Joe Fuller: Deerhoof

The restlessly fun indie band come to Patterns next week

I saw Deerhoof in summer 2013 when they were touring ‘Breakup Song’ and am really excited about their upcoming show in support of ‘La Isla Bonita’. The indie rockers from San Francisco are fantastic on record but often a little obtuse, eschewing obviously accessible pop songs in favour of avant-garde turns of rhythm, pace and style.
Live however they have more breakthrough appeal so they are certainly worth a punt to break up your week; Satomi Matsuzaki is a charismatic singer and guitarist which can be so important in gigs. The complex beats from the band’s co-founder Greg Saunier and Ed Rodriguez’s jagged, almost post-punk like guitars create a great upbeat atmosphere that the crowd can go along with.
‘La Isla Bonita’ is a sharper, looser animal than some of their records, and their shifting dynamics between albums is a large part of their enduring appeal. The album’s provenance stems from the band trying to write a track similar to the fan-favourite live cover of Ramones’ ‘Pinhead’. Greg quickly dashed off a song on a scrap of paper, showed it to the band, and they recorded the breakneck stomper “Exit Only” in one take. “And we suddenly realised,” Greg says, “this is the whole thing, this is what the whole record is about!”

It’s not all as punchy or challenging as that makes it sound though, check out ‘Mirror Monster’ for example and it’s a shimmering, beautiful song with slinking guitars and a soft melody. It’s worth trying out the video on Youtube in fact, a strange thing about cars being destroyed that is lent pathos by the backing song and lends diegetic sounds to the original track too. Presumably it’s an interpretation of what a ‘Mirror Monster’ could really be, but whatever it is, it’s good.
Support is from the Leeds band COWTOWN who eloquently describe themselves as “variant mutant pop”. The punky band are upbeat and striking so should be a perfect warmup for the main act. Deerhoof are one of the strongest touring indie bands at the moment, putting on a frenetic show and an all-round fun evening. At the time of writing there are still some tickets left so it’d be best to act fast before they sell out.
Patterns (formerly Audio), Wed 26 Aug, 7.30pm, £12, 18+
Tickets: www.ticketabc.com/events/deerhoof-2/