Bands less accomplished than Deerhoof would grate nerves if they played the kind of dissonant garage rock that's become the trademark sound of this San Francisco band. But there's a musical narrative to almost every Deerhoof song, and that's what keeps their angular fuzz from imploding.
On "Snoopy Waves," every instrument is a character that helps reveal the song's unfolding plot. Single guitar notes jump along as the erratic and unpredictable protagonist. A warbly horn is the comic relief. Blasts of electric guitar are the strongmen that provide a final resolution.
The words Satomi Matsuzaki sings are sometimes Japanese, sometimes English and rarely comprehensible. And that's the point. Her vocals bring restraint and abstraction to music that's otherwise spontaneous and fiercely tangible.
Offend Maggie plays out like a sonic story, full of chapters that experiment in all the right ways.