Dirty Projectors is the multi-faceted experimental pop project led by David Longstreth, who has switched as many styles as he has collaborators, over his ten albums since 2002. Whether he’s composing a modern opera concept album (The Getty Address), a committed ode to the environment with Björk (Mount Wittenberg Orca) or an organ melody on the collaborative track “FourFiveSeconds” featuring Rihanna, Kanye West and Paul McCartney, the enigmatic artist is not afraid to take risks and freely seizes opportunities, rather than waiting for inspiration. Illustrating his versatility, each album features eclectic arrangements of classical, jazz, R&B, pop, folk or rock and vocal harmonies reminiscent of the 1960s, always with a subtle, dissonant eccentricity. For this new EP, Longstreth continues to work with the touring team from his previous album Lamp Lit Prose (2018, Domino). We have the pleasure of discovering guitarist Maia Friedman on vocals, her sunny and pure folk-pop melodies recalling Joni Mitchell. Jovial and catchy, “Overlord” turns out to be quite critical of the increasingly present surveillance in big cities. On “On the Breeze”, we’re pleasantly surprised by the slight roughness sown here and there, like the clapping of hands. The EP only lasts ten short minutes, which leaves us a bit hungry, but it could well announce a more intimate direction of the band on a possible new album. To be listened to absolutely during your next stretch in the sun on the balcony.
