Deerhoof

Deerhoof singer Satomi Matsuzaki's ultra-high voice sounds something like what would come out of Wayne Coyne's mouth if he weren't a man. She is by turns Nico-cold and Hello Kitty-naive, and her lyrics sound like bizarre, lost-in-translation haiku.

The experimental Bay Area band's repetitive song fragments appear held together with aural Scotch tape: Stream-of-consciousness playing consisting of simple but hooky musical notions, raw guitar splinters, stutter-step drumming, and staccato vocals make Deerhoof an interesting aural experience.

A critical darling, Deerhoof has continued on, even after founding member Rob Fisk left a few years back, just as the band began to be appreciated by a larger audience. It didn't seem to suffer too greatly on its last Kill Rock Stars release, Apple O', which brought the listener into a skewed, eerie dreamworld where lyrical brevity is beauty. The walking bass foundation of "The Forbidden Fruits" is accented by Matsuzaki's repetition of the absurdist line "Leopard fur no store!"