joesrecords

Deerhoof - Milk Man

Details

Format: CD
Catalog: 406
Rel. Date: 03/09/2004
UPC: 759656040624

Milk Man
Artist: Deerhoof
Format: CD
Used: Available
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Reviews:

Deerhoof are either one of the greatest bands on earth or one of the most irritating. It all depends on your tolerance for seriously damaged experimental art-punk. If you're into songs that stick to a single style for their entirety, or melodic ideas followed through to their natural conclusions, then this band will spit in your face and stomp all over your eardrums. But if you happen to think the Boredoms were geniuses, and you don't mind how lead singer Satomi Matsuzaki chirps like a schoolgirl who's been huffing helium, then Deerhoof will offer a refreshing alternative to standard rock 'n' roll monotony.

Milk Man is no less polarizing than the prolific San Francisco foursome's last six albums; although these eleven tracks glisten with more of a pop sheen than usual, Deerhoof remain a restless bunch, channel-surfing through moods and rhythms. The guitars of Chris Cohen and John Dietrich skip across sunny fields of prog, only to crash face-first into walls of dissonance. Drummer Greg Saunier's schizophrenic tempo-shifting battles the steady rigidity of a drum machine. The title song alternates between precious, fluffy pop and heavy metal pounding, while the hip-shaking beat and quacking synthesizers of "Giga Dance" are repeatedly interrupted by passages of slow, syrupy dreaminess. Matsuzaki's fractured, surrealistic lyrics appear on all but two of Milk Man's tracks, violently twisting nursery rhymes and lullabies inside-out. "Milk man smiles to you 'Hi' in a nude/ 'This banana stuck in my arms Oh my love!'/ Stabbed to the arms/ Ooh La La," she coos on the title track, her childlike singing so sugary it approaches the demonic. Listen long enough and you might find yourself dancing obliviously down the street. Or wanting to murder a litter of newborn puppies.

"Deerhoof are either one of the greatest bands on earth or one of the most irritating. It all depends on your tolerance for seriously damaged experimental art-punk. If you're into songs that stick to a single style for their entirety, or melodic ideas followed through to their natural conclusions, then this band will spit in your face and stomp all over your eardrums. But if you happen to think the Boredoms were geniuses, and you don't mind how lead singer Satomi Matsuzaki chirps like a schoolgirl who's been huffing helium, then Deerhoof will offer a refreshing alternative to standard rock 'n' roll monotony.

Milk Man is no less polarizing than the prolific San Francisco foursome's last six albums; although these eleven tracks glisten with more of a pop sheen than usual, Deerhoof remain a restless bunch, channel-surfing through moods and rhythms. The guitars of Chris Cohen and John Dietrich skip across sunny fields of prog, only to crash face-first into walls of dissonance. Drummer Greg Saunier's schizophrenic tempo-shifting battles the steady rigidity of a drum machine. The title song alternates between precious, fluffy pop and heavy metal pounding, while the hip-shaking beat and quacking synthesizers of ""Giga Dance"" are repeatedly interrupted by passages of slow, syrupy dreaminess. Matsuzaki's fractured, surrealistic lyrics appear on all but two of Milk Man's tracks, violently twisting nursery rhymes and lullabies inside-out. ""Milk man smiles to you 'Hi' in a nude/ 'This banana stuck in my arms Oh my love!'/ Stabbed to the arms/ Ooh La La,"" she coos on the title track, her childlike singing so sugary it approaches the demonic. Listen long enough and you might find yourself dancing obliviously down the street. Or wanting to murder a litter of newborn puppies.

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