Deerhoof Premieres Lead Single To Upcoming 20th LP On Craigslist
The unorthodox release of “Immigrant Song,” from the upcoming Noble And Godike In Ruin, is meant as a middle finger to fascistic data-mining tech platforms
Face collage by: Satomi
Thirty-one years after their formation, experimental noise pop titans, Deerhoof show no signs of slowing down. Today they announce their 20th LP, Nobile And Godlike In Ruin. Scheduled to be released on April 25th, the band describes the new album as being “about grotesque transformations and hybrid creatures of myth. It is big and scary. It is in an anti-bourgeois style that mixes the beautiful with the cruel.“
The product page on the Joyful Noise Records website elaborates:
“Their latest album is either a portrait of a world descending into monstrous hate, dehumanization, and dollar signs, or a haunting self-portrait of band-as-monster: an intelligent, sensitive, hybrid creature, singing tirelessly of love, but increasingly alienated from that world.
The music is joyful and foreboding, cybernetic and deeply human, all at once. Strings that evoke avant-garde chamber music and classic horror-film soundtracks bounce off guitar and bass lines that chug on impervious to the creeping dread. The drums are sometimes filtered to sound almost electronic, but no computer could come up with rhythms so funky and dynamic, with each minute variation from one snare hit to the next conveying worlds of possibility. Though the subject matter may be bleak—how could it not be?—the songs carry an implicit note of defiant optimism in their refusal to bow to convention or received wisdom. There’s that famous Dylan Thomas line about raging against the dying of the light: Noble and Godlike in Ruin feels a little like that.“
Human percussive cyclone and band founder, Greg Saunier, runs the Deerhoof social media, where he remains incredibly vocal about his leftist, anti-imperialist political views. As an avid follower of both his and the band’s Instagram accounts, I greatly admire his regularity and boldness in posting the type of raw, direct commentary that has kept us severely shadowbanned on the platform for the last year and a half or more. There is no wavering in their positions on social and global justice; it permeates everything that they do. This includes the manner in which Deerhoof has chosen to release the lead single from their latest project. Rather than post the song on one of Zuck‘s Meta platforms or give credence to a nosediving cesspool helmed by a billionaire apartheidist, the 4-piece has opted for a much more unorthodox approach. Saunier explains that they’ve “decided to premiere the lead single ‘Immigrant Songs’ on the nice and non-nazi tech platform of Craigslist.” This gesture is a way for the groundbreaking indie group to “throw a finger up to the tech platforms that care only about data mining & the expansion of fascism.”
One of the most impressive factors regarding Deerhoof‘s continued prolificity is that each of the members currently resides in completely different parts of the country. For this Craigslist exclusive premiere, 4 different ads were posted in each of their respective locations.
Portland, OR for Ed Rodriguez (guitarist)
Tucson, AZ for Greg Saunier (drums)
Brooklyn, NY for Satomi Matsuzaki (bass, vocals)
Minneapolis, MN for John Dieterich (guitar)
All Craigslist posts direct fans HERE to listen to the new track by inputting the password “DEERHOOF“
Below is a sample from “Immigrant Songs.”
It turns out that “Immigrant Songs” has a connection to the tune “Exit Only” from the band’s 2014 release, La Isla Bonita.
Greg provides further insight into what proves to be an incredibly socially relevant number.
“This song is kind of a sequel to Satomi describing her immigration tribulations in ‘Exit Only.’ It’s what it feels like to see the discourse around immigration get so twisted. The most criminal and barbaric ‘migrant horde’ to invade America was from Europe. There’s a sector of racialized, underpaid immigrants, doing labor white people won’t, who are getting deported and dehumanized in record numbers in recent years. They are really the glue keeping our society from collapsing. It’s these heroic fugitives, not millionaire politicians holding little signs with one hand while sending out fundraising emails about ‘strengthening our borders’ with the other, who actually have a thing or two to teach us all about how to resist and survive.”
Noble And Godlike In Ruin consists of 10 new Deerhoof songs, including “Under Rats,” a collaboration with spoken word icon, musician, and activist, Saul Williams.
The album is currently available for preorder through Joyful Noise Recordings on various physcal formats. Among them is a VIP limited edition vinyl of 506 hand-numbered copies. Pressed to “Grotesque Double Green” wax, it includes an exclusive bonus zine with a link to download 7 demos from the album.
Deerhoof will embark on their extensive “31 Flavours tour” from May through August to celebrate over 3 decades of pumping out some of the most innovative and indescribable rock music ever extruded from the minds of a rock quartet. Tickets are ON SALE NOW!
Full list of tour dates below.
