Deerhoof – First 3 Singles from La Isla Bonita

“We don’t set out to create masterpieces. The Deerhoof fan is a thrill-seeker.”
– Greg Saunier

There are many out there in the industry that would have you believe that the lifestyle of a music blogger is similar to that of a hedge fund manager, particularly in terms of our shared tax bracket, but I assure you there are many of us who hold “second jobs” to support our lavish lifestyles. For instance, I am a high school art teacher, but only because Robert Pollard of Guided By Voices fame was also a teacher at one point in his career.

As a teacher I hope that if I can teach my students one thing it’s to embrace experimentation and risk taking as this approach to creativity will yield the highest personal reward as well as quality of work. As such I’ve often toyed with the idea of dedicating an entire 75-minute class period to listening to a curated selection of Deerhoof songs ranging from their debut album The Man, the King, the Girl released in 1997, up through their 2012 release Breakup Song, to illustrate this very claim.

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Deerhoof Live @ The Space Hamden, CT 5/1/2014 | Photography by Greg Scranton

2014 will see the release of Deerhoof’s 13th studio album, which yet again breaks from any predetermined songwriting or recording processes, making for yet another enigmatic masterpiece of herk and jerk bebop noise pop splendor. Band members Greg Saunier (drums/provocateur) and Satomi Matsuzaki (bass/vocals) have spoken publically about how La Isla Bonita saw the band take a less structured approach to the song writing in favor of a more organic jam oriented approach. In fact, according to Saunier, “We recorded this record by accident.”

Despite this fortuitous blunder, Deerhoof has fittingly partnered with UK based DIY Magazine to release their first 3 singles off of La Isla Bonita. And for the globally challenged, no it’s not the same DIY home and garden network that features Vanilla Ice doing shitty home renovations…jeesh. Although to be honest, it wouldn’t come as a shock if Deerhoof managed to release their music through them somehow. I can see it now, walls crashing down around Ice to the tune of Exit Only, their first single off the new album. It would make perfect sense too; the track thumps and thrashes with all the might of a reckless sledgehammer. Then there’s Paradise Girls, a track that in their own words is “about how girls are and have always been smarter”.  The latest single to be released Last Fad is equal parts sweet whimsy and punctilious and Pythagorean and it’s as all American as baseball! What more could you want from your next record?

Check out all three singles below along with the full track listing and upcoming tour dates. You can also do as I have done and pre-order the LP from Polyvinyl, however you’ll have to settle for black vinyl since they’ve sold out of the first 500, which were pressed on yellow vinyl.




 

La Isla Bonita:
01 Paradise Girls
02 Mirror Monster
03 Doom
04 Last Fad
05 Tiny Bubbles
06 Exit Only
07 Big House Waltz
08 God 2
09 Black Pitch
10 Oh Bummer


 

2014 Tour
Nov 04
Baby’s All Right
Brooklyn, NY

Nov 05
Baby’s All Right
Brooklyn, NY

Nov 06
Baby’s All Right
Brooklyn, NY

Nov 07
State Theatre
Falls Church, VA

Nov 08
The Southern
Charlottesville, VA

Nov 09
Union Transfer
Philadelphia, PA

Nov 11
Bottom Lounge
Chicago, IL

Nov 12
Louie’s Back Room
Kalamazoo, MI

Nov 13
Lee’s Palace
w/ White Reaper, Priests
Toronto, Canada

Nov 14
Cabaret Piccolo Rialto
Montreal, Canada

Nov 15
The met
Pawtucket, RI

Nov 17
The Troubadour
Los Angeles, CA

Nov 18
Great American Music Hall
San Francisco, CA

Nov 20
Doug Fir Lounge
Portland, OR

Nov 21
Neumo’s
Seattle, WA

Nov 22
Fortune
Vancouver, Canada

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