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HOT OFF THE PRESS (#14) - Deerhoof & Megapuss
HOT OFF THE PRESS (#14) - Deerhoof & Megapuss
by Nick Courtright
It’s Wednesday, and that means it’s time for Nick Courtright’s weekly first glance at music discovered in the last seven days, whether it be just-released, just-leaked, or some long-lost gem that has remained under the radar. Click here for other recent editions of Hot Off the Press, featuring acts such as TV on the Radio, Cold War Kids, of Montreal, Juana Molina, Final Fantasy, Peter Bjorn & John, White Denim, and Grizzly Bear.
Deerhoof – Offend Maggie
released October 7 on Kill Rock Stars
Report Card: B
Despite their oft-indiscernible lyrics, the obscurity of their songs, and a distinct lack of sex appeal, Deerhoof has successfully built an adoring fan base eager for even the slightest scrap of new material. The fact that they’ve done it all with an uncompromising dedication to pushing the envelope sonically—an approach which has led them to one of the most unique and immediately recognizable (and delightful) sounds in contemporary music—makes them almost impossibly endearing. These realities make it all the more mystifying and disappointing that Offend Maggie lacks the spikes in extreme glee that their last couple albums have provided so willingly, as its overall uniformity results not in a fantastical dynamism but in a blandness the band’s fans have never experienced.
The band’s early career was marked with a willingness to experiment with short throwaway tracks, and we see an unexpected reoccurrence of that phenomenon here, as this album too often feels like the product of a dead-sprint through the studio—it’s as if the band rushed this work, with several songs left unfinished, especially by the standards of their last two album’s depth and ambition. But perhaps the biggest thing holding back Offend Maggie is not the presence of B-side fodder, but the absence of those instances of near-religious awesomeness that have come to be expected from the group: while songs such as the complicated “Fresh Born,” album-closing journey “Jagged Fruit,” and the surprisingly addictive title track are fine additions to their enviable catalog, not even these highlights offer a sugar-high on par with any of Friend Opportunity’s first three tracks.
It’s hard to figure out where the root of the shortfall lies—and remember, we’re holding Deerhoof to a much, much higher standard than less-established bands, and this album would be a crown jewel for many an aspiring art-rocker—but the problem could reside in the lineup. Signing on a new fourth member on second guitar had fans and critics expecting a reprise of the overwhelming and groundbreaking The Runners Four, but the six-string interplay here isn’t nearly as expansive and unpredictable as it was there, as most of the approaches are almost atomistic in nature—only rarely does the guitar tone or the effect of having two players make a song more engaging than it would have been with a thinner lineup. And that’s a damn shame, because Deerhoof has always kicked ass to an almost incomprehensible degree, and to see them do anything less is shocking.
Listen to songs by Deerhoof here
Megapuss – Surfing
released October 7 on Vapor Records
Report Card: B+
While California über-weirdo Devendra Banhart’s early work spawned the summer of freak-folk, and was elegantly spare, undeniably unique despite its man-with-guitar approach, and effortlessly enjoyable, the man who up until recently was dating Natalie Portman (a true fact that puts her mental state in question) has in the last few years begun tripping over his talent. It was as if his fame led him to call upon anyone he’d ever ran into on the street to help him with his music, and the result was a genre-hodgepodge which was as aimless as it was appropriating. And the man who was once pure mystery was revealed, the magic gone, with him left as just another musician on the shelf of musicians.
And that brings us to Banhart’s first legitimate side project. There’s a very lot to say and a very little to say about Megapuss, the immaturely (yet appropriately) named project between Banhart and a man apparently just as brashly unpredictable, Greg Rogove: a less-than-pleasant demonstration of their strangeness is that the album insert includes unkempt cock-shots of our duo. In many ways, their album is juvenile, senseless, random, filthy, awkward, head-scratching, and sometimes just plain stupid. And yet, despite all of these fitting adjectives, Surfing works. While I have to admit that news of the album didn’t send me rushing to the racks—a big reason for this being Banhart’s thoroughly tepid and confounding Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Mountain—its occasional appearance on my playlist left me unconsciously reattracted to the particular oddity that is Devendra Banhart.
He and his associate borrow wantonly from past musics, often in questionable taste, and the album has more than a couple tracks that probably should have been left on the cutting room floor. But where this album goes right is that Banhart can still craft a catchy little number, and this project sees him focus his genre-jumping on a sort of lo-fi, old-school, junk-rock, and the constraints do wonders for the listener’s enjoyment. While song titles such as “Crop Circle Jerk” and “Chicken Titz” don’t inspire much faith in the seriousness of the project, many of the songs succeed despite their often unconscionably idiotic lyrics. Without burdening people with a track-by-track enumeration of their insanity, check out the ridiculous “Duck People Duck Man” (which features Human Giant and Flight of the Conchords star Aziz Ansari) to hear Megapuss at their most inexplicable, and, as it turns out, best.
Listen to songs by Megapuss here