Miracle-Level
A white outline of a person standing next to some foliage on a black background with Japanese text written below
Studio album by
Deerhoof
ReleasedMarch 31, 2023 (2023-03-31)
RecordedJune 25 to July 3, 2022
StudioNo Fun Club, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
GenreExperimental rock, indie rock
Length35:51
LanguageJapanese
LabelJoyful Noise Recordings
Deerhoof chronology
Actually, You Can
(2021)		 Miracle-Level
(2023)

Miracle-Level is the eighteenth studio album by American experimental rock band Deerhoof. The album has received positive reviews from critics[1][2] and is their first in 19 studio releases to be recorded in a studio with outside technical guidance as well as their first with lyrics exclusively sung in Japanese.[3]

Reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.6/10[1]
Metacritic83/100[2]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[4]
The Irish Times[5]
Loud and Quiet7/10[6]
Pitchfork Media7.9/10[7]
PopMatters8/10[8]
The Skinny[9]
The Spill Magazine7/10[10]
Under the Radar8/10[11]

Editors at AnyDecentMusic? rated this album a 7.6 out of 10, based on seven reviews.[1] Loom received positive reviews from critics noted at review aggregator Metacritic. It has a weighted average score of 83 out of 100, based on eight reviews.[2]

Editors at AllMusic rated this album 4 out of 5 stars, with critic Heather Phares writing that "nineteen albums into their career, Deerhoof still find new ways to express themselves" and that this album "is about seizing the opportunity to come together to create music and change—a message that, like their other 2020s work, is just as eternal as it is timely".[4] Writing for the Associated Press, Jim Pollock compares this release to "a visit to an unfamiliar city", as "it feels anarchic and unstructured until the listener has some time to acclimate to its rules and norms".[3] Siobhán Kane calls this release "delicate, trippy, grungy and wildly unpredictable" and rated it 4 out of 5 stars in The Irish Times.[5] In Loud and Quiet, Jake Crossland scored this release a 7 out of 10 for "big-picture innovation, which just about filters down into the songs’ smaller details".[6]

Writing for Pitchfork Media, Marc Hogan gave Miracle-Level a 7.9 out of 10, writing that it "celebrates the heady euphoria that can result when skill and craft meet with serendipity and happy accidents, like a long-running indie band teaming up with the former owner of Lil Bub and hustling out a full album in two weeks’ studio time".[7] Jay Honeycomb of PopMatters rated it a 8 out of 10 for being "as vitalizing as it is soft-hearted".[8] The Skinny's Joe Creely considers this release "an album where brevity belies what an enlivening and broad world it contains" and gave it 4 out of 5 stars.[9] In The Spill Magazine, Joseph Mastel rated it a 7 out of 10, writing that the lyrics are weak and cautioning that "mainstream music listeners and audiences will likely not enjoy Miracle-Level that much", but he finds that "it is good to try new things" as the band does on this album.[10] In Under the Radar, Kyle Kersey rates Miracle-Level an 8 out of 10, summing up his review that it is "a celebration of the human spirit, one that offers optimism and wonder in the face of pessimism and hopelessness. It’s a little miracle in and of itself".[11]

Editors at AllMusic included this on their list of favorite alternative and indie albums of 2023.[12]

Track listing

All songs written by Deerhoof

  1. "Sit Down, Let Me Tell You a Story." – 2:06
  2. "My Lovely Cat!" – 4:25
  3. "The Poignant Melody" – 2:27
  4. "Everybody, Marvel" – 4:09
  5. "Jet‐Black Double‐Shield" – 1:54
  6. "Miracle‐Level" – 3:14
  7. "And the Moon Laughs" – 2:41
  8. "The Little Maker" – 3:14
  9. "Phase‐Out All Remaining Non‐Miracles by 2028" – 3:23
  10. "Momentary Art of Soul!" – 5:07
  11. "Wedding, March, Flower" – 3:11

The vinyl edition includes a second disc with the track "Demonhooftration".

Personnel

Deerhoof

  • John Dieterich – guitar, bass guitar on "Wedding, March, Flower"
  • Satomi Matsuzaki – bass guitar, vocals, drums on "Wedding, March, Flower", lettering, liner notes
  • Ed Rodriguez – guitar, drums on "Miracle-Level"
  • Greg Saunier – drums, piano, organ, vocals

Additional personnel

  • Mike Bridavsky – recording, mixing, mastering at Russian Recording, Bloomington, Indiana, United States
  • First Regiment of the Zumiko Sakumura Brass Band – horns on "Phase-Out All Remaining Non-Miracles by 2028"
  • J Riley Hill – assistant engineering
  • Ryan Hover – graphic design, layout
  • Kunie Sugiura – cover artwork

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Miracle-Level by Deerhoof reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. n.d. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 "Miracle-Level by Deerhoof Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. n.d. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
  3. 1 2 Pollock, Jim (March 31, 2023). "Review: On 'Miracle-Level,' Deerhoof leaves its comfort zone". Music Reviews. Associated Press. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
  4. 1 2 Phares, Heather (n.d.). "Deerhoof – Miracle-Level". AllMusic. RhythmOne. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
  5. 1 2 Kane, Siobhán (March 24, 2023). "Deerhoof: Miracle-Level – After 30 years, a debut studio album. It's delicate, trippy, grungy and wildly unpredicatable". Music Review. The Irish Times. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
  6. 1 2 Crossland, Jake (March 27, 2023). "Deerhoof – Miracle-Level – Album Review". Reviews. Loud and Quiet. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
  7. 1 2 Hogan, Marc (April 3, 2023). "Deerhoof: Miracle-Level". Albums. Pitchfork Media. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
  8. 1 2 Honeycomb, Jay (April 5, 2023). "Deerhoof: Miracle-Level (Album Review)". PopMatters. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
  9. 1 2 Creely, Joe (March 27, 2023). "Deerhoof – Miracle-Level". Arts & Entertainment / Music / Reviews. The Skinny. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
  10. 1 2 Mastel, Joshua (March 31, 2023). "Deerhoof – Miracle-Level". Album Reviews. The Spill Magazine. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
  11. 1 2 Kersey, Kyle (March 31, 2023). "Deerhoof: Miracle Level (Joyful Noise) – review". Music. Under the Radar. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
  12. ↑ "Favorite Alternative & Indie Albums". AllMusic. RhythmOne. n.d. Retrieved December 14, 2023.
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