Deerhoof Cover Everybody On Their New Medley Album 'Love​-​Lore'

It looks like we're now living in the age of the shadow drop, with Fleet Foxes unveiling their fourth studio album last week with zero hints prior to release and today's surprise new long-player from San Francisco avant-rockers Deerhoof, who just launched their superb Future Teenage Cave Artists album back in May. Recorded live in NYC's Rivington Rehearsal Studios, Deefhoof's Love​-​Lore is as densely packed as a Carl Stalling cartoon soundtrack, sporting medley-like covers of a mind-boggling variety of significant 20th century musical figures, including (to name just a few) Ornette Coleman, Raymond Scott, the B52s, Sun Ra, Laurie Anderson, Parliament, Kraftwerk, Silver Apples, Voivod, Ennio Morricone and many more — 43 artists / acts all up by my count. Handily divided into five tracks, Love-Lore is accompanied by an explanatory essay titled The Gains of Love-Lore’s Lost Futures by Benjamin Piekut, discussing the origins the Deerhoof's kaleidoscopic project, how the compositions were learned by ear from records before being reworked in rehearsal, and drawing parallels with Sonic Youth's similarly intentioned Goodbye 20th Century.

The icing on the already delicious cake is Deerhoof have made Love​-​Lore available for free via Bandcamp (with a limited edition poster available for fans to purchase), stating: "Please note: this is a free download. If you choose to give more, it is a donation to Deerhoof... so they can continue making music. But please feel no obligation to give."