Milk Man

Deerhoof | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 9, 2004)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Kill Rock Stars
• ASIN: B0001EFV6I
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #180,041 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Review

...On Milk Man, Deerhoof harness all they've learned from their previous experiments, and written what may be their first truly conventional songs. Here, they've focused their maniacal energy into seriously dense and carefully considered songwriting; even the cleaner and deeper production betrays Deerhoof's commitment to letting the songs speak for themselves, and to keeping individual parts as precise and undistracting as possible. Greg Saunier's drumming is the most restrained I've ever heard it, while Chris Cohen and John Dieterich-- who are of such one (brilliant) mind that in concert they can play in perfect tandem without ever looking at each other-- find themselves more concerned with static harmonies and more dominant of their precious miasmatic outbursts. Satomi Matsuzaki, meanwhile, has improved considerably as a singer, and is now capable of delivering remarkably complex vocal melodies. And with more developed vocal melodies comes Deerhoof's first crack at meaningful lyrics: Over the course of this record's 11 tracks, Satomi narrates a coherent (if somewhat disturbing) story about a milk man who kidnaps children and hides them in the clouds.

So is this Deerhoof's best? Is Milk Man, as SPIN remarked, ''a perfect album?'' It isn't, unfortunately, but the album plays host to what are easily some of Deerhoof's best songs, conventional or otherwise. Four-minute opener ''Milk Man'' -- longer than nearly every other song Deerhoof has recorded-- is as much a statement of the album's overall tenor as it is of the band's change of pace: Unaccompanied guitar lines interact confidently, building sparse but lush harmonies that together function as the song's recurring theme. The keyboard, which was noticeably absent from Apple O', returns here with remarkable subtlety, a respondent to Satomi's pristine melody. The internal interactions within the song-- as opposed to the external reactions of the band members-- are the focal point of ''Milk Man'', possibly Deerhoof's finest moment...

Milk Man is certainly not some point of no return for Deerhoof-- they certainly aren't locked into writing in this more conventional style, just as they weren't locked in after the similarly song-oriented Holdypaws. The band is too committed to growing as musicians and writing better songs not to revisit the rambunctious Reveille and Apple O' woodsheds for inspiration. Milk Man not only testifies to how potent those sessions proved, but also to how successfully the band can step back and craft those rabid ideas into impressive songs without devitalizing them. --Pitchfork

Product Description

Swamp orchestras. Filmic tempo. Trans-continental by train!

See all Editorial Reviews

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

37 of 48 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars !, March 28, 2004

By 

Buddy Bell "Bud" (Murfreesboro, Tn) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Milk Man (Audio CD)

I just played Milk Man in the ears while I rode a bike around my neighborhood. I can't remember the last time I'd done that. Today's Sunday; I'd bought the album just the last Friday. I was bored and stuck in my house with no idea of what to do with the time. With it still being sunny outside, I grabbed my red hooded zip-up and my seven-year old brother's zorro hat and jumped on the old one-speed bike i hadn't picked up in years. As I got on the bike, i pressed play. Listening to it made me want to make video to the title track with the video camera I haven't used nearly enough. Also while listening to it, I wanted to write a short manual on "how to get to know yourself better" or " how to gain some confidence", with the entire album being the 'soundtrack'. People that I wanted to talk to but hadn't in a long time seemed to now be very easy to talk to. Thinking of video footage to put to music wasn't as hard as it had been. The world was fun, and I was the king of it. I had chosed the roads with people out in their front yards to ride by so as to see the odd looks they'd give me. 'Giga Dance' was interrupted by an old friend's dad who was out in his front yard. He had talked about his musical ambitions (he being a 40 year-old guitarist who has a serious passion for AC/DC). We ended our conversation with him saying that I should come down and play music with him sometime. I had responded with 'I love to play music'. I went down the steep hill with the organ-ic main line of the song going. I rode through all of the neighborhood and still had the last half of the cd to get through. I got to my driveway and drove to the small field behind the shed. I passed the time by half riding, half kicking a soccer ball around in the field until my legs gave out and i fell in the patches of grass, with the moon being directly above me and 'Dream Wanderer's Tune' halfway thru. I thought about how perfect it would be to get with some friends that I haven't seen in a long time and make a film to the album.
In all, Milk Man had made me think, and I really wanted to put some action to what I had thought about.
I got home and called two people. They didn't answer, so I left messages.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Oddly fetching, March 11, 2005

By 

superinkygrrl "fixating daily so you don't ha... (Portland, OR) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Milk Man (Audio CD)

You know, I really liked this album. It's strange and jittery, and sort of feels like how I feel after I've drank a triple iced latte. It's not for everyone, and certainly not something I would recommend to people that like more mainstream music. But upon my 3rd listen, I started to feel the connection between the tracks and the overall theme of the album. And I actually think that if you're looking for something really out of the ordinary, you're sick of mainstream rock and you're ready to experiment with something way outside the perameters of "normal", this album is awesome!

A few months ago I saw Deerhoof perform at a music festival up here in Portland. They were so kooky. The drummer sat on a milk crate and beat on his drums like crazy. The female singer rocked out on the guitar and the band as a whole jelled successfully on stage.

I'm going to seek out more of Deerhoof's stuff. Aside from seeing them live, this is the only album by them I've heard. I'm excited to listen to Apple O now. I can see where long-time fans follow them faithfully. There's something so addictive about their sound!

Don't be afraid to try something new!

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Udderly Great, September 26, 2004

By 

altmalta "www.alternativemalta.com" (Malta) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Milk Man (Audio CD)

source: www.alternativemalta.com

San Francisco's Deerhoof have been around for ten years and in the meantime have released five albums. One website describes their music as cuddly and chaotic, a very apt description indeed.
Deerhoof really hit public consciousness with their fourth album `Apple O' (2003) and the infectious `Panda Panda Panda'.

Safe to say that Milk Man is a natural progression on that previous effort. `Milk Man' is more focused, with the loud bits in all the right places this time. In fact the album even has a theme - a mysterious hooded milkman who lures children. One has to admit that the idea of a theme has never really been part of Deerhoof's repetoire!
There are many treats hidden in this album - the bleepy `Dog on the Sidewalk'; the both creepy and beautiful `Giga Dance'; but undoubtedly the best track here is `Milking', with its big drums, cascades of guitar-shred noise and the nursery rhyming lyrics. Probably the best thing the band has done to date (yes it even surpasses `Panda Panda Panda')
So far so good - but I do have a feeling that album number six will be the one to break through and make them alternative household names. And if they don't? Who cares, you still have Milk Man!