Deerhoof – Noble and Godlike in Ruin Review 

Thirty years in, and some will never have heard of Deerhoof. An inevitability of longevity in the face of near-permanent collapse. Noble and Godlike in Ruin is a relief and miracle, the band says as much. A group always facing off against a final album, not because they plan for it but because the energy their work uses up, the thrill of their skilful playing, truly takes it out of them. Noble and Godlike in Ruin will serve some their first taste of Deerhoof. Their longevity is all part of the charm for this latest release, which sounds as though it’s built on all the strife and suffering which comes as part of any long-running group. Reopened wounds, ugly realisations, and all the beauty which comes through the creative process is on display. Deerhoof hopes it can find a sense of pride in those darker days through Noble and Godlike in Ruin, and they do, brilliantly so. 

A half-hour of very strong alternative, art-rock proves Deerhoof still has a standing in modern music. It is not as though the band disappeared. They have created, often despite themselves, great work. Noble and Godlike in Ruin is a continuation of that high standard. Almost every song is a short and punchy piece of art-rock at its best. Kingtone is a light touch with heavy lyrics, that contrast found on follow-up song Return of the Return of the Fire Trick Star too. Menacing string additions, a tremendously unnerving experience which tries to contrast this with some woodwind workings. That only adds to the dissonance Deerhoof has successfully created through Noble and Godlike in Ruin. It’s an album which constantly features magnificent, out-there instrumental choices. A Body of Mirrors does excellent for this worldbuilding sense, a story told in just over a half hour with a real menace. 

But within that mania is a sense of clarity. That much is crucial. Noble and Godlike in Ruin is an album of contrasts. To work well with the effective insanity is to produce a sense of grounded realism. The band are as much in the real world as us, even if their moments of out-there satisfaction may lie in a realm completely removed from the everyday. Deerhoof brings it around to punchy cultural commentaries with obvious jabs on Immigrant Songs, but subtler moments like the mania and devolution heard in the glitching, twitching, Ha, Ha, Ha, Ha, Haa. Disobedience, too, feels like a clear comment on the “training centres” and “cities” across the world where police presence is on the rise. Just take a look out your window or at your phone to see the horrors of those cities within cities, the heavier rock tone taken, the spoken word malice, it’s an excellent moment built on worrying times.  

All the best social commentaries offer that. Spoken word clarity with a fearful contradictions brought on by the instrumental scope. Deerhoof has offered a bold comment on the obvious during a time of uncertainty, not just in the world, but for the future of the group. Their clarity in a time of uncertainty is miraculous. Not just in the political moments but in those wide-eyed, wonderous moments where the band questions whether they can survive another album cycle. Let’s hope they do. Noble and Godlike in Ruin has the group offer some of their best works to date, not least their Immigrant Songs album closer. A powerful album which dares to be bold, often, and relies on that out-there feeling. Noble and Godlike in Ruin lives as its title would suggest. There is a heightened sense to Deerhoof as they walk through the ruins of a world where their discography is still relevant and rebellious.