Deerhoof Detail First Japanese LP 'Miracle-Level' With New Single Sit Down, Let Me Tell You A Story
Friday, 20 January 2023
Written by Jon Stickler
Photo: Mike Bridavsky
Deerhoof have announced their first all-Japanese album.
'Miracle-Level' is sung entirely in lead singer Satomi Matsuzaki's native language, and was produced by Mike Bridavsky at Manitoba's No Fun Club in Winnipeg.
Scheduled to arrive on March 31 via Joyful Noise Recordings, it marks the DIY group's 19th full-length release, and the only one so far to be recorded, mixed, and mastered from start to finish in a legitimate studio space under the supervision of a producer. Bridavsky said:
"Seemingly out of nowhere, I was presented with a miracle-level opportunity to produce Deerhoof for two consecutive weeks at No Fun Club in Winnipeg, Manitoba. I began listening through their albums and realised: I have no fucking idea how to make a Deerhoof record. Did anyone? They’d assembled a catalog of thoughtful, wild, and unique records, each different from the one before. I was about to be inserted into a thriving creative organism that’s worked almost exclusively with each other, with unlimited control of every blip and bleep. This was the session I’d been dreaming of for my whole professional life – and I was terrified.
"In my first call with Greg, I was relieved that we had an instant rapport. Their biggest concern was dispensing with the months of obsessive tinkering that usually make their albums sound so beautiful and insane. He told me, 'We don’t want to do our usual aggro control-freak thing. We’re going for bare-minimum production that doesn’t push the listener around.'
"We’d reached a level of mutual trust where the band was comfortable with me mixing alone. I’d send them away and when I felt a mix was ready, I'd call them back into the control room to listen. The look of excitement and accomplishment on everyone’s faces is something I’ll never forget. Satomi, Ed, John and Greg tried something different on this record, and the result is Deerhoof at their most sparse and vulnerable."
Following the previously shared cut My Lovely Cat, the four-piece have dropped the indie-rock single Sit Down, Let Me Tell You A Story, which rolls out across a flurry of time signature changes, and comes with a Noriko Oishi-directed video shot in Tokyo's Ebisu Garden Hall.
Deerhoof will support the record with a North American tour beginning on March 31 in Toronto and wrapping up in Chicago on July 17. Head here for details.
'Miracle-Level' tracklist:
1. Sit Down, Let Me Tell You a Story
2. My Lovely Cat
3. Everybody, Marvel
4. Jet-Black Double-Shield
5. Miracle-Level
6. And the Moon Laughs
7. The Little Maker
8. Phase-Out All Remaining Non-Miracles by 2028
9. Momentary Art of Soul!
10. Wedding, March, Flower
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