Friend Opportunity
If you've heard Deerhoof's noisier forays, the screaming of Satomi Matsuzaki mixed with their lo-fi-gone-mad sonic sense, thenFriend Opportunityis going to sound like radio-ready pop. Rest easy, though: the album's mélange of melody and big riffs doesn't give up much ground. Greg Saunier's drums do jump out, sounding studio-painted in their crispness and deep kick-drum thunderclaps to open the album. And is that a touch of Tony Iommi for a few seconds on "The Galaxist"? Matsuzaki still finds her way to float spaceward, with orchestral washes and synth underscores along for the ride, on "Whither the Invisible Birds?" Then there's more drums, more guitar, all of it pitch-perfectly rendered. It's still fractured, but you won't even cut yourself on the edges while dancing techno to the stripped, jerky beat of "Kidz Are So Small."--Andrew Bartlett