"Colorful Kaleidoscope of Noise"

From the very start of Dirty Projectors’ latest album, “Bitte Orca,”  front man Dave Longstreth’s distinct, soaring vocals evoke unbridled euphoria.

“Bitte Orca’s” intrinsic happiness marks a departure from “Rise Above,” the band’s previous album, in which Longstreth and company attempted to re-imagine Black Flag’s “Damage.”

Thankfully, Dirty Projectors didn’t try to pull the same stunt twice. Instead of lyrical gimmickry, “Bitte Orca” offers up a rich and original album.

Having recently performed with the critically acclaimed producer David Byrne and also with 13-time Grammy nominee Bjork, Dirty Projectors seemed to have acquired their collaborators’ penchant for constructing catchy pop albums.

In “Cannibal Resource,” the opening track, shining bright guitars usher in simple, catchy rhythms with Longstreth singing, “Look around at everyone, everyone looks alive and waiting, the wind is up, the stars out, the sun is calm, the light is fading.”

Longstreth’s lyrics drip with honesty and images of nature. However, “Bitte Orca’s” strength does not lie in lyrical content or structure, but in the band’s masterful command of blending pop melodies and vocal harmonies.

Although Dirty Projectors have long been known as the brainchild of Longstreth, Amber Coffman and Angel Deradoorian’s lush backing vocals help define the album.
With effortless vocals and Longstreth’s intricate compositions, “Bitte Orca” sounds like a colorful kaleidoscope of noise.

In “Temecula Sunrise,” simple acoustic guitar picking paves the road for simplistic, anchoring percussion and Longstreth’s magnetic voice. Yet, in the second half of the song, it’s true brilliance is revealed: a chorus of Longsteth, Coffman and Deradoorian.

The chorus sounds like a sunrise, with Longstreth’s voice acting as a beaming ray of light while Coffman and Deradoorian sound off echoes of the world waking from night.
Each track on this album deserves a listen. “Bitte Orca” has something for every indie rock listener.

In “Two Doves,” with the guitar picking nuanced by a piano and female vocals, one cannot help but recall Nico’s “These Days,” the hipster anthem from Wes Anderson’s “The Royal Tenenbaums.”

And for the discerning fans of Animal Collective, “Remade Horizon” is for you. The likeness to Animal Collective’s echoed chanting in “Brothersport” is uncanny and unmistakable.

In short, “Bitte Orca” will likely and deservedly rank as one of the best albums of 2009.