Kill Rock Stars
Deerhoof are masters of going from frenetic clamor to melodic sweetness in the course of a song. John Dieterich, Satomi Matsuzaki and the rest of the gang's brand new offering, Offend Maggie, nests a treasure trove of their sweet art-rock gems inside a variety of beatdriven tracks. The power of Dieterich's guitar punctuation is magnified almost 10 times by the dulcet sound of Matsuzaki's indecipherable phrases. Is it Japanese? No. It's just the word "dribble" sung as four syllables in "Basket Ball Get Your Groove Back." Greg Saunier's solid drums string together rocking phrases sometimes touched with a hint of the geeky. "Eaguru Guru" has the frenzied panic of music from the boss levels of Super Mario Bros. 2, and that's not the only video-gamey part of the album. As a special treat, Deerhoof has given its fans access to digital sheet music for "Fresh Born," their first single. Users can peruse the method in the madness and see how it has taken more than a few syncopated beats to offend the proverbial Maggie. - Christine Vilar
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