The quartet gave such a hit at the last Canela Party festival in Málaga that by their side Battles seemed like a deflated band of three to four. Those from San Francisco are approaching their thirtieth birthday, being one of the most picturesque and unclassifiable anomalies in the world of rock: an endless production to the rhythm of The Fall, and the commitment not to rest on their laurels complete the picture.
With these credentials, it is not surprising that this is his first album recorded in a proper studio. And sung entirely in Japanese by vocalist Satomi Matsuzaki, accompanied by the prodigious and energetic drummer Greg Saunier and guitarists John Dieterich and Ed Rodríguez. No problem, quite the opposite. The exotic sound of Japanese adds up.
Deerhoof They affect, then, their mutant will of each new work, only that here the sound is grateful that they have entered the studio. Also, in cuts like “My Lovely Cat!” or the one that gives the album its title find a very attractive balance between melodic accessibility and surprising experimentation, something that not a few bands lose sight of.
They are very comfortable in that no man’s land between unbridled indie pop, seventies rock with progressive tendencies and math-rock. And the band, in sync like clockwork, take advantage of their time in the studio to get the most out of their gentle eccentricity in songs that go from frenetic spasms to minimalist calm. Doing justice to his explosive direct.