Maybe it's because there's only 9 tracks instead of 13 or 14, maybe it's the increased collaboration with Angel Deradoorian (like on the beautiful "Two Doves") and Amber Coffman (who contributes vocals on the stellar single "Stillness Is The Move"), or maybe it's just a natural progression for Dave Longstreth's new-folk project, but Bitte Orca seems like a much more focused album and may be the best they've recorded yet. The sound is more polished and the musical themes are much more fleshed out, while the songs are jam-packed with the same energy present in the best tracks of their discography. They're catchier and more accessible than ever, and while that may seem like a bad thing to some, accessibility is exactly what Dirty Projectors needed. This is not to say that they sold out or even came close, they've just finally refined their sound to its pinnacle: the bizarre song structures, rhythms, and guitar-work are just as weird as ever and the songs still have the distinct Dirty Projectors sound. This is exemplefied in the raucous opener "Cannibal Resource" as well as the more subtle tracks "No Intention" and "Remade Horizon." Though it actually isn't released until June 9th, this album is already on my list of the best of 2009.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Bitte Orca
Another hit-or-miss group, Dirty Projectors, also have a new album right around the corner: Bitte Orca. "Warholian Wigs" and "I Will Truck" from The Getty Address as well as "What I See" and "Gimme Gimme Gimme" from Rise Above are examples of experimentation that work beautifully, whereas some other tracks are just too out there to sound pleasing. Bitte Orca, however, is all hit and no miss.Maybe it's because there's only 9 tracks instead of 13 or 14, maybe it's the increased collaboration with Angel Deradoorian (like on the beautiful "Two Doves") and Amber Coffman (who contributes vocals on the stellar single "Stillness Is The Move"), or maybe it's just a natural progression for Dave Longstreth's new-folk project, but Bitte Orca seems like a much more focused album and may be the best they've recorded yet. The sound is more polished and the musical themes are much more fleshed out, while the songs are jam-packed with the same energy present in the best tracks of their discography. They're catchier and more accessible than ever, and while that may seem like a bad thing to some, accessibility is exactly what Dirty Projectors needed. This is not to say that they sold out or even came close, they've just finally refined their sound to its pinnacle: the bizarre song structures, rhythms, and guitar-work are just as weird as ever and the songs still have the distinct Dirty Projectors sound. This is exemplefied in the raucous opener "Cannibal Resource" as well as the more subtle tracks "No Intention" and "Remade Horizon." Though it actually isn't released until June 9th, this album is already on my list of the best of 2009.
Maybe it's because there's only 9 tracks instead of 13 or 14, maybe it's the increased collaboration with Angel Deradoorian (like on the beautiful "Two Doves") and Amber Coffman (who contributes vocals on the stellar single "Stillness Is The Move"), or maybe it's just a natural progression for Dave Longstreth's new-folk project, but Bitte Orca seems like a much more focused album and may be the best they've recorded yet. The sound is more polished and the musical themes are much more fleshed out, while the songs are jam-packed with the same energy present in the best tracks of their discography. They're catchier and more accessible than ever, and while that may seem like a bad thing to some, accessibility is exactly what Dirty Projectors needed. This is not to say that they sold out or even came close, they've just finally refined their sound to its pinnacle: the bizarre song structures, rhythms, and guitar-work are just as weird as ever and the songs still have the distinct Dirty Projectors sound. This is exemplefied in the raucous opener "Cannibal Resource" as well as the more subtle tracks "No Intention" and "Remade Horizon." Though it actually isn't released until June 9th, this album is already on my list of the best of 2009.
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3 comments:
Nice review. That's Amber Coffman singing on Stillness Is The Move though, not Angel Deradoorian (she sings lead on Two Doves).
thanks for the tip, it's been updated
yay !
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