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• June 22, 2009
• Reviews

06/22/09

Dirty Projectors—Bitte Orca

Black Meteoric Star--Black Meteoric Star Gavin Russom has the look of a mad scientist and the tools of the trade as well--he makes all of his instruments himself, creating synthesizers from outdated technological detritus. This makes his music under his nom de rave all the more strange--the new music he is making would not sound out of place in a dance club 20 years ago, it just sounds weird now. The record is excellent and all but the purest experience would be to see him live. Just last week he turned the MOMA into a psychedelic rave. Now that's some real alchemy.

Mos Def--The Ecstatic Even during his 90's underground hip hop heyday, Mos Def was one of the most polished acts in a genre where most artists were trying to be as grimy and possible. In the past few years, he has put his best talents aside and focused on playing small parts in Hollywood movies of questionable quality. So it comes as a surprise that his best album in years sounds like something he could have made in his basement during one long (and chemically altered) session. It seems that he has been absorbing the work of Doom, Dilla, and Madlib, resulting in off-the-cuff performance that is fun and unpredictable.

Dirty Projectors--Bitte Orca Since the incredible album Rise Above, it has seemed like Dirty Projectors were poised to become the biggest indie band in the world. If that were the case, this album would be the one to put them over the top--it's the perfect pop distillation of their entire warped aesthetic with the hooks and melodies to stick in your mind for a long time. But the more we listen to this record we realize that a band as patently weird as Dirty Projectors may never be able to cross that threshold to become huge. We don't mind; as long as they keep putting out great records we're happy to keep them as our favorite little indie rock band.

Since the incredible album Rise Above, it has seemed like Dirty Projectors were poised to become the biggest indie band in the world. If that were the case, this album would be the one to put them over the top--it's the perfect pop distillation of their entire warped aesthetic...

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