La Isla Bonita (Deerhoof album)

Background

The album's recording started when Deerhoof tried to write a track similar to their live cover of Ramones’ "Pinhead", which resulted in the track "Exit Only". Demo tracks were recorded for a week at guitarist Ed Rodriguez’s home in Oregon and sent to Nick Sylvester, who eventually produced the album. The album draws upon a wide array of influences, including Radiohead, The Flaming Lips, Lou Reed, Sonic Youth, Beck, the Roots, Ric Ocasek, David Byrne and Madonna, with the album's title being a reference to Madonna's "La Isla Bonita".

On the same press release, drummer Greg Saunier stated:

No band is an island. Felt like one sometimes, in those budgetless and obscure early days, Satomi [Matsuzaki] and me locked in the basement trying to figure out how our clashing personalities and ideas could turn into a band. If we hadn’t had that crazed mid-’90s Bay Area punk scene to call home, I doubt we’d still be here to chat about a 20th anniversary. We don’t set out to create masterpieces. The Deerhoof fan is a thrill-seeker. This is the latest volley in an ongoing conversation we’ve been honored to hold for 20 years.

Critical reception

La Isla Bonita received positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from critics, the album received an average score of 77, which indicates "generally positive reviews", based on 27 reviews. AllMusic critic Heather Phares regarded the record as "another fine example of how the band changes course on almost every album" and wrote: "they've been able to put different but cohesive spins on their sound so well, and for so long, is truly remarkable."

Track listing

1. "Paradise Girls" — 3:35
2. "Mirror Monster" — 2:39
3. "Doom" — 3:20
4. "Last Fad" — 3:03
5. "Tiny Bubbles" — 3:28
6. "Exit Only" — 2:45
7. "Big House Waltz" — 3:27
8. "God 2" — 1:43
9. "Black Pitch" — 3:24
10. "Oh Bummer" — 4:25

Personnel