TOP 12 OF 2007: #4. Deerhoof – Friend Opportunity

#4
Deerhoof
Friend Opportunity

The San Francisco Bay area has long been a haven for free thinkers, unconventional artists and out-there musicians of every stripe. So the fact that the Golden Gate City is home to Deerhoof, a group with art rock chops, post-punk attitude and a female lead singer with a heavy Japanese accent, shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. What is surprising, however, is how incredibly well the group balances their affinity for complex textures, singsong melodies and flat-out zaniness.

And while, with Friend Opportunity, Deerhoof has officially become a trio, you wouldn’t know it from their richly layered sound. Much of the credit has to go to drummer/keyboardist Greg Saunier, who unleashes an impressive battery of percussion on nearly every track. Saunier cultivates a smirkingly off-kilter sense of rhythm, with drum fills that seem on the verge of collapse, and yet somehow find their way back without missing a beat. Still, the most distinctive element of Deerhoof’s sound has to be vocalist/bassist Satomi Matsuzaki, with a voice that’s impossibly sweet, totally unaffected and unmistakably Japanese in its inflection.

Deerhoof has made effective use of this unusual combination on Friend Opportunity, concocting a sound so distinct that it’s difficult to draw direct comparisons. At times, like on the standout track “+81” they sound peppy and bubbly, like an Elephant 6 group fronted by Yoko Ono. At other times, as on the Saunier-sung “Cast Off Crown,” they recall the unusual chord changes and meandering vocal melodies of classic Canterbury groups like National Health and The Soft Machine. Then there’s the unsettling, nearly 12-minute-long “Look Away” which brings to mind the 70s Rock-in-Opposition sound of Henry Cow. Finally, on the beautiful “Matchbook Seeks Maniac” and “Whither the Invisible Birds?” they conjure up an ethereal symphonic rock sound that wouldn’t seem out of place on a Flaming Lips record.

This might all sound like a schizophrenic, hard-to-digest mess, but miraculously, Deerhoof not only manage to make it all hang together—they even make it reasonably accessible. As a result, Friend Opportunity is like a box of sugary bonbons with a dark, dense center hidden within: easy to get into, but yielding increasingly sophisticated riches the deeper you go. In other words, one of the most addictively arty pop/rock albums in recent memory.

TOP 12 OF 2007: #5. Modest Mouse – We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank

#5
Modest Mouse
We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank

Modest Mouse has spent well over a decade refining a sound built on extreme contrasts. On the one hand, you have the raw, redneck-gone-punk intensity of front-man Isaac Brock, with a voice that veers between a David Byrne warble, an early-XTC Andy Partridge bark and a wild growl reminiscent of Tom Waits or Captain Beefheart. But take this rusty-barbed-wire vocal style and lash it to music that, while sneering and herky-jerky, still has a certain approachable post-punk danciness to it and even, at times, a sense of tender contemplation.

This is the conflicted stew that led to Modest Mouse’s 2004 commercial breakthrough, Good News for People Who Love Bad News. And three years later, they’ve followed with an album that preserves all the things that made their last so fascinating and likable, but with an even more assured and muscular sound.

The success of We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank is thanks, in part, to the unlikely addition of Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr, who provides a subtle but effective complement to Brock’s own fretwork. Another factor is the guest backing vocals of Shins singer James Mercer, whose clean, pure style elevates tracks like “Florida” and, most impressively, “We’ve Got Everything,” to powerful and memorable heights.

But for all that is new, the trademark Modest Mouse sound has largely remained intact. In particular, “Dashboard” plays like a pumped-up, more lushly-orchestrated sequel to their last album’s hit single, “Float On,” while “Education” recalls the alternating tortured vocal lines and blaring guitar responses of “Bury Me with It.” Similarly, the disco-tinged, angtsy funk of “Fly Trapped in a Jar” brings “The View” to mind.

And while We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank may play like a direct sequel to or reinterpretation of Good News for People Who Love Bad News, that’s not a bad thing. In many ways, this latest offering actually improves on its predecessor—an impressive accomplishment, to be sure. So while it may be modest (no pun intended) in its exploration of new musical ground, this is quite simply a terrific release that stands as one the best of the group’s career.