Dirty Projectors - Bitte Orca

There isn't a very easy way to describe The Dirty Projectors. They're like the female version of Grizzly Bear's most recent album Veckatimest, spiced up a bit. This makes sense, I guess, because they're both Brooklyn-based bands.

You could definitely say this album is a risky leap forward in the world of experimental music. Intertwining melodies scatter the song every which-way. Random syncopated chord progressions on songs like Cannibal Resource and Temecula Sunrise make it almost impossible to tell what time signature it's in, making you feel like you're wading in a giant pool of buttery spaghetti. But no need to fear, the heavy drum beats are here! Thank god. Well, sometimes they are. I guess that's kind of the band's signature right there. Their unpredictability. And with the lead-singer's high falsetto voice, it just makes it sound crazier and more hectic.

Each song is completely different, too. One minute, you could be singing a beautifully-sung love ballad with the orchestra backing up, then the next, the drum machine leads the way to an electro-pop tune, and then, someone busts out the distortion pedal. Wtf? This band covers a lot of ground, I will say that. But you know what? I love it.

If you're looking for something completely different than what you're listening to right now, and I mean completely different, check these guys out.

Bitte Orca is surely in the running for best albums of 2009.



-Julian