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Album Details

• Artist: Deerhoof
• Album: Friend Opportunity
• Label: Kill Rock Stars
• Year of Release: 2007
• ME Rating:
• Reviewed by: dscanland on 2007-03-11

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I haven't paid a lot of attention to Deerhoof but when Friend Opportunity crossed my desk I decided to listen up. I'm glad I did. This Bay Area band has quite a rabid following and pretty decent sales for an indie band. One of the main people in the band, Chris Cohen left after their last album, critically acclaimed The Runners Four. Don't worry, they seem to have solidified with this loss. Friend Opportunity tends to be a little more focused.

Allmusic refers to Deerhoof as 'Cuddly and chaotic'. There couldn't be a better description for these guys as one moment they are all cute with the high pitched vocals of Satomi Matsuzaki, then they turn all crazy with weird guitars and samples. This can happen all on one song, like on "Believe E.S.P.", in which the vocals are all twee and then there is a little breakdown near the end of the track that gets a little spastic. Normally stuff like this would send me running but Deerhoof knows when something becomes too much and keeps it to a minimum. Satomi's voice is also a little hard to take sometimes, almost too cartoon-ish or quirky. But again, I found myself enjoying her vocals on this album. Especially on tracks like "Choco Fight". And then the group takes a departure on the almost classically inspired "Whither The Invisible Birds?". They are right back on track with the best song on the album, "Cast Off Crown". It is loud, obnoxious, and fun: bleeps and blips and quite calm vocals keep you grounded.

I only gave Friend Opportunity a 4 but I have a strong feeling that this may change after a few more listens. There is enough charisma in this album to keep it around for a while. Highly recommended for something a little different.

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