Dirty Projectors: Bitte Orca
Dirty Projectors: Bitte Orca
Also In The News
|
A vintage display from West Indies captain Chris Gayle guided his side to a seven-wicket victory over Australia in their opening match of the World Twenty20 writes inthenews. |  |
Sunday, 07, Jun 2009 04:22
Domino, June 8th.
In a nutshell...
Experimental, buoyant, quixotic, optimistic and bizarre.
What's it all about?
The most approachable of Dirty Projector's albums to date, Bitte Orca is composed of nine pieces featuring a number of overarching themes. The focal point - as always - is the voice of Dave Longstreth and his acrobatic guitar work. His song-writing remains the driving force of the band.
But this time his singular vision is augmented with perhaps the fullest band arrangements generated by group to date. He is joined by full-time members Angel Deradoorian, Amber Coffman and Brian Mcomber - as well as supporting Nat Baldwin on bass and vocalist Haley Dekel.
These members focus and expand the Dirty Projectors sound, adding a summery, jaunty feel to the album. Vocalists Coffman and Deradoorian provide the perfect foil to Longstreth mirroring his guitar dexterity with soaring, swooping melodic embellishments to create a piece of intricate depth.
Who's it by?
Dirty Projectors is essentially the recording name for Longstreth and the revolving cast of musicians who accompany him. Equally loved at loathed by the musical glitterati, Longstreth has had a chequered career to date - moving perilously close to self-parody in a very short period.
His album Rise Above - which saw the ground reinterpreting and embellishing Black Flag's minimal punk Damaged from memory - was derided by many as a self-indulgent publicity stunt. Equally it won over a number of curious fans who had previously had their attention piqued by The Glad Fact and (whisper it) concept album The Getty Address.
This - the first release for Domino - sees Dirty Projects step into the (modest) limelight of a 'major' label and take their work to a bigger audience.
As an example,,,
"Your hair is like an eagle/Your two eyes are like two doves/But our bed is like a failure/All day up in the family/At the waning of the light/To the chamber that conceived me." - Two Doves
Likelihood of a trip to the Grammys
Nil. While Dirty Projectors are adored by their faithful, they are a divisive and polarising act. While some admire their shape-shifting experimentation and singular vision, others see them as pompous and self-indulgent.
The truth likely lies somewhere in between but, short of being used on advert for the next twee-indie Hollywood blockbuster, their chances of mainstream success are minimal.
What the others say
"A testament to the leaps and bounds Longstreth has made as a songsmith and Dirty Projectors have made as a band." - Paul Thompson, PitchforkMedia
"A craftsman relies on the quality of his tools and, in the singular vocal abilities of Amber Coffman and Angel Deradoorian, Longstreth has found musicians-in-kind, keen to rewrite the rulebooks." - Hazel Sheffield, ClashMusic
So is it any good?
Yes. By reining in some of their more extravagant tendencies Dirty Projectors have created an immediately accessible album - rewarding long-term listeners and welcoming new ones with open arms. Longstreth remains a cultured musician, and his sense of melody remains central to the group's success, but here he is joined by a jubilant supporting ensemble - capable of subtlety embellishing his already intricate songwriting.
For example, with vocalists Amber Coffman - taking the lead vocal Stillness is The Move - and Angel Deradoorian - who sings Two Doves - Longstreth has found two sophisticated counterpoints to his musical compositions. The female voice becomes the oxygen for the group's fire, instilling the early tracks of Bitte Orca with a wide-eyed wonder. Genres are left behind as the joyous cacophony sweeps past.
The closest comparison would perhaps be Sunset Rubdown who are equally capable of creating unselfconscious rock - combining swirling, disparate elements into a purer form of indie rock. It is as though the group are gathering speed and coming ever closer to coming off the rails all the time but miraculously staying the course.
This is a merry, woozy listen - displaying individual talents being applied in their optimum setting - but without ever losing its sense of fun. Let's just hope Dirty Projectors don't take a step backward with their next album.
7/10
Chris O'Toole