Deerhoof debuts their new guitarist John Dieterich and achieves widespread critical acclaim for the first time. 2002’s Reveille is a defiant expression of artistic rebirth, spilling over with madcap exuberance, apocalyptic imagery, newfound technical confidence belying their no-budget DIY recording methods, and jarring stylistic about-faces in which no two songs sound alike. The contrast of Satomi’s ever-catchy, ever-charming melodiousness with John and Greg’s noisy, cinematic bombast still has the power to thrill and tickle and upset, more than 20 years after its initial release.

Includes reimagined cover art with the faint morning glow the band had always envisioned, pressed on clear sun-colored vinyl. Complete lyrics included for the first time, written by Satomi on the center labels.

This record was our resurrection from oblivion. We didn’t realize it at the time of course. We were only making it for giggles. In 1999 Satomi and I thought we were surely finished as a band. Our founder and guitarist Rob Fisk had quit. I went back to school in defeat. It’s incredible to me that Satomi and I then asked the first guitar player I met at school to join and that man turned out to be John Dieterich. He’d just moved to Oakland and didn’t mind playing for the 20 people we always played to at the Stork Club.

Over two years we recorded and rejected endless songs, casting around randomly in all different styles that we never played when Rob was in the band. Things started making sense when we hit on Judgement Day as our central image. But instead of a Western god allowing capitalist Christians like George Bush through the gates, a Deergod damned them in favor of populating heaven with animals. It was very Rob Fisk. Deerhoof charged back to life.

And Reveille turned into an actual new dawn for us. It was well received and we started touring more and now we still are doing so and it’s fun.

--Greg Saunier, 2024