David Longstreth has been making records for most of the ’00s under
various monikers. His most consistent and fully realized project, Dirty
Projectors, also happens to be his most accessible. And on their fifth
album, the revolving group (Vampire Weekend’s Ezra Koenig was a member
at one point) expands both their roster and their scope. Bitte
Orca jumps between globe-trotting freak-outs (“Cannibal Resource”),
twisty folk (“Temecula Sunrise”) and abstract blues (“The Bride”). And
those are just the album’s first three songs. Throughout, Longstreth
leads the Projectors — now a sextet — from one indie-rock
avant-noise structure to another, picking up some genuine hooks along
the way. Highlight “Stillness Is the Move,” sung by guitarist Amber
Coffman, even rides a slinky, vaguely hip-hop beat that shows off the
Projector’s Brooklyn roots. — Gallucci
This article appears in Jun 10-16, 2009.
