Deerhoof

There's an episode of The Simpsons where Lisa's rival builds a diorama depicting "The Tell-Tale Heart." It's exacting in both scale and detail and puts Lisa's effort to shame. Deerhoof is that other kid. Building on the success of 2005's The Runners Four, the San Francisco noise-rock trio have crafted another record that'll leave your lower mandible dragging along the linoleum in awe. Satomi Matsuzaki's hyper-girlish delivery borders on cartoonish camp, rendering lyrics nearly incomprehensible, save for random snippets that are bafflingly esoteric. But that just amps the texture quotient of Friend Opportunity. For this band, lyrics are just a melodic punctuation for their brilliant, time signature-shifting compositions. Case in point: the series of gently picked trills on "The Galaxist." That's where you'll find the band at their best, circling amidst unpredictable guitar phrasing and rampaging drums. Unlike Lisa Simpson, there's no need to feel embittered. You can just sit back and admire Deerhoof's creativity.