30 years and 10 albums in, Sacramento alternative-metal legends Deftones have returned with “Private Music,” their best record in over a decade.
Since the release of their last record “Ohms” in 2020, Deftones have gained a large renewed following due in large part to social media sites like TikTok. This renewed interest is what I contend gives their new album, “Private Music,” a much-needed punch and refreshing quality to it.
On this album Deftones worked with producer Nick Raskulinecz, who they last collaborated with on 2012’s “Koi No Yokan.” Due to Raskulinecz’s involvement, this album sonically sounds like a sequel to “Koi No Yokan.” One callback to that album comes on the track “Locked Club,” where Stephen Carpenter’s pummeling guitar riff sounds like a new version of “Swerve City” off “Koi No Yokan”. Also like that album, the production on “Private Music” is a combination of crunchy and clean; Carpenter’s heavy guitar riffs wail over keyboardist Frank Delgado’s ethereal atmospheres.
Deftones’ signature sound boils down to Carpenter’s groovy, pummeling riffs melded with a dreamy atmosphere which is all laid beneath vocalist Chino Moreno’s unique singing. On this album you essentially get that, and while “Private Music” has a few added elements to it compared to their other records, the core strength of this album is just how well-written these songs are.
There’s nothing ambitious about this record like “White Pony” or “Saturday Night Wrist,” instead you get 11 great songs and nothing more. In a way this album is like comfort food, a warm and rich dish which you’ve missed for years. You love it for its familiarity, yet it’s cooked with such love and dedication that it reminds you of why you love it in the first place.
A major strength of this record which feeds into that is how relatively short the tracks are. This allows each track to feel fresh without losing its essence by going on for too long.
The fourth track “Infinite Source” is without doubt the standout track. That chorus is easily among the best Chino has ever written with the guitar’s repeating riff adding an extra layer of comfort to the atmosphere. Deftones are geniuses when it comes to writing choruses, and to say that this is one of their best is extremely high praise. I remember in senior year of high school a friend of mine was humming the chorus to their song “Cherry Waves” for like half the class and it managed to get stuck in my head, without me having heard the song before. Like their best choruses, “Infinite Source” takes you back to your most beloved memories, it feels like those nights you just wish would never end. It makes you feel like you’re floating above a city, like you’re taking a warm bath, all those little neon lights shimmering and flickering far beneath you like fireflies.
“I Think About You All The Time” has a mature quality that makes the song feel like it was written decades in the making. Chino’s lyrics are warm and comforting, like a soft embrace of his lover or close-friend. The acoustic guitar that is layered in the build-up just adds another layer of comfort to the song, complimenting the song like a warm hug in a snow storm.
“Milk of the Madonna” features biblical-like lyrics of epic proportions such as, “Flood these streets, came falling to the earth,” and “A thunder hangs above me like an eye.” There’s been some speculation that this song could be about Bai Suzhen, a figure in the Chinese “Legend of the White Snake,” who’s referred to as “Madam White Snake” by her worshippers. This would make sense considering the album cover is literally a white snake, and Chino’s mother is of Chinese descent.
“~Metal Dream” has a phenomenal chorus which builds and crescendos around the end in a spectacular whirlwind of reverb-drenched beauty. Though I love the chorus of this song, the way Chino delivers the verse like he’s rapping irritates me a little. It’s not like he hasn’t rapped over a song before, but in this case it feels disjointed and awkward.
“Souvenir” and “Departing the Body” are the most ambitious songs on here, both being the longest tracks in length. “Souvenir” features an extended minute-long ambient outro that’s the definition of soothing. It feels like sinking into your bed as the bass hums and submerges you in its thick, soft atmosphere. “Departing the Body” ends the album in spectacular fashion. The lyrics are abstract yet appear to be Chino reflecting on his mortality and stage in life, particularly as he has now reached his 50’s. The song reaches a climax before it abruptly stops at the roll of some toms. The track slowly fades out with the sound of buzzing equipment accompanied by a foreboding drone.
“Private Music” is truly a mature record, an album that feels like the band are pulling from their roots and reframing those moments through an older and wiser lens. While it doesn’t reach the heights of “White Pony” or “Koi No Yokan,” it unmistakably contains some of their best songwriting in years and its mature tone exemplifies why Deftones have outlasted all their peers from decades ago.
