[review 2008: favourites]

Friend Opportunity, Deerhoof’s biggest breakthrough to date, was a thoroughly idiosyncratic album whose euphoric highs—the galloping thunderstorm of “The Perfect Me,” the adorable chorus of “+81″—outweighed but did not entirely eclipse its too-strange missteps, chief among them the frustrating and distractedly dissonant final track “Look Away.” But where Friend Opportunity offered occasional moments of pure joy, Offend Maggie offers moments of heartstopping beauty. Where Friend Opportunity felt like a great collection of songs, Offend Maggie sounds like a single cohesive statement. And where Friend Opportunity was merely very good, Offend Maggie is utterly fantastic.

“The Tears and Music of Love” has that characteristic Deerhoof bounce, but it’s not as galactically insane as the Deerhoof of old. In fact, it’s perhaps the closest Deerhoof come to sounding normal—a raucous rock band fronted by a helium-voiced Japanese woman, versus a fractured pop band where Satomi Matsuzaki’s vocals are merely one part of a strange brew. “Chandelier Searchlight” isn’t particularly weird, either; it’s the new, more restrained Deerhoof doing a jaunty countrified number. Slowly, over the course of the album, you realize the moments of obvious lunacy are far fewer; only “Basket Ball Get Your Groove Back” offers the ridiculousness of old. On Offend Maggie it actually sounds somewhat ill-advised, partially because the album works much better when it’s on a more even keel.

The title track is a good example of the rewards Deerhoof reaps with its slightly revised approach. It’s not a particularly strange number, but the calm, pastoral folk-pop number retains the same infectious qualities Deerhoof has always had, and marries them to a more subdued sound that focuses more on charming you with beautiful melodies than wowing you with novelty. Which isn’t to say the novelty doesn’t still show up; it’s just that Deerhoof have figured out when it works best and when they’ve gone too far with their sonic experiments.

After clearing the hurdle of throwaway track “This Is God Speaking,” you get to the final two tracks of the album, and it’s here that Offend Maggie went from very good to great. Unlike the guitar wankery of “Look Away,” “Numina O” and “Jagged Fruit” actually go somewhere, building to epic climaxes and offer some of the most heartrending moments on the album. It’s a surprisingly weighty and affecting finish to an album that began with relatively light and cheery numbers like “Chandelier Searchlight” and “Snoopy Waves,” a progression that makes you think Offend Maggie seems nice enough, just before it worms its way deep into your heart.