burdened with the task of saving the world from powers unknown.  Whether that evil is pink robots or the government pen holders signing us away into nuclear suicide is for you to decide.  I can only only assure you the San Francisco outfit’s latest studio release is a head-trip to partake, but a soundscape well-worth indulging in.

The Rating: 3.5/5