Offend Maggie (CD - 2008)

Recording information: New Improved Recordings; Tiny Telephone.

San Francisco's favorite noise-pop sons (and daughter, vocalist Satomi Matsuzaki) are nothing if not prolific, with OFFEND MAGGIE representing their 10th full-length in 11 years. But this time around they sound a bit more menacing, thanks to the addition of guitarist Ed Rodriguez. "Buck And Judy" is the hallmark of this heaviness: it retains the ominous slither of slow-core but carries its verses with an almost Primus-like fuzz-stomp. The next track, "Snoopy Waves," returns almost immediately to precious sweetness, however. Such a rollercoaster ride would fly off the tracks in the hands of most other bands. But Deerhoof packs so many strange arrangements and instrumental interplays into every song that nothing is as sugary as it first goes down, nor is any song as intense as a simple dirge plunge would have your ears believe. minimize