MP3: Dirty Projectors “No More”
http://www.scjag.com/mp3/do/nomore.mp3
Dirty Projectors is the project of Dave Longstreth, with a rotating cast of characters supporting him. The band will release its fourth full-length, Rise Above, on the newly launched Dead Oceans label, on Sept. 11. On the album, Longstreth re-imagines songs from one of the most beloved albums of his youth, Black Flag’s Damaged. It should be made clear that this is NOT a covers album.
Following the 2006 EP New Attitude, Longstreth went to help his parents move out of the house he grew up in. Among his youthful artifacts was the cassette case from the Black Flag album Damaged. This brought back all sorts of memories – Black Flag was one of Longstreth’s first loves – but the tape itself was missing. So, like the character in the Jorge Luis Borges story “Pierre Menard, Author of the Quixote” who sets out to recreate Don Quixote line by line from memory, Longstreth went to the nearest Guitar Center, purchased the cheapest cassette four-track he could find, and embarked on recasting Damaged from memory, without re-listening to a single note or reading any lyrics. The ten songs that make up Rise Above (titled after one of the tracks on Damaged) stem from these four-track demos, recorded at his parents house on an acoustic guitar.
All that Jorge Luis Borges-inspired jive might just be hot wind if Rise Above weren’t such a hell of a record on its own terms. It resounds with a kind of elegant simplicity: beautiful interlocking guitar parts, gorgeous three-part vocal harmonies, and some great songwriting. Chris Taylor of Grizzly Bear manned the knobs, giving Rise Above the same rich sound that he brought to his own band’s acclaimed album Yellow House. Longstreth used the same musicians that appeared on the US tour on which he debuted these songs, and Rise Above captures the inventiveness and raw power of Dirty Projectors’ live arrangements at long last.
Dirty Projectors will tour non-stop in support of Rise Above, first performing throughout Europe, appearing at festivals, supporting Beirut and headlining. Following their European tour, they have a special one-off show at the Whitney Museum of American Art on July 20th and then in late August they will embark on a full North American
tour with dates to be announced shortly.
Dirty Projectors – Rise Above Track list:
1.What I See
2.No More
3.Depression
4.Six Pack
5.Thirsty and Miserable
6.Police Story
7.Gimme Gimme Gimme
8.Spray Paint (The Walls)
9.Room 13
10.Rise Above
Tour Dates:
07/20/07 New York, NY – Whitney Museum
07/21/07 Baltimore, MD Whartscape Festival w/ Dan Deacon, Spank Rock, Ponytail and more
North American Fall tour TBA
Websites:
http://myspace.com/dirtyprojectors
http://deadoceans.com/
Hi-res press materials:
http://deadoceans.com/press/press.php