The Dirty Projectors - Rise Above - mp3 review
November 20th, 2007 r8e8rcom
I went to see Georgie James a few nights ago and was surprised to find that Travis Morrison was opening and Aqueduct was headlining. I have to say though, the G. James kid’s def. stole the show, and I’m not just saying that cuz one of ‘em is on the list. The efficiency of their 30 min indie pop set left the crowd wanting more while Aqueducts 2 hour excursion into a mix of catalogue favorites, new material, and 80s hard rock covers, while leaving the familiar taste of a night hangin’ with your old college buddies, waned the crowd right out the door. I can’t comment much on Travis’ set as I missed the bulk of it, but during their line check Travis and company started singing the hook to The Dirty Projector’s, ‘What I See’. I made a comment about it and was shocked to find out that most fo my friends hadn’t heard the track. So I thought, hey, why not send out some Dirty Projectors to the list. Yes, this is another release that came out a few months ago. I’ve been slacking on the pre-release stuff I know, I will attempt to remedy this in the coming weeks. Later that night they started played some early Joan Of Arc over the PA, just be glad I didn’t decide to send out some new Joan Of Arc.
Rise Above is the latest album by indie band, The Dirty Projectors released on September 11, 2007. While the disc could be considered a concept album, the main idea and driving force is an attempt by Dave Longstreth to rewrite the entire Black Flag album, Damaged, from memory. Rather than short, angry shouts of protest, the songs often double or triple (quadruple in the case of Spray Paint (The Walls)) the original lengths of the songs and present the lyrics in an array of highly melodic and oftentimes gorgeous tapestries of music. The album boasts strong string and wind arrangements, most of which came from the album’s original 4-track demos.
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