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Text by John Norris @jonnynono

"We Do Parties" proclaim the perpetually thrilling Deerhoof on their twelfth and latest album Breakup Song. But parties aren't all they do. Deerhoof also do hospitality, as we discovered when the band's Satomi Matsuzaki welcomed Noisevox into her Brooklyn home a couple of weeks ago for a chat with the foursome over cups of barley tea and rice crackers. And also, they do stories. They do stories really, really well.

In fact, you get all four together, and a conversation with Deerhoof mirrors one of their records: freewheeling, full of unexpected turns, and a whole lot of fun. I expected to talk about the relentlessly upbeat new album, and we did, including the idea behind it ("a happy record intended for hard times", says Greg Saunier). But it's the stories that make this week's Face Time: the story of how a garbage truck-as-movable-party-machine came to appear on the new record cover, the story of cranberry pasta and a Sicilian crowd that turned hostile, and the story of how Matsuzaki wandering New York with balloons became an album-length music video. And in a moment of perfect Dada incongrousness, hear how Saunier uses our barley tea as an illustration of the spirit of the new record.

It really shouldn't surprise that there's a lot of symbiosis here, as these guys have a lot of history together: Saunier and Matsuzaki more than fifteen years, John Dieterich nearly thirteen, and Ed Rodriguez is going on five. And yet, a dozen albums in, they tell us that each time out they meet people who've just discovered the band, declare "I can't believe I didn't know about you" and are smitten. It's hard not to be. I was a longtime fan and it was an absolute pleasure to be able to get this talk. Treat yourself to the wonderous new Breakup Song, and before that enjoy this week's Face Time, with Deerhoof. Ideally, over some barley tea.