Dirty Projectors “Bitte Orca” Review
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.
Great review Jon. Not best CD of the year for me, but probably in top 10 at this point with room to move up if it keeps growing on me. They are def a talented band.
Nice review, Jon. I wish that I would’ve had an opportunity to listen to this record before their show at the Walker, since it does take a while for these songs to sink in fully-and that night these new tracks, while fantastic, seemed to go by in a flash before I even had a chance to process them fully.
This is certainly a brilliant work from a band that has continued to push boundaries sonically and continue to challenge contemporary sound structures and ideas about what constitutes a pop song. Dave is a true visionary, and this record reflects how far ahead of the pack he is creatively. I hope they come back to Minneapolis now that I’m more familiar with their new material.
Thanks guys – I certainly don’t expect this to be everyone’s favorite album, but as for me, it is the best thing I have heard this year.
Erik, I think that we were lucky to see them when we did – especially in such great acoustics! I wish that I had heard the album beforehand too though – but quite a few of these songs were included in their set if I remember right
Yeah Jon, they played quite a few new songs that evening, and they were all incredible-I just wish I would’ve been more familiar with them before the show, since their intricacies and nuances seemed to overwhelm me a bit due in part to my unfamiliarity with the new material. But yes, we were very lucky indeed to see them at such an intimate and acoustically sound venue as the Walker. That was a fantastic show.
I’m trying really, really hard to get the positive review and hype around Dirty Projectors. I just saw them open for TV on the Radio in Boston last week. While technically proficient, I found them to be unlistenable. I’ve listened to Bitte Orca several times. Again, technically proficient, but equally unlistenable. This just might be one of those bands that I’ll never “get.” Glad someone does.
9.2 + BNM from Pfork
not too surprising there i suppose.
i really enjoy the record, but the first 2 songs are so amazing that i just want to put those on repeat usually. the rest is good, but it’s not QUITE up there in my top 3-5 just yet, close though.
easily their most accomplished and best record to date tho, no question.
This review, like most of the others I have read, neglects to mention how innovative this record is rhythmically. Drummer Brian McComber somehow keeps this record from becoming a complete trainwreck.
i will check it out