Move over Merriweather Post Pavilion and make way for the best record of 2009 (so far). I speak of Bitte Orca, the new nine track accomplishment from Dave Longstreth’s long running band, Dirty Projectors. After several years of making critically praised but widely unheard experimental rock, Longstreth and co. have succeeded in creating their magnum opus: a work of art that is not only aurally complex but also deeply enjoyable on a purely aesthetic level. Much like the Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds or the Beatles’ Rubber Soul, it’s an album that stretches the umbrella of pop music until its shadow is cast long and wide, in this case over world music, R&B, and even classical. Orca should be considered a major turning point for the band—the death of the Dirty Projectors as esoteric indie darlings and the genesis of Dirty Projectors as a major force in music today.

Longstreth’s six string guitar cracks the record open with a few jangly bars in “Cannibal Resource,” soon giving way to his abruptly paced playing style. His execution could accurately be described as unpredictable (or even “spastic”) however each frenzied-sounding chord is also utterly methodical in its precision, even when the off-kilter time signatures suggest otherwise. Longstreth is well complemented by Angel Deradoorian’s thudding bass, while (along with vocalist Amber Coffman) the three singers trade off round-robin vocal parts. Where Deradoorian and Coffman harmonize off of one another, Longstreth tends to squawk and yelp out his pieces: the earthly mortal to his bandmates’ angelic raptures. Though his singing is a bit unorthodox, Longstreth has a terrific vocal range and Coffman and Deradoorian are nothing short of pitch perfect.

(photo by Nina Mouritzen via MySpace)

Similarly, “Temecula Sunrise,” the upbeat exposé on suburban living, prominently features Longstreth’s chaotic timing over the ladies’ ebullient choruses. While as the principal songwriter Longstreth is oftentimes in this lead position, occasionally the ladies also take over the vocal reigns. Deradoorian leads solo on the lovelorn “Two Doves,” her alto caressed by a stunning arrangement of strings and fingerpickings. Coffman also steps up in lead single “Stillness is the Move,” piping in a birdlike warble reminiscent of early Mariah Carey (and I mean this as a compliment). Longstreth again steps up to usher us through the tumultuous guitar contortions of “Useful Chamber” and the African inspired roots of “Remade Horizon.” “Horizon” also features some brilliantly layered vocal scatting by Coffman that simply must be heard to be believed.

Culturally when comparing Dirty Projectors to other bands the name that comes up most often is Talking Heads, helped in no small part by David Byrne’s endorsement of the band as well as his collaboration with them in this year’s Dark Was the Night compilation. And though Byrne’s former band makes a nice jumping off point for deconstructing the group’s sound (they both share bold new experimental arrangements and a wide array of genre-bending influences), in the end they stand firmly on their own. While original sound is hard to come by in this age of “nothing new under the sun,” no other band out there right now sounds so fresh, and completely unlike anything else before them. Bitte Orca is surely a peak in the band’s career, and hopefully just one of many to come.

Official | MySpace | Wikipedia

Also: Dirty Projectors @ Walker Art Center