Friend Opportunity - Deerhoof

Friend Opportunity

Deerhoof
Kill Rock Stars Records.

SCQ Rating: 68%

No trimmings, no wasted breath; just treated organ and a percussive assault to kick-start the indie-darlings’ seventh studio record, and for about half an hour, it doesn’t let up. No excessive forays into dream-pop middling or prog-rock stretches, Friend Opportunity is at once focused and reactionary; a concise collection of pop songs that make sudden splashes in well-earned genre pools. Written and rehearsed during their opening gig for Radiohead’s 2006 tour, Deerhoof began playing more on instinct, diving into rhythms and melodies without over-thinking what the result would be. This playfulness is contagious, from the chugging kraut of ‘Choco Fight’ to the cowbell-addled rock of ‘Believe E.S.P.’, as each track defies its own structure to carry several song ideas.

As a band recognized for their energetic live performances, ‘The Galaxist’ might be Friend Opportunity’s highlight, a softly strummed folk song that builds into sweetly worn indie balladry. On the other hand, we have ‘Whither the Invisible Birds?’, another quiet track that attempts intimacy but comes off like a poorly arranged Disney song. Luckily Deerhoof don’t stray far from their experimental muses, as ‘Cast Off Crown’ and ‘Matchbook Seeks Maniac’ revive the record’s second half.

After nine songs that, personal tastes aside, offer masterful focus and depth, ‘Look Away’ is an uncertain glance to the past, longwinded and disoriented. It establishes a finely attuned creepiness, but at eleven minutes long (over a third the length of the record, for those keeping score), ‘Look Away’ is a mistake; the perfectly titled warning Deerhoof didn’t take seriously. As its artwork suggests (a variety of different album covers, each ridiculous but fantastic), Friend Opportunity wears and deserves their many skins. An easy album to respect, if not fully enjoy.