Dirty Projectors | ||
| Allmusic Biography : An eclectic indie rock act from New York, Dirty Projectors are a band of stylistic contradictions. Creating music that is at once challenging and accessible, Dirty Projectors recordings are full of engaging melodies, thoughtful arrangements, and polished harmonies that are punctuated with angular stylistic shifts, wiry guitar work, and lyrics whose themes sometimes run counter to the sounds they accompany. Making their bow in 2002, Dirty Projectors grew from the solo work of Dave Longstreth, and the prolific vocalist, songwriter, and guitarist guided the project through four full-length albums in their first three years, including the ambitious concept album The Getty Address. Rise Above, a set of reimagined Black Flag covers released in 2007, earned Dirty Projectors plenty of press attention, and 2009s Bitte Orca, their Domino Records debut, was the groups breakthrough release, rising to number 65 on the Top 200 albums chart. After a collaboration with Björk, Longstreth parted ways with his frequent collaborator and romantic partner Amber Coffman, leading to a deeply personal 2017 album titled Dirty Projectors. The band returned to its more familiar brand of eccentric pop with R&B; and electronic influences on 2018s Lamp Lit Prose. Dirty Projectors are the creation of Dave Longstreth, a former Yale student who left college to become one of the most prolific and unique indie singer/songwriters of the early 2000s. In early 2002, Longstreth released his first album, The Graceful Fallen Mango, under his own name on the This Heart Plays Records imprint. Largely recorded on four-track with the help of friends in like-minded projects such as Wolf Colonel and Dear Nora, the album introduced Longstreths distinctive crooning voice and equally unique approach to arrangements and both lo-fi and hi-fi production. As he continued to record, Longstreth played shows with contemporaries like the Microphones, Bobby Birdman, and [[[[VVRSSNN]]]] (aka Yume Bitsus Adam Forkner). Forkner helped record his next album, The Glad Fact, which was the first to bear the Dirty Projectors name and arrived on Western Vinyl in fall 2003. This was followed quickly by Morning Better Last!, an album culled from three triple albums he recorded in 2001 and 2002; it was an Internet-only release on States Rights. Slaves Graves & Ballads, which Longstreth described as "a song-journey for me singing with a ten-piece chamber group called the Orchestral Society for the Preservation of the Orchestra," arrived in early 2004 as a split release on Western Vinyl and Happy Happy Birthday to Me Records. The 2005 album The Getty Address was a Don Henley-themed concept album that was followed a year later by the New Attitude EP. Rise Above from 2007 reinterpreted songs from Black Flags classic hardcore punk album Damaged, and then Bitte Orca appeared in 2009 with some of the bands most accessible songs to date. In 2010 the group collaborated with Björk on Mount Wittenberg Orca, an EP that benefited the National Geographic Society Oceans Project; it was available only digitally for a year, then received a physical release on CD and vinyl in 2011. Their next proper full-length, Swing Lo Magellan, arrived in the summer of 2012. After breaking up with his romantic partner and frequent collaborator Amber Coffman, Longstreth found himself writing songs that dealt with personal issues in a way he had not approached in the past. The songs formed the core of Dirty Projectors self-titled ninth album, released in February 2017. The band returned with the follow-up, Lamp Lit Prose, a year later. The record featured guest spots from HAIM, Fleet Foxes Sam Pecknold, and former Vampire Weekend member Rostam, and its release was preceded by the lead single "Break-Thru." | ||
 | Album: 1 of 15 Title: Morning Better Last! Released: 2003-09-01 Tracks: 23 Duration: 53:35 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 The Softer Shell (04:33) 2 My Brother Had A Birthday (01:49) 3 The Enterprising Catalyst (02:15) 4 Grandfathers Jacket (02:06) 5 After Santa Monica Boulevard (01:54) 6 Dahlonegabhama (01:44) 7 Further On Down The Strip (01:21) 8 Katydids Calling (02:10) 9 Twenty-Foot Stalks (01:34) 10 We Could Cling (02:25) 11 The Love-Prayer Book (00:37) 12 To Give It Weight (02:34) 13 Here Comes The Summer King (02:22) 14 Her Freezings And Thawings (03:38) 15 Hildegard Vs. Beach Boys (01:33) 16 We Two Feared The Storm (02:33) 17 How Does My Mind Work? (03:50) 18 I Am Going To See It (02:31) 19 Fake Folks (02:50) 20 The Disordered Sprawl (01:44) 21 Like Once-Heated Milk (05:04) 22 O! You Hungering Infants (01:21) 23 Morning Better Last! (00:59) |
 | Album: 2 of 15 Title: The Glad Fact Released: 2003-11-04 Tracks: 15 Duration: 44:45 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 The Glad Fact (05:10) 2 My Offwhite Flag (03:03) 3 Like Fake Blood in Crisp October (02:33) 4 Boredom Is a Product (02:13) 5 Two Brown Finches (02:07) 6 Three Brown Finches (03:00) 7 Off Science Hill (05:09) 8 Winter Is Here (02:42) 9 Ground Underfoot (03:21) 10 Spirit-Future Medley (02:03) 11 Naked We Made It (03:13) 12 Lit From Below (02:27) 13 Imaginary Love (02:48) 14 The Highway Is a Foggy Knife (02:09) 15 The Minutes (02:41) |
 | Album: 3 of 15 Title: Slaves Graves & Ballads Released: 2004-06-08 Tracks: 14 Duration: 39:32 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Somberly, Kimberly (01:22) 2 On the Beach (03:40) 3 (Throw On) The Hazard Lights (04:11) 4 Slaves Graves (03:03) 5 Grandfathers Hanging (03:31) 6 We Are Swaddled (01:25) 7 Hazard Lights (reprise) (02:02) 8 A Labor More Restful (03:41) 9 Unmoved (03:01) 10 Ladies, You Have Exiled Me (02:54) 11 Because Your Light Is Turning Green (03:15) 12 Obscure Wisdom (01:34) 13 This Weather (02:27) 14 Since I Opened (03:19) |
| Slaves' Graves & Ballads : Allmusic album Review : The prolific experimental pop collective the Dirty Projectors return with Slaves Graves & Ballads, their third album in a year. Originally, the album was released as two EPs early in 2004, but despite the high-concept nature of each of the EPs, all of the songs fit together well, making the album cohesive as well as diverse. The first half of Slaves Graves & Ballads features Dave Longstreth backed by a ten-piece chamber group he founded called the Orchestral Society for the Preservation of the Orchestra. While this could seem pretentious coming from many other artists, the sense of drama the chamber group brings to Longstreths distinctive crooning and cryptic lyrics ("the way a logo is different from an icon") actually makes it more immediate than some of the Dirty Projectors other music. The combination of the sweeping strings, woodwinds, and brass with Longstreths small, keening voice throws each element into even sharper contrast. The mix of majesty and intimacy in songs like the oddly alert, anticipatory "On the Beach" and "Slaves Graves" may be theatrical, but its distinctly emotional too; "(Throw On) The Hazard Lights" and "Hazard Lights (Reprise)" recall the primitive grandeur of The Glow, Pt. 2-era Microphones, with even more fraying around the edges. As with all Dirty Projectors music, things feel like theyre on the edge of collapse. Acoustic guitars waver between delicate plucking and atonal strumming, woodwinds recorded far into the red take on feedback-like qualities, percussion punctuates the songs at unexpected moments, and Longstreths often-garbled warbling can tend to grate. Still, the orchestral arrangements on Slaves Graves feel like a natural resting place for the Dirty Projectors lyrical and musical voice. The second half of Slaves Graves & Ballads takes a very different tack, stripping the arrangements down to mostly just Longstreths voice and guitar, with the odd bit of playful multi-tracking here and there (which works especially well on the lovely pop of "Because Your Light Is Turning Green"). This approach isnt as immediately striking as Longstreths earlier orchestral experiments, but it does highlight the strangely soulful, timeless feel of his melodies, especially on "A Labor More Restful," "Ladies, You Have Exiled Me," and "Obscure Wisdom" -- a song title that sums up Longstreths aesthetic well. The Dirty Projectors are still something of an acquired taste, but Slaves Graves & Ballads is proof enough that Longstreths twists and turns are worth following. | ||
 | Album: 4 of 15 Title: The Getty Address Released: 2005-04-05 Tracks: 13 Duration: 56:18 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 I Sit on the Ridge at Dusk (04:55) 2 But in the Headlights (01:50) 3 Warholian Wigs (04:31) 4 I Will Truck (05:17) 5 D. Henlys Dream (04:17) 6 Gilt Gold Scabs (05:26) 7 Ponds and Puddles (03:49) 8 Not Having Found (04:42) 9 Tour Along the Potomac (04:12) 10 Jolly Jolly Jolly Ego (05:33) 11 Time Birthed Spilled Blood (03:02) 12 Drilling Profitably (04:29) 13 Finches Song at Oceanic Parking Lot (04:08) |
| The Getty Address : Allmusic album Review : Ever ambitious, the work of Brooklyn-based experimental indie group the Dirty Projectors here takes a bizarre narrative turn. Ostensibly a concept album about the singer Don Henley, it takes its protagonist on a strange, near-suicidal journey through avant Americana, culminating with the lead singer crooning about brown finches. Epic in scope, The Getty Address features around 25 different musicians contributing various orchestral lines, while the core of the band takes care of the overriding story arc. | ||
 | Album: 5 of 15 Title: Highlights From The Getty Address Released: 2006-01 Tracks: 5 Duration: 00:00 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 I Will Truck (?) 2 Not Having Found (?) 3 Jolly Jolly Jolly Ego (?) 4 Time Birthed Spilled Blood (?) 5 Finches’ Song at Oceanic Parking Lot (?) |
 | Album: 6 of 15 Title: New Attitude Released: 2006-09-12 Tracks: 7 Duration: 28:32 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Fucked for Life (01:01) 2 Two Sheep Asleep (04:48) 3 Imagine It (03:23) 4 Likeness of Uncles (03:33) 5 Two Young Sheeps (08:08) 6 Darkened Car (03:32) 7 Katy at the Mall, Parts 1 & 2 (04:05) |
 | Album: 7 of 15 Title: Rise Above Released: 2007-09-11 Tracks: 11 Duration: 45:46 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 What I See (03:27) 2 No More (03:47) 3 Depression (02:47) 4 Six Pack (03:07) 5 Thirsty and Miserable (06:00) 6 Police Story (04:24) 7 Gimme Gimme Gimme (04:52) 8 Spray Paint (The Walls) (03:37) 9 Room 13 (04:47) 10 Rise Above (05:04) 11 [untitled] (03:49) |
| Rise Above : Allmusic album Review : Supposedly David Longstreth was on tour with the Dirty Projectors, the indie rock band hes been fronting since 2002, when he found himself thinking a great deal about Black Flags epochal 1981 debut album, Damaged. Given the many miles Black Flag racked up criss-crossing America during their bloody heyday, that shouldnt be at all surprising, but rather than picking up a new copy of the album and cranking it up in celebration of his fellow road warriors, Longstreth channeled his thoughts in a different direction -- after coming home from the tour, he took the Dirty Projectors into a studio and covered 11 of Damageds 15 tracks, all without giving himself or his musicians a refresher course on what they sounded like. The result, Rise Above, reimagines Black Flags ragged hymns of rage and angst into smart but fractured bursts of wiry guitar (imagine King Sunny Ade after ten cups of coffee) accompanied by breathy, ethereal vocals, occasional interjections of strings and woodwinds, and a precise but flexible rhythm section. While these interpretations stray a considerable distance from Black Flags originals, whats most surprising is how much of the original frameworks of these songs remain -- the melodies, such as they are, can generally still be recognized, and if the pissed-off howl of Henry Rollins is the polar opposite of Longstreths vocal style, the contrary message of the songs somehow shines through. On one hand, Rise Above could be used as an example of how Longstreth can take nearly any music and make it his own, but at the same time it doesnt sound like hes forgotten the original intent behind this music for an instant. Damaged was a scream of defiance in the face of a grim and unforgiving world, but on Rise Above the Dirty Projectors use the curious beauty of their music as a protest against the ugliness of a violent and corrupt society. Perhaps even more than Henry Rollins, when David Longstreth sings "were fighting a war that we cant win" in "Police Story," he wants more than anything to make a world where that isnt the truth, and its moments like this that make Rise Above a brave and ultimately successful experiment. | ||
 | Album: 8 of 15 Title: Stillness Is the Move Released: 2009-04-21 Tracks: 5 Duration: 18:31 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Stillness Is the Move (05:14) 2 Stillness Is the Move (a cappella) (03:48) 3 Stillness Is the Move (Lucky Dragons remix) (05:16) 4 Wave the Bloody Shirt (02:54) 5 Bitte Bitte Orca (01:18) |
 | Album: 9 of 15 Title: Bitte Orca Released: 2009-06-08 Tracks: 9 Duration: 41:09 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Cannibal Resource (03:55) 2 Temecula Sunrise (05:05) 3 The Bride (02:49) 4 Stillness is the Move (05:14) 5 Two Doves (03:41) 6 Useful Chamber (06:28) 7 No Intention (04:17) 8 Remade Horizon (03:55) 9 Fluorescent Half Dome (05:45) |
| Bitte Orca : Allmusic album Review : Dirty Projectors mastermind David Longstreth appears to be attracted to sounds that will simultaneously draw in and confound the average listener; he has a clear, sweet voice and a gift for well-crafted harmonies and melodies that bring out the innate beauty of his music, but he often weds them to fractured time signatures that cause the songs to shift gear at the least expected moments, and he tosses in sudden bursts of atonal skronk that are either bracing or puzzling, depending on your point of view. 2009s Bitte Orca certainly follows in this tradition, and theres enough aural shapeshifting on this set to keep anyone guessing on first listen. Despite that, in many respects, Bitte Orca is one of Dirty Projectors most accessible efforts to date; the slinky "Stillness Is the Move" could almost pass for mainstream R&B with its potent groove, lush harmonies by Amber Coffman and Angel Deradoorian, and elegant string coda, though with Longstreths wiry juju guitar leads floating over the top, this aint quite Beyoncé, and the placid semi-folkie grace of "Two Doves" (which bears a certain melodic resemblance to a-has MTV-driven hit "Take on Me") is truly lovely even when the dramatic dynamics of the string section seem intent on calling attention to some darker undercurrents. On the other side of the coin, theres "Useful Chamber," which combines bent vocal samples, wheezing synthesizers, steadily chugging beatboxes, and sudden blasts of overdriven electric guitar to form a pocket concerto of beauty and noise, and "The Bride," where Longstreths guitar hops back and forth between polite acoustic strum, bluesy slide work, and shards of noise while the rhythm section ties to keep up and the vocals drift past the foreground like a cloud. Bitte Orcas nine tracks all seem to be bursting with ideas that they can barely contain, but despite the sometimes fractured synapses of this music, the songs are at once surefooted and agile, and "Remade Horizon" and "No Intention" are joyous and funky in their own curious way, and you can dance to them if youre in the right frame of mind. David Longstreth isnt quite trying to make things easy for his listeners on Bitte Orca, but theres far too much pleasure in this music for its eccentricities to put off anyone who is open to its gleeful, eclectic, internationalist heart. | ||
 | Album: 10 of 15 Title: Temecula Sunrise Released: 2009-10-06 Tracks: 4 Duration: 17:44 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Temecula Sunrise (05:05) 2 Cannibal Resource (03:55) 3 Ascending Melody (04:40) 4 Emblem of the World (04:04) |
 | Album: 11 of 15 Title: Mount Wittenberg Orca Released: 2010-06-30 Tracks: 7 Duration: 21:19 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Ocean (02:09) 2 On and Ever Onward (02:01) 3 When the World Comes to an End (03:08) 4 Beautiful Mother (02:16) 5 Sharing Orb (02:48) 6 No Embrace (04:14) 7 All We Are (04:43) |
 | Album: 12 of 15 Title: Swing Lo Magellan Released: 2012-07-09 Tracks: 12 Duration: 42:07 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Offspring Are Blank (04:01) 2 About to Die (03:59) 3 Gun Has No Trigger (03:24) 4 Swing Lo Magellan (02:38) 5 Just From Chevron (04:07) 6 Dance for You (03:24) 7 Maybe That Was It (03:57) 8 Impregnable Question (02:43) 9 See What She Seeing (03:40) 10 The Socialites (03:49) 11 Unto Caesar (03:38) 12 Irresponsible Tune (02:47) |
| Swing Lo Magellan : Allmusic album Review : After the supposed avant-garde accessibility and commercial breakthrough of 2009s Bitte Orca -- an album that saw Solange Knowles cover the R&B-tinged; and hook-laden single "Stillness in the Move" -- Swing Lo Magellan is the David Longstreth-led Dirty Projectors sixth studio album. Proclaiming that this is "an album of songs, an album of songwriting," and despite the absence of long-term collaborator Angel Deradoorian, Longstreth manages to produce his most tender yet anthemic record to date. Spending nearly 12 months recording and writing in an isolated house in the rural solitude of Delaware County, New York, Longstreth forged intimacy and spontaneity, and each track bursts with ideas and warmth, but thats not to suggest that the fidgetiness and crashing rhythms of their previous material are not there. Album opener "Offspring Are Blank" starts with the bands calling card of harmonies and sparse clicks and percussion before exploding into life. Lead single "Gun Has No Trigger" has Longstreths vocals straining toward emphatic ecstasy with female vocal harmonies cooing in the background, creating an unsettling yet rather content experience. The carefree "Dance for You" genuinely exudes feelings of joy and comfort with its light vocal melody, brief organ interlude, and the simplicity of its trebly guitar refrain and drum patterns. Amber Coffman takes a solo turn on "The Socialites," a sweet and yearning R&B; song with Coffmans persona gently coming to the fore. The 12 tracks are sewn together in a way that feels like a paean to the tradition of songwriting and the sheer heartfelt joy of it -- summed up on the album closer, "Irresponsible Tune," which shimmers like a vintage golden 1950s rock & roll ballad. While some listeners might find the Projectors rather knowing idiosyncracy off-putting and smug, there are songs here that suggest the band has finally found the formula that finely balances its well-meaning musical intellectualism with actual pop songs. | ||
 | Album: 13 of 15 Title: About to Die Released: 2012-11-06 Tracks: 6 Duration: 16:34 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 About to Die (04:01) 2 While Youre Here (02:04) 3 Here Til It Says Im Not (03:19) 4 Simple Request (02:46) 5 Buckle Up (01:46) 6 Desire to Love (02:38) |
 | Album: 14 of 15 Title: Dirty Projectors Released: 2017-02-21 Tracks: 9 Duration: 48:17 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Keep Your Name (04:30) 2 Death Spiral (05:08) 3 Up in Hudson (07:31) 4 Work Together (04:23) 5 Little Bubble (05:05) 6 Winner Take Nothing (04:49) 7 Ascent Through Clouds (06:55) 8 Cool Your Heart (03:49) 9 I See You (06:05) |
| Dirty Projectors : Allmusic album Review : What becomes of the brokenhearted? Well, in the case of David Longstreth, they make some changes. Since the last time Longstreth made a Dirty Projectors album (2012s Swing Lo Magellan), his long-term relationship with Amber Coffman, who sang and played guitar with the group, ended. In time-honored fashion, Longstreth has made a break-up album, but 2017s Dirty Projectors has a musical personality thats decidedly different than most of the groups work. While the mix of indie rock and world music flavors that defined much of Dirty Projectors releases is still present here, this album is dominated by electronics, especially the aggressive use of Auto-Tuned and sampled vocals. The first moments of opening track "Keep Your Name" feature Longstreths vocals bent into a deep and doomy variant on his usual bright, airy instrument, and while the harmonies that are one of his stylistic trademarks are on hand, in this case they sound like Longstreth is singing with a digital ghost of himself rather than other people. With the voices often chopped and twisted as they square against deep bass patches and vintage synth sounds, while organic strings and horns bubble in the background, Dirty Projectors abandons the organic tone Longstreth made so much of in the past, and trades it for a digital universe where nothing seems quite real, even when its beautiful end engaging. The production is a superb match for the songs, which deal with the various aspects of a love affair thats flamed out, and Tyondai Braxton, of Battles, proves to be an excellent collaborator, helping Longstreth work out the melodies and make this album a fascinating, absorbing listen even at its most forbidding. The broken-hearted Longstreth sounds like a changed man in many respects, but hes no less talented and visionary than he was before, and Dirty Projectors demonstrates that musically and lyrically, love and its absence have taught him a thing or two. | ||
 | Album: 15 of 15 Title: Lamp Lit Prose Released: 2018-07-13 Tracks: 10 Duration: 37:24 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Right Now (03:38) 2 Break‐thru (03:47) 3 That’s a Lifestyle (04:23) 4 I Feel Energy (04:36) 5 Zombie Conquerer (03:45) 6 Blue Bird (03:49) 7 I Found It in U (03:27) 8 What Is the Time (03:15) 9 You’re the One (02:18) 10 (I Wanna) Feel It All (04:22) |