Deerhoof’s Greg Saunier Announces Debut Solo Album, Shares Video for New Song: Watch

Greg Saunier, photo by Sophie Daws

Deerhoof drummer Greg Saunier has announced his debut solo album: We Sang, Therefore We Were arrives on April 26 via Joyful Noise. Saunier has shared the new LP’s lead single, “Grow Like a Plant,” on which he handles vocals, guitar, and bass over the exact type of maniacal drum work on which he’s built his name. The song comes with a music video featuring dancer Sophie Daws moving along to the beat in a wig; watch it below.

In a press release, Saunier explained that “Grow Like a Plant” is indebted to Captain Beefheart’s “Neon Meate Dream of a Octafish,” from Trout Mask Replica, and was written in the octatonic scale that Igor Stravinsky made famous with The Rite of Spring. As for the song’s lyrics, those delve into the intersection of overinflated arrogance, self-annihilation, and modern day fascism.

Unsurprisingly, but no less impressive, Saunier plays every instrument himself on We Sang, Therefore We Were. The album came about when, during some downtime between shows in early December, his Deerhoof bandmates encouraged him to make a record of his own. “With no one to please but myself, it came together way faster than usual. It was basically done by the holidays,” said Saunier. “I had been excited by the announcement that the new Rolling Stones record was going to sound ‘angry.’ I thought, ‘Yes, I’m angry too.’ But Hackney Diamonds turned out more like cotton candy than punk rock. So I went back to Nirvana.”

Last year, Deerhoof released Miracle-Level, the 19th studio album of their career and the first sung entirely in Satomi Matsuzaki’s native language of Japanese.

We Sang, Therefore We Were:

01 There Were Rebels
02 Front-load the Fun
03 Yeah You, Person
04 Don’t Design Yourself This Way
05 Furrowed Sugarloaf
06 Rip the Atmosphere From the Wind
07 Grow Like a Plant
08 No One Displayed the Vigor Necessary to Avert Disaster’s Approach
09 Blame Yourself
10 Instead of Queen
11 Not for Mating, Not for Pleasure, Not for Territory
12 Playing Tunes of Victory on the Instruments of Our Defeat

Originally Appeared on Pitchfork