Hi everyone, Exfoliation Ritual here, the Internet's busiest music nerd and it's time for a review of the new Deerhoof album Noble and Godlike in Ruin.

Here is the newest full length LP from noise, pop and experimental rock legends Deerhoof, veterans of the underground. With numerous classics under their belts at this point, and after decades of output at this point, the band continues to be one of the most unique, creative, and sometimes challenging bands out there. I've covered them numerous times on the channel. I have a lot of respect for the group, even if they are in the midst of an album cycle I am not particularly crazy about.

They have a lot of records and you know, honestly, when you're dropping that much output, not every LP is going to hit for you. Certainly I wasn't all that crazy about their last album, Miracle-Level, which was their 19th album, a project where they pretty much stuck to doing just strictly Japanese lyrics for the songs, and even drummer Greg Saunier got into the mix vocally a little bit. But yeah, I just didn't really think the song stuck all that well for me on that album.

But as long as your taste is adventurous, I think what Deerhoof records work for you or don't really depends upon just personal preference. I mean, over the years many fans agree that classics like Friend Opportunity are sort of where they were at their best and most lively and cutting edge. But as far as later releases go, maybe you will enjoy the very blown out and punky songwriting of The Magic, or maybe you'll gravitate more toward the versatility of the very collab heavy Mountain Moves.

Or maybe what will draw you to the band is their insane medley mash of many different songs coming together on the album Love-Lore, where Deerhoof, for whatever reason, combines elements of the Police, Cars, the Knight Rider theme, Kraftwerk, the Velvet Underground. Not my favorite from them, but it is utterly insane and very entertaining how much they try to do on that record.

And look, as far as personal highlights, lord knows I enjoy the very vibrant and explosive energy of Actually, You Can, as well as the very harsh rudimentary instrumentation and production on Future Teenage Cave Artists. And I know the band isn't often mentioned in the same breath as groups such as Sonic Youth, for example, but I think in a lot of ways they've contributed just as much to noise rock and have similarly created just a massive labyrinth of a discography over the course of their existence that is just sprawling with creativity.

And that continues on this new album here, Noble and Godlike in Ruin. Now, this record coincides strongly with the band being much more vocal and staunch on social media when it comes to the looming threat of fascism currently, among other terrible things. However, Deerhoof is not new to putting a bit of social commentary into their songs, and even when they're not trying to engage in some overt political statement in a track or two, the band's mere existence is a celebration of people coming from pretty different backgrounds being able to create and coexist in harmony within this very interesting and unique group.

Now, even with this record being a bit more pointed with what it's saying by Deerhoof standards, the fun oddity of their music still takes precedent and you still have to kind of read between the lines here and there to fully get what they're on about.

Take for example the fluttering guitars and animal sounds and gentle vocal harmonies on the tone setting opener, which thematically is very disillusioned with the idea of mankind, as Satomi sings about having "love for my animals and my savages," saying "you are why I wrote these passages," which is a pretty beautiful sentiment to kick the record off with, even as the track transitions into some kind of bloodthirsty messaging around revenge.

Then after this, we are off to the races on this album with the second track "Sparrow Sparrow", which is just classic Deerhoof through and through. Angular guitar leads, big booming, groovy drums, massive bass lines, and also Satomi's strangely beautiful lead vocals, which are sometimes quaint, sometimes off putting, but a perfect fit for Deerhoof's sound. Case in point: I love the way Satomi's vocals on that "piercing and clear" line in the song sort of sounds a little out of tune with the background instrumentation for a few beats on purpose, and then the instrumentation under her changes key to better harmonize with the note that she's at. And this change is so tight and well executed.

I mean, Deerhoof are often talked up for their very kind of like artsy and left field musical appeal, but very few people, I think, also praise them – and it's much needed praise – for the musical chops they show on each record. Like, even if their instrumentation is quite noisy and chaotic, the playing is still very impressive. And this virtuosity also manifests in just how versatile this album is too.

Take for example the zany Latin flavors turning up on the track "King Toe" with its angular piano lines and warped guitar melodies. The percussion section too is wild.

I'm also loving the eerie touches of strings that pop into the background of the booming beats and bass on "Return of The Return of the Fire Trick Star". It kind of sounds like a classic Deerhoof song if it were set to a horror film soundtrack.

And honestly, with this record, I love hearing the instrumentation that they bring to the table, just presented in a much clearer, more lush, more high-fidelity setting. I mean, I do love the band's many noisy and more lo fi releases for sure, but I do think sometimes the musical nuances they come up with get lost in that chaos. And it's just cool to hear all of that more clearly on this record over here. And like, with some additional interesting orchestrations that add a really awesome extra layer to everything the band is doing.

Case in point: the horns and woodwinds that make up the bulk of "A Body of Mirrors", a track that eventually builds into this thick droning wall of bass and alien vocal harmonies. The song's greatest sin, honestly, is that it just could have been longer. But even with it in its current state, this is easily the most unsettling two minutes of music Deerhoof has ever generated.

We also have an interesting combination of sounds and influences happening on "Ha Hahaha Haaa", where we get what sounds like demented funk rhythm guitars, trip hop drums and bass, and some more Psycho soundtrack strings. After this, the track suddenly transitions into these boisterous sung laugh passages. The whole song embodies this mix of darkness and humor in a way that really only Deerhoof could, not to mention the song's obvious allusions to nuclear holocaust and the idea that science can not only bring life but also death.

Now this album's messaging is maybe at its most direct with the song "Disobedience", where in the final leg the whole song ends off with this noisy buzzing wall of sound over which Satomi starts doing this very unsettling spoken word passage about what sounds like the militarization of our police and cities. And it's delivered in a way to where it sounds like she's, I don't know, a political figure at a board meeting or a newscaster. Either way, the track is very chilling and authoritarian.

This one is contrasted immediately with the over the top jazzy noise prog of "Who Do You Root For?", which packs a lot of ferocity into its 115 seconds of runtime. Another moment, frankly, that I think could have been a little bit longer.

The song "Under Rats" is a very surprising but gratifying crossover with none other than Saul Williams, which going into this one, I kind of knew it was gonna be fire. This is not even the strangest and most surprising collaboration Deerhoof has ever done. Somehow it just makes so much sense.

And then the closing track, "Immigrant Songs", is this massive seven minute monster of a cut that kicks off like many a Deerhoof song as far as its instrumental makeup. But what it progresses into is just insane. This complete and total noise rock freakout that also features bloodcurdling screams. And that's one of the few things I can actually, you know, audibly make out in the midst of all of the distortion and just insanity.

But yeah, very intense, very visceral, very fun, dark but also thoughtful album from the Deerhoof gang. One of their best recorded projects yet in my opinion. Also loved hearing them get a bit more ambitious on the instrumental side and production side. Again, really enjoying and appreciating the social commentary here, the variety of influences.

If there's any major issue I have here, it's that the record itself, and a few tracks which contain some very entertaining moments, were just a bit too brief and really could have been built upon and extended, not only to really seal the deal on their messaging, but on top of that, just make the instrumental magic they were conjuring last a bit longer.

But with all that being said, Deerhoof continues to be a stellar and consistent band who always has a new surprise, a new trick up their sleeve, an interesting idea to behold, which is why I'm feeling a decent to strong 8 on this album.

Anthony Fantano, Deerhoof, Forever.