Deerhoof

Threatening yet adorable, beckoning us to who-knows-where, tropical fruits fashionably stabbed into its skin - this is Milk Man!

Expectations are high and the pressure is on: Having been showered with a kind of public acclaim (and critical controversy) hardly ever seen for such DIY undergrounders, Deerhoof returns with their Mona Lisa, their Citizen Kane, their Sgt. Pepper: at once their most classic and audaciously forward-looking creation.

With its outrageous, almost indescribable sound - somewhere between Outkast and Cats - this is truly an album for the mp3 generation, a thoroughly 21st-century collection of hit singles, no two alike. And yet repeated listens (resistance is futile!) reveal something beneath the cartoony facade that sets it deservedly alongside even such timeless concept albums as The Kinks' Village Green Preservation Society, Duke Ellington's Mood Indigo, or dare-we-say, ZZ Top's Eliminator.

The concept of Milk Man comes from Tokyo artist Ken Kagami, whose sassy cover art is the perfect match to the sly, at times frightening, but irresistibly catchy music contained inside: the Styx 'n' Stones magic of the title track, an instant pop classic if there ever was one, undeniable proof of Deerhoof's extraordinary songwriting gifts; the organ-driven monster mash of "Giga Dance," whose crazed group interplay sets a new standard for "tension and release"; the otherworldly, borderline operatic, electronica that is "Desaparecer," Deerhoof's Spanish-language debut...and that's just the first three songs! Have we ever heard a band so confidently navigate the extremes of control and chaos, edginess and beauty, profundity and just plain fun?

Where Reveille turned many a head with its whiplash-inducing spurts of genius and noise, and Apple O' thrillingly captured the quartet raw and "live in the studio," 2004 sees the Deerhoof chameleon shifting again. Milk Man is a subtle and sophisticated tour de force of pop production, impeccably and lovingly crafted by the band, a lavish musical feast of boldly cinematic dimensions. The jolts of Deerhoof joy that fans have come to lust for - Matsuzaki's disarmingly sweet falsetto and surprising sense of melody; Dieterich and Cohen's uncannily sharp, genetically intertwined guitars; Saunier's wild, revolutionary approach to the drums - are all here in peak form, but now transported into some multi-layered Deerhoofian Pet Sounds wonderland in which no sound is considered too futuristic or too exotic.

These inimitable San Franciscan poster children for dreamers everywhere, through their constant touring and increasingly sublime recordings, have gathered a loyal worldwide following, as well as having earned the admiration of such established artists as Beck, Yo La Tengo, Stephen Malkmus and Sonic Youth, and being cited again and again as a source of inspiration for newer acts, including Devendra Banhart, Erase Errata, Har Mar Superstar, or the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Eternally hip, Deerhoof is that rare specimen whose main influence continues to be nothing more than its own enthralling imagination.

Deerhoof will promote Milk Man with upcoming tours of the US, UK, Europe, Scandinavia and Japan, an appearance at All Tomorrow's Parties in London, a "Milk Man" video by Friends Forever director Ben Wolfinsohn, and plenty of interviews. Also watch for the Japanese release of Milk Man on P-Vine Records and the European release on All Tomorrow's Parties Records, as well as an LP version on Free Porcupine Society. And later in 2004, stay tuned for the collaboration with Daniel Smith of Danielson Famile!

For downloadable photos, press quotes and reviews, tour dates, and other Deerhoof info, go to deerhoof.killrockstars.com/pressinfo.