Deerhoof - The Runners Four

Ignorance or maybe, naivety? I’d politely like to admit serious fault when I initially heard Deerhoof’s music. One specific example that I still regret is being able to hear them open for Radiohead and thinking, “Whoa, this sucks.” It’s so judgmental and so teenager-ish and above all, a horrible trait to have, but for some reason I didn’t get it. So, yes, I was entirely wrong about Deerhoof because to be very succinct, they’re one of the best bands currently making music.

That concert was in the summer of 2006, during Radiohead’s writing of In Rainbows, so it was definitely amazing seeing them play the earliest demos of “15 Step,” “Nude” and others; but this was also only one brief year after The Runners Four was released and I, completely missed the boat. So now, much later, after a few years of living with them in my house (their CDs and three of them on vinyl), after being able to redeem myself and see them live (this time in El Paso) and love the show, and have autographed art of them on my wall (check the above), yeah they kick ass.

The roaring, thunderous cluster chords of “Scream Team” mixed in with hyperactive tumbling bluesy rock, the dissonance, gloomy opening of “Chatterboxes,” the sustained balladry of “After Me the Deluge,” and the speedy, driving, Queens of the Stone Age-like romp of “You’re Our Two” are just four of the stunning tracks off The Runners Four that I could have heard that night in Berkeley, four years ago. This music isn’t the most welcoming but I don’t think it’s always supposed to be about what we want. Like relationships in life, the music is going to give us everything it has and we have to be able to sort it all out. Check out the album’s closer, in an astounding live version, “Rrrrrrright,” (an intense over-drive that was influenced by the jazz of the Brecker Bros., and pushed over the top with energy) so you can get an idea of how diverse this all is and still, how completely different it is from any other band out there (nobody sounds like Deerhoof):


I always choose “Odyssey” (I couldn’t find the album version but this cover is pretty good) because in my humble opinion, it’s the epitome of what God sounds like when He’s speaking to you. And before we lose most of our crowd, I mean this in the most absolutely spiritual sense possible. Where one can think of purity and the clarity with cleanliness – and I do know a good handful of people that are very simply, outstanding people – if that kind of essence and being has a sound, it’s the sparkling guitar counter melody (most, but more significantly @ the 2:20 mark and on) on “Odyssey.” Here, vocals are given to Saunier as he sings about pirates and companions coming together for an ultimate goal, on top of what is a slightly plucked and an almost acoustic, guitar melody; these are heavenly sounds:


And please Darcy, listen to “Wrong Time Capsule” (2&4 the entire way with free improvisation throughout) and check out how many crazy, rhythmically dynamic and diverse fills Sauiner throws in, while the entire time, never losing beat, tempo or style as the metronome of the band; it’s as if he’s leading the entire project while still playing as its mentor – by the way, the rest of the song is a spellbinding travel into classical music meeting the clash of experimental rock. And as crazy as all that may sound, that’s probably my best definition of what Deerhoof’s sound represents; now that I’m not so foolish, or wait, ignorant, anymore. – Bryan