Dirty Projectors - Bitte Orca
Super original, highly intelligent indie art rock from Brooklyn -slightly to assuredly impossible to classify their brainy blend of crackly guitar licks, stylized vocal harmonies, mad-dash tempo influx and lyrical delivery - Bitte Orca is truly a masterpiece for the genius in all of us.
Part falsetto, part high flying trapeze guitar artist, lead singer Dave Longstreth brings to the masses the return of the semi-glamorous 90's R & B background singer fly girls and instrumentation so mind-boggling Einstein would be proud. It all meshes into an incredible album with enough pop hooks and danceable moments to make you pack your bags for Williamsburg.
Often times slightly bizarre, but always working, Bitte Orca is definitely a grower. It takes 5 listens to even figure out what's happening and to get a feel for the multiple layers on offer. The album does in fact have a softer side. Female vocalists Amber Coffman and Angel Deradoorian, sound, well, like 2 angles at times. The subtle Two Doves is pure orchestral pop elegance:
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
Useful Chamber is not only the best song on the album, it's got a hand in the pot of one of the best of the year. I'm still trying to figure out how Longstreth plays the guitar lick he gets away with. It's fast, unpredictable and on the verge of insanity. He sings:
I'm caught up in a storm
That I don't need no shelter from
-which explains his guitar playing to a tee.
For all it's charm and inventiveness, Bitte Orca is an album that has held up well throughout the year. Praised for it's originality and risk while succeeding in it's pop sensibilities and head turning virtuosity, Dirty Projectors have produced a classic for our time.
Standout track - #6, Useful Chamber
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