#18

The Runner's Four By Deerhoof (2005)



Look at the cover of this album....... "Cactus." "Pigeon." "Cat Tent." What do these random items have to do with anything? How does the title tie into the album? These questions really aren't answered and they don't need to be. Part of the Deerhoof logic is possessing no logic. The Japanese/American band is known for their chaotic rushes of noise juxtaposed with singer Matsuzaki's screeching yet cute j-pop voice. Here they tone things down a bit and and inject a few ccs more melody. The Runner's Four is a collage of twenty tracks seemingly pulled at random from the band's constantly whirring brain. Maybe the items on the cover are meant to symbolize the uniqueness of each song on the album... The tracks progress through upbeat pop tunes ("O-Malley, Former Underdog") to surprisingly pretty ballads ("Odyssey") to noise rock ("rrrrrright"). You never really know what you're gonna get with these songs and this is definitely part of the appeal. There is great guitar work contained within this album. "Twin Killers" and "Spirit Ditties of No Tone" highlight the band's bright, angular guitar style. It conjures images of multicolored samurai swords slashing through the darkness while Matsuzuki's pink voice floats cute and happy over the cartoonish carnage. And Greg Saunier's percussion must be mentioned: he establishes the backbone of many of the tracks while mixing things up with complex and shifting beats. During the second half, the album suffers from maybe a little too much silliness, but damn.....with this record they threw all the wet pasta at the wall and kept every bit of it, even if it didn't stick, and I fucking love 'em for it!