When You Say It’s All Over

Deerhoof “Breakup Songs”

Deerhoof pull off a tricky balancing act on Breakup Song: They’ve significantly changed their sound while retaining their very distinct character. The glitchy electronic textures are jarring at first, but it quickly becomes apparent that that their rhythms and melodies have only been changed on a superficial level, and there is a clear aesthetic through line from any point in their creative evolution to where they are right now. “Breakup Songs” is particularly strong – jumpy, jittery and absurdly generous in its variety of tones, but oddly mellow at its core. I can see why this is a “breakup song” – it sounds like being shaken up by a sudden change in status quo, but also understanding on some level why it had to happen.

Buy it from Amazon.