{"id":7163,"date":"2012-09-04T17:50:57","date_gmt":"2012-09-05T00:50:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/reviewermag.com\/press\/?p=7163"},"modified":"2012-09-05T16:15:42","modified_gmt":"2012-09-05T23:15:42","slug":"were-breaking-up-already-babe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/reviewermag.com\/press\/2012\/09\/04\/were-breaking-up-already-babe\/","title":{"rendered":"We&#8217;re Breaking Up Already, Babe?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/reviewermag.com\/press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Deerhoof-the-breakup-song-pic.jpg\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/reviewermag.com\/press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Deerhoof-the-breakup-song-pic-150x150.jpg?resize=150%2C150\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" class=\"alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-7165\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/reviewermag.com\/press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Deerhoof-the-breakup-song-pic.jpg?resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1 150w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/reviewermag.com\/press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Deerhoof-the-breakup-song-pic.jpg?w=225&amp;ssl=1 225w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<strong>Deerhoof<br \/>\n<em>The Breakup Song<\/em><br \/>\nPolyvinyl Records, 2012<br \/>\nReview by Kent Manthie<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"twitter-share-button\" href=\"http:\/\/twitter.com\/share\" data-count=\"none\" data-via=\"reviewermag\">Tweet<\/a><script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"http:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>    <\/strong>This year, so far, has been a pretty good year for indie music.  In the early part of 2012 we received a couple other bands\u2019 albums also on the Polyvinyl Records roster:  Owen\u2019s whimsical, at times and always introspective <em>Ghost Town<\/em> as well as the newest from Athens, GA wonder kinder, of Montreal, the neo-disco-drenched <em>Paralytic Stalks<\/em>.  There was also the blissful CD, <em>Antibodies<\/em>, by Nate Kinsella\u2019s project, Birthmark (all of which I reviewed in past editions of Reviewer (www.reviewermag.com \u2013 formerly:  www.reviewermag.com).<br \/>\n    This review, however, is concentrating on the soon-to-be-released new album by Deerhoof, <em>The Breakup Song<\/em>.  Deerhoof are an interesting band hailing from the coolest city in the world, San Francisco, CA.  They\u2019ve been around since around 1994 and have been putting out both iconoclastic and irreverent songs which deliver catchiness in one way or another.  To be able to still be doing that almost 20 years later is quite a feat.  The only other bands that can claim a glory like that \u2013 or beyond \u2013 are Sonic Youth, who, one never gets tired of and Stereolab, a band that seems to come from their own planet, that\u2019s how different they are from just about anything else out there.  Deerhoof, anyway, certainly does things their own way.<br \/>\n    My last (and first) introduction to Deerhoof was their January, 2011-released album, <em>Deerhoof vs. Evil<\/em>, which I reviewed for Reviewer \u2013 posted up on their website, which used to be www.reviewermag.com, but which has changed URLs and is now to be found at:  www.reviewermag.com.  This review will be now be posted on the new Reviewer site (www.reviewermag.com).<br \/>\n     Anyway, back to Deerhoof \u2013 their lead vocalist and bassist, Satomi Matsuzaki, has a very lovely voice, a smooth, laid back chanteuse-style voice that seems to hypnotize the listener.   But the rest of the band, guitarists John Dieterich and Ed Rodriguez as well as drummer Greg Saunier, seem to catapult the sedation into outer space.  <em>The Breakup Song<\/em> is a whole new bag of tricks and has some more unique styles and there is no one label that you can pin on Deerhoof, except maybe that they are an \u201cindie\u201d band (on Chicago\u2019s Polyvinyl Records) and iconoclastic.<br \/>\n    Originally, when they were still milling around the Bay Area scene, getting a feel for what kind of niche they wanted to fit into, as well as going through different personnel lineups up to where they are now, they were described as being a \u201cnoise-band\u201d, neo-punk, indie (which is what they are, at heart), etc.  But after years of coalescing their sound into a coherent, yet unpredictable style, they\u2019re still leaving fans and critics alike scratching their heads as to what the next album is about or means or if it\u2019s got any meaning to it at all.<br \/>\n    Their 2011 album, <em>Deerhoof vs. Evil<\/em> seemed to be a bit more \u201caccessible\u201d, that is, to the already jaded, cynical audiences that are into indie vs. corporate schlock-emo crap, compared to this current album, <em>The Breakup Song<\/em>.  One of my favorite songs on that CD was \u201cI Did Crimes for You\u201d, a sort of twisted way to rationalize one\u2019s loyalty to another, yet\u2026There were also some other interesting bits and pieces to that album In fact, that is one thing that has redeemed them in my eyes \u2013 the unique and quirkiness of the album.<br \/>\n    On <em>The Breakup Song<\/em>, Satomi\u2019s vocalizing fits in quite well with the avant-garde and experimental sounds that the other three guys cook up.  A couple songs worth mentioning (and which piqued my interest) are \u201cZero Seconds Pause\u201d, \u201cMothball the Fleet\u201d as well as \u201cWe Do Parties\u201d, which has a heavy bass track to it, some synth-drum-machine in it and a clean, crisp guitar that noodles throughout.  But it\u2019s really hard to pick favorites here, since the whole CD is packed with ear candy that sticks to the brain and is hard to wash away.<br \/>\n    If you get interested and do pick up <em>The Breakup Song<\/em>, remember that these guys have been around since 1994 and so have quite a history and just reading about the many guises they\u2019ve been through and stuff they\u2019ve done tells me that there could be a varied history to them.  If you are into experimental music with a pop underbelly, but that is just as unpredictable at the same time then get yourself hooked into the world of Deerhoof.  \u2013<strong>KM<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Deerhoof The Breakup Song Polyvinyl Records, 2012 Review by Kent Manthie Tweet This year, so far, has been a pretty good year for indie music. In the early part of 2012 we received a couple other bands\u2019 albums also on the Polyvinyl Records roster: Owen\u2019s whimsical, at times and always introspective Ghost Town as well as the newest from Athens, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1,573],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7163","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-archive","category-music"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4051,"url":"http:\/\/reviewermag.com\/press\/2011\/03\/14\/sxsw-polyvinyl-records-sxsw-showcase\/","url_meta":{"origin":7163,"position":0},"title":"Polyvinyl Records SXSW Showcase, on Saturday (3\/19)","author":"admin","date":"March 14, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"(Alert)Live Music In The Lone Star StateSaturday (3\/19) On top of all the crazy festivities that this year's SXSW will surely provide you, there's one thing that you must do - COME TO THE POLYVINYL SHOWCASE! We've got an amazing show lined up for you this year. I guarantee you\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Lifestytle&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Lifestytle","link":"http:\/\/reviewermag.com\/press\/category\/lifestytle\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/reviewermag.com\/press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/sxsw-polyvinyl-222x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":169,"url":"http:\/\/reviewermag.com\/press\/2006\/10\/30\/owen-other-cd-reviews\/","url_meta":{"origin":7163,"position":1},"title":"Owen &amp; other CD reviews","author":"admin","date":"October 30, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Owen: \u201cAt Home with Owen\u201d (Polyvinyl Record Company) When I first saw the new Owen CD that the musical geniuses over at Polyvinyl Records sent me I was excited but simultaneously apprehensive about first listening to it. It may sound kind of odd but I was so blown away (still\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;archive&quot;","block_context":{"text":"archive","link":"http:\/\/reviewermag.com\/press\/category\/archive\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3161,"url":"http:\/\/reviewermag.com\/press\/2010\/11\/01\/indie-takeover-one-cd-and-two-seven-inchers\/","url_meta":{"origin":7163,"position":2},"title":"Indie Takeover:  One CD and Two seven-inchers","author":"Kent","date":"November 1, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Aloud Exile Lemon Merchant Records www.allthingsaloud.com Reviewed by Kent Manthie What to make of Aloud? Hmm\u2026it\u2019s not your everyday pop-rock-hip\/hop-emo-nu-metal CD but a horse of an entirely different color. More oriented toward hippie groovin\u2019, folkified, laid back mellowness, Exile, their newest release has some interesting routes less traveled in the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;music&quot;","block_context":{"text":"music","link":"http:\/\/reviewermag.com\/press\/category\/music\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":147,"url":"http:\/\/reviewermag.com\/press\/2006\/09\/19\/music-reviews-secret-apollo\/","url_meta":{"origin":7163,"position":3},"title":"music reviews&#8230; secret apollo","author":"admin","date":"September 19, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Music reviews by Kent Manthie Secret Apollo: HOMEMADE TIME MACHINE (tall people records) Secret Apollo have twiddled and fiddled with the knobs in the studio for a bit and wound up with this ultra-cool, way hip CD, which is not too long, either, only about 40 minutes altogether. There are\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;archive&quot;","block_context":{"text":"archive","link":"http:\/\/reviewermag.com\/press\/category\/archive\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":6619,"url":"http:\/\/reviewermag.com\/press\/2012\/04\/29\/nate-kinsellas-birthmark-new-release\/","url_meta":{"origin":7163,"position":4},"title":"Nate Kinsella&#8217;s Birthmark &#8211; new release!","author":"Kent","date":"April 29, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"New Music from PolyvinylTweet Birthmark Antibodies Polyvinyl Records, 2012 Review by Kent Manthie The third full-length CD by Birthmark, Nate Kinsella\u2019s solo project, entitled Antibodies is out now, on Polyvinyl Records. Antibodies is such a beautiful album, you can tell that Nate went through a lot work in the studio,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;archive&quot;","block_context":{"text":"archive","link":"http:\/\/reviewermag.com\/press\/category\/archive\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/reviewermag.com\/press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/antibodies-pic.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4715,"url":"http:\/\/reviewermag.com\/press\/2011\/05\/15\/three-new-iconoclasts-from-polyvinyl\/","url_meta":{"origin":7163,"position":5},"title":"Three new iconoclasts from Polyvinyl","author":"Kent","date":"May 15, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"of Montreal thecontrollersphere Polyvinyl Records, 2011 www.polyvinylrecords.com Review by Kent Manthie After 10 great CDs by this genre-bending, androgynous outfit led by maestro Kevin Barnes, of Montreal has just released a little EP - thecontrollersphere, a five song experience that is typical of the gender-bending, hyper-sexual, disco-on-acid style wiggles that\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;archive&quot;","block_context":{"text":"archive","link":"http:\/\/reviewermag.com\/press\/category\/archive\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/reviewermag.com\/press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/05\/thecontrollersphere.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/reviewermag.com\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7163","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/reviewermag.com\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/reviewermag.com\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/reviewermag.com\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/reviewermag.com\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7163"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"http:\/\/reviewermag.com\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7163\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7181,"href":"http:\/\/reviewermag.com\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7163\/revisions\/7181"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/reviewermag.com\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7163"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/reviewermag.com\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7163"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/reviewermag.com\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7163"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}