To celebrate Deerhoof’s 25 year landmark, the three record labels most closely associated with their career are partnering together to release newly remastered versions of their first three CDs on vinyl for the first time. The Man, the King, the Girl (Polyvinyl Record Co.), Holdypaws (Kill Rock Stars), & Halfbird (Joyful Noise Recordings) will be released on November 22nd. Pre-orders are now available individually and in a complete three-album bundle via each record label’s webstore.
Those expecting these LPs to offer only some paltry lo-fi proto-Deerhoof may be surprised by how freshly and powerfully Deerhoof’s now-legendary stylistic hallmarks are evident: Satomi Matsuzaki’s jingle-like and stupidly catchy melodies rub up dissonantly against the off-the-grid and stupidly abrasive convulsions of the rhythm section: drummer Greg Saunier and original guitarist Rob Fisk. Magical animals dance then as now through the artwork and lyrics, thin disguises for idealistic heroines and heroes romantically taking on the wealthy and powerful villains breaking the world, then as now. The spells are a little different but you will have no doubt about the magicians.
“I think these three albums are Deerhoof’s most raw and real. We had all these fantasies about what we wanted to do musically and we were struggling to meet them. But I feel like the labels and people we worked with believed in our weird fantasy. I still believe in that fantasy and after 25 years I still like these albums. I hope people will enjoy too.” – Satomi Matsuzaki
