Ostensibly begun out of the ashes of Nitre Pit, a noise band featuring drummer Greg Saunier, Deerhoof produce so much material that it sheds identities and players with mercurial ease. This Australian CD offers examples of both line-ups from 2000 through 1996. Typical of live recording scenarios, there is distortion and chaos built into the digitization, but this is perhaps the best way to experience Deerhoof. There is the sense of pure improvisation, which is a ruse for the hidden structures of songs to lurch out from around corners. Deerhoof works best on a feral, instinctual level.
Lyrics revolve around woodland creatures, witches, spookiness and general primal fears.
The music is jagged, angular and intense, even as the group makes concessions to pop choruses and melodies at the most surprising junctures. Satomi's vocals can enter yodelling zones that haven't been challenged since Yoko Ono, conjuring up insect buzzes and alien mating calls. When one thinks of a cult band, the definition sticks to Deerhoof in almost every sense. Outsider music, the kind of aesthetic rifts that one loses friendships over, and slavish devotion all follow this group whether it encourages it or not. Yeah, it's indie, and damn serious about that, but the sound does have a distinct Chicago feel to it.