Deerhoof Ready New Album 'Miracle-Level,' Plot North American Tour

Not only is it their first LP made in a proper studio, it's also their first sung entirely in Japanese

BY Calum SlingerlandPublished Jan 18, 2023

Deerhoof have detailed a new album. The long-running DIY outfit will deliver Miracle-Level on March 31 via Joyful Noise Recordings.

Following 2021's Actually, You Can, Miracle-Level is an album of firsts for Deerhoof: their first album made entirely in a proper recording studio, and also their first sung entirely in bassist-vocalist Satomi Matsuzaki's native Japanese language.

Miracle-Level was produced by Mike Bridavsky — who you may also know as the "dude" of late furry friend of the internet, Lil Bub — over two weeks last July at Winnipeg's No Fun Club. In press materials, Bridavsky shares he was a stranger to the band until Joyful Noise founder Karl Hofstetter suggested they work together.

"I began listening through their albums and realized: I have no fucking idea how to make a Deerhoof record. Did anyone? They'd assembled a catalog of thoughtful, wild, and unique records, each different from the one before," the producer explained.

After a phone call with the group's Greg Saunier, Bridavsky found, "Their biggest concern was dispensing with the months of obsessive tinkering that usually make their albums sound so beautiful and insane. [Greg] told me, 'We don't want to do our usual aggro control-freak thing. We're going for bare-minimum production that doesn't push the listener around.'"
 
Following the previously shared "My Lovely Cat" — written before Deerhoof discovered Lil Bub, Bridavsky or their connection — Deerhoof have shared album opener "Sit Down, Let Me Tell You a Story." You can hear it below alongside a video from director Noriko Oishi, shot in Tokyo's Ebisu Garden Hall.

Deerhoof have also shared North American tour plans behind the album, beginning a run of 13 spring dates on the continent in Canada.

Ahead of some July engagements, the band will kick things off with a performance at Toronto's Wavelength Winter Festival 2023, ahead of playing La Sala Rossa in Montreal the following night (April 1). Find their complete itinerary below.

Pre-order Miracle-Level.

Miracle-Level:

1. Sit Down, Let Me Tell You a Story
2. My Lovely Cat!
3. The Poignant Melody
4. Everybody, Marvel
5. Jet-Black Double-Shield
6. Miracle-Level
7. And the Moon Laughs
8. The Little Maker
9. Phase-Out All Remaining Non-Miracles by 2028
10. Momentary Art of Soul!
11. Wedding, March, Flower


Deerhoof 2023 Tour Dates:

03/31 Toronto, ON - Wavelength Winter Festival
04/01 Montreal, QC - La Sala Rossa
04/02 Greenfield, MA - Hawks and Reed Performing Arts Center
04/04 Brooklyn, NY - Elsewhere The Hall
04/05 Philadelphia, PA - Underground Arts
04/06 Providence, RI - Columbus Theatre
05/04 Seattle, WA - Neumos
05/05 Portland, OR - Aladdin Theater
05/07 Sacramento, CA - Harlow's
05/08 San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall
05/10 Los Angeles, CA - Lodge Room
05/12 Salt Lake City, UT - Kilby Court Block Party @ Utah State Fairpark
05/13 Boise, ID - Treefort Music Hall
07/07 Des Moines, IA - 80-35 Fest
07/08 St. Paul, MN - Turf Club
07/11 Louisville, KY - Zanzabar
07/12 Grand Rapids, MI - Pyramid Scheme
07/14 Chicago, IL - Lincoln Hall
 

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