(For today’s “This Just In” feature, please join me in welcoming our new contributor Paige and get ready to hear a lot more from her in the coming months.)

The last full length Dave Longstreth and his Dirty Projectors released was 2007’s Rise Above, an imagined version of Black Flag’s Damaged culled together from memory. Since that brave if somewhat difficult release, Angel Deradoorian has joined the group permanently as bassist and vocalist, they’ve written with David Byrne, and generally risen to indie-fame with a slew of tours and festival performances. All this attention is remarkable considering the band’s reputation for being geeky, avant and generally difficult to listen to.

The steadfast Longstreth follower was probably pleased with the treatment of Rise Above: it was a noticeable development for him in terms of arrangement and execution, and the touring band he assembled (now his cast for Bitte Orca) raised the bar for just about everyone. The Projector novice could listen and become familiar with Longstreth’s loping vocals, the absolutely academic guitar work and the band’s love affair with close-range harmony and listener challenges without ever giving a damn about Black Flag. Compared to previous releases, Rise Above took the complexity of Longstreth’s songwriting to a new level but bordered on exclusionary. Bitte Orca marks a resolution between the songwriter that is, at heart, a pop artist and an avant composer simultaneously.

It’s unavoidable: Bitte Orca is a challenge. There’s absolutely no allegiance to traditional structures or signatures, and the three vocalists (Longstreth, along with Deradoorian and rhythm guitarist Amber Coffman) effortlessly play with each other’s voices through harmony and note-hopping gymnastics throughout. Still, Bitte Orca manages to be utterly listenable, lithe and concise. There’s no fluff here, no filler tracks. Rarely is such a brainy record so purely enjoyable.

Opener “Cannibal Resource” introduces the rest of the album as well as any lead track could. The off-kilter time signature, layers of vocal harmony and intermittent claps are pinned together by Longstreth’s guitar, which is remarkable considering the fact that the guitar only appears occasionally in the tune. Right away we’re asked to cope with the agility of the group’s songwriting, and yet here it is, track one, utterly melodic and memorable. “Temecula” and “The Bride” scream Jimmy Page immediately with both tune and production, slowing down the frenetic mood leftover from track one. Their ease and accessibility are sequestered for “Stillness Is the Move”, a jaunting, toe-tapping tune that introduces female lead vocals and a modest dose of four on the floor relief. “Two Doves” brings things even closer to earth with its loose homage to Nico’s version of Jackson Browne’s “These Days”. “Useful Chamber” — a sort of title track — brings Longstreth’s Page fantasy to fruition with a mid-song breakdown and fuzzed-out guitar chorus. Another highlight is transition-tune “No Intention”, a sweetly sung pop swash hoisted by intricate guitar noodling and soaring falsettos. All the while, Longstreth’s skills are met with remarkable technical precision from the rest of the band. As often as he is referred to as the driving force of this group, he’s been unbelievably generous with the group — they’re given the keys and asked to drive throughout.

At any point on this record, the ensemble is struggling between pop fancy and compositional esotericism, and though many will find the songs busy or overwhelming, careful listens reveal an astounding restraint in these arrangements. After years of burgeoning home recordings and rotating band members, Longstreth has released his most shining accomplishment yet — one that will earn him attention in circles that might surprise him. Longtime fans that are frustrated with increased accessibility take note: Bitte Orca might be more accessible than anything prior, but it’s certainly not any less dense. Easily one of 2009’s most gratifying and addictive listens.

This entry was posted on Friday, June 19th, 2009 at 7:21 am and is filed under New Music, This Just In. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.