DEERHOOF

About

Deerhoof started life in San Francisco as a scrappy improvised noise project, and over three decades quietly became one of the most singular bands in American indie rock. The quartet, anchored by drummer Greg Saunier, Japanese singer and bassist Satomi Matsuzaki, and guitarists John Dieterich and Ed Rodriguez, has put out 20 studio albums since 1997, each one a slightly unpredictable mix of noise pop, experimental rock and sheer weirdness that critics often need a second listen to fully appreciate. Apple O' from 2003 is a good example: largely ignored on release, it was later named one of the best albums of the entire decade by Pitchfork. They have toured with Radiohead, the Flaming Lips and Beck, performed a live film soundtrack at the San Francisco International Film Festival, and once released a song purely as sheet music so fans could record it before anyone heard the band's own version. The 2004 album Milk Man, drawing on Broadway and Igor Stravinsky for inspiration, even got adapted into a children's ballet. Matsuzaki also lent her voice to a collaboration with The Go! Team, underlining just how far Deerhoof's reach extends beyond the noise rock underground. Their most recent album, Noble and Godlike in Ruin, arrived in April 2025.