The Runners Four
Deerhoof play with a primal abandon and molten group chemistry that remains untamed since the band's early days. Still, at nearly twice the length of their previous albums, "The Runners Four" is more complex and challenging than anything they've recorded. This is more than rock; it's a wholesale rewrite of the rock and roll dictionary. Deerhoof herald the era of the defiant DIY album. The Runners Four: a quartet of racers, chasers, messengers, even smugglers, gleefully smashing through outmoded boundaries, bearing gifts of sonic contraband. This is Deerhoof's magnificent autobiography.
Pitchfork: You opened for Wilco recently. How was that? Greg Saunier: When I was in the audience, watching their show ...
After seven albums' worth of gleeful pandemonium, Deerhoof calm things down a bit with The Runners Four, a collection of songs that are even more restrained than Milk Man and the Green Cosmos EP.
You might have trouble accepting this idea if you're a long-time fan: Deerhoof is a pop band.