Reviews (page 4 of 9)
An interesting album
Very unique, poppy rock. They play with the tempo a lot. Interesting. 5/5
Too busy I can’t submit to anything
Stillness is the move is een prachtig nummer holy shit. De vrouwelijke vocals dragen echt ontzettend bij en zijn fantastisch. Ook de instrumentale stukken brengen dit nummer absoluut naar een hoger niveau! Maar jammer genoeg is zij wel een gast vocalist en niet de vaste zangeres. Veel nummers die daarna of daarvoor komen klinken namelijk best wel rommelig. Vooral Useful Chamber, met het stuk rond 'Bitte Orca, Orca Bitte' is gewoon echt herrie. Het is 10000% de artistieke keuze want dit is verder niet iets wat je op het album hoort, maar toch he... Zonde, want op de momenten dat het werkt is dit een prachtig album, maar er zit toch net iets te veel experimentele troep op sommige nummers. Wel moet gezegd; instrumentaal is dit een van de meest interessante rock/indie albums die ik heb geluisterd voor deze lijst. Er word gebruik gemaakt van heel veel verschillende instrumenten en ook stemmen worden soms als een soort extra instrument gebruikt. Jup, dit is een heel raar album. Maar soms houd ik van raar. Toch 3 sterren. FAVO: Stillness is the move, No intention
Sounds like my college radio station's playlist for indie. Right up my alley, but nothing too crazy to write home about. Cannibal Resource ★★★☆☆ Temecula Sunrise ★★★☆☆ The Bride ★★★☆☆ Stillness Is the Move ★★★★☆ Two Doves ★★★☆☆ Useful Chamber ★★★☆☆ No Intention ★★★☆☆ Remade Horizon ★★★☆☆ Fluorescent Half Dome ★★★☆☆ Average Album Rating: 3.1/5.0 ★★★☆☆
I like the name 'Dirty Projectors' and there are a few tracks that have an original sound, but overall I'd take this sound in VERY light doses.
It's not bad, but man oh man, I couldn't wait for this to be over.
This sounds like a modern progressive rock. Kinda good.
I’m sure this kind of discordant sound is interesting in theory but it’s horrendously tiresome
trip and a half sounds like songs that would be played in midsommar
Modern masterpiece
There are parts that I like. Most of it seems contrived and ”artsy” for the sake of being ”artsy”. That might be a reason as good as any, but for me it doesn’t seem genuine.
This is very 2009. I don't think I am the target audience - but I'm sure the indie/emo hipsters back then had a great time with this.
solid album. not my favorite but not bad
Removed Album #20 (List: https://pastebin.com/cSThNiK9) Cool, another ex-album. I'm not sure what to expect from this cover. Indie Pop seems like my best bet, so I think I'll roll with that. I was not prepared for a male vocalist, especially one with this intonation. This is, tragically, a weak link. The sub-3 albums on this list have yielded some of my favourites, but this is just bad. Different for the sake of being different, every song blends a million different influences together to create its own disgusting, nonspecific genre. Very, very little of this album works as a result. The guitar sections on "The Bride" are a brief reprieve from the rest of the song. "Stillness is the Move" is shockingly bad. A shitty, nightmarish instrumental paired with shitty, nightmarish vocals. "Two Doves" has some decent vocals, though the mixing is complete shite. The deafening acoustic guitars and string sections prevent the song from offering any reprieve. The instrumental doesn't fit the vocals in general, really. I like the dreamier aspects of "Useful Chamber", though that instrumental is, once again, far too busy. The track is way longer than it needed to be, too. Why was this album removed? To the book entry I go. Where the band found their footing. Many influences. A whole lotta wank about Dave Longstreth and his fancy Yale degree. Wikipedia reveals that this album is about "colours and their interaction" (what wank LMAO). It had modest success on the charts and was well received by critics. Yeah, no. Fuck this album. While I am generally favourable to the "outsider" picks on this list, my fundamental problem with this album is that it isn't interesting. The music is discordant and jarring without having anything that hints at a genuine craft or creative passion. In place of this album, I humbly submit Happy Bivouac by The Pillows for inclusion on the list.
Like Grizzly Bear and Vampire Weekend had a baby and decided as a family to raise that baby without choruses. Had a great time, did miss the choruses, though.
Can’t believe this in one of the 1001?
I remember liking this when I first heard it but it feels dated now. Very late 2000s Indie Rock, everything is staccato. Still kinda fun but I don’t think I’ll go back to it often.
1.0 Was it different? Sure. Was it good? fuck no.
I don’t know that I get the hate for this one. It was mentioned earlier today (weird how that happens) on a Reddit thread for 1-star records. The reviews are largely pretty scathing on this site, and I guess I was sort of looking forward to this one just to hear how bad it could truly be. There are so, so many worse records on 1001. I mean, I just got a David Bowie record yesterday that is markedly worse than this. Everything Neil Young has shit out is less enjoyable than Bitte Orca. This site has so much tepid trash to sift through, but this record? I don’t get how this record has offended so many people. Is this some work of staggering genius? I don’t think so, but neither is it offensively bad. Weird? Sure, and seemingly intentionally so. But there is some beauty here that I can appreciate. And some of it is legitimately interesting. Large parts of this record really work for me; some of it doesn’t, for sure (and sometimes in the same song where I thought there was some good stuff going on). I usually hate self-indulgent, art-house nonsense that demands too much of the listener, but this really isn’t that. I’m actually finding this refreshing, though that may be because I was expecting the worst, given the reviews. 3.8/5 I'm rounding up because I actually went back and listened again.
I’m not sure this was for me. I can appreciate the experimental qualities of the songs but none of them resonated with me. I enjoyed the voices of the females in the group.
6.5/10
First album i’ve ever listened to by Dirty Projectors and it was quite good. Loved the prog-rock and psychedelic inspirations for the album as a whole. The album artwork is really interesting as it prompted me to listen to the music as soon as possible. My favourite tracks were the opener Cannibal Resource, Temecula Sunrise, Stillness is the Move and Useful Chamber. The whimsical and odd lyrics of useful chamber also have a reprise where the albums title is repeated and that alongside the folky instrumentation made me love it even more. GEMV (11.12.2025) Rating: 3.5-4/5
I had low expectations after reading the reviews… but I thought it was great 👍
A lot of alternative sounds, very diverse, but overall a bit meh. 3/5
Maybe not a 1001 material, but I like it
2.5
Det er verdt å gjøre seg kriminell for å fjerne denne fra verden
Very up it's own arse, I think.
Solid
0412 11:47 2.5 / highlight: useful chamber
Sound like one long song if people messing around in the studio - meh
Not to my taste
pretentious as 2009 could get
One of the first songs annoyed me so much I don’t even care to refer back to it to name it here. Why the hell is this on here - weak 2 stars, nearly gave it a 1 but I don’t have the strength to relisten and give it much thought
there's like 5 different time signatures in temecula sunrise and the main hook is the drummer hitting his sticks together a few times to some awkward angular guitar notes and then some douchebag singing HIIIIIIGH, TEMECULA SUNRIIIIIIIIISE, and sometimes the drummer will start playing a completely unrelated beat for like a second during the song... this is the most weirdly structured album ever
Ovo je dobro ali nevjerojatno "kraj nultih" album
ha s erste lied cool gfunde. aber s isch wiedermol e indie "band" wo s projekt isch vomne guy. has bim ufruume glost und find immer wieder sache meeega geil und sache chli seltsam. fluorescent half dome het zb en merega geile beat.
hahaha ouh d wikipediasiite verheisst glaub nüt guets für de luca de ersti song iwie cool mitem gsang ABER ES ISCH ALLES SO LUUT finds bis jz no easy cool, wenn au wenig hangeblibt BITTE ORCA ORCA BITTE han jz nöd vill ufgschriebe aber hans reecht cool gfunde. hans gfühl isch es album wo immer besser wird, je meh mers lost
That was pretentious fluff.
Nothing special
3/5
Very interesting
Not really my thing. Very unique though, so credits for that. Also, reminds me of Parkitect music, the game I was playing while listening. Highlights: Stillness Is The Move and Useful Chamber.
interesting
Respect to LZ. This one's isn't a fave for me
What a weird album (not a bad thing). It's a type of alternative music that I really don't like, but it has so many wacky guitar moments that I've loved here. All in all, it's a boring album for me, but it has incredibly fun moments. 3/5
Sometimes I hear an album and think that I surely must have heard it before?! Not the most cohesive album sound, but a lot of fun and a bit of me 4
Meh. I didn’t hate it as much as others seemed to, but I can’t say I loved it either. 3* at best.
Impressive playing but sounds way too American for me.
Zu kompliziert für Unterhaltungsmusik.
Interesting. I think a unique sound/style overall. Was not greatly moved by it but parts ere intriguing.
Some of this was okay, but it was mostly pretentious and try hard.
2 stars It was giving me anxiety
While I didn't love this, at least it was different without being just obnoxious. It was somewhat poppy but also was quite different than just straight pop.
I discovered Dirty Projectors through the NPR Tiny Desk Concert series. They have a super unique sound, it doesn't always work, imo, but I thought it worked really well in Stillness is the Move.
Bad
whatever
Maybe a 2.5
Non traditional song structures.
Interesting for a listen, on the verge of something grander. Not my thing this time around, but musical quality is good. I feel singularly un-hooked.
Maybe 4
21st century synth indie. It's fine at what it is but not my thing.
Was looking for descriptions of Dirty Projectors, and fell on electro-Art Pop as my best combo. Enjoyed. STILLNESS IS THE MOVE and USEFUL CHAMBER were pretty frickin' sweet.
Such an awesome, inventive album that makes for great sing-a-longs
I had never heard of this group or album but it made for a really good work background soundtrack (complementary)
This album was really nice
• war nicht so mein vibe
Strange, random, sometimes a-melodic music. Once was enough.
They say they want something original but they can't even handle this album
I knew this was going to be insufferable from the very first "lyrics" on track 1. You could not make a more "hipster" album if you tried.
Reminded you of unknown mortal orchestra, specifically the song called "that life" La canción "the bride" tiene elementos de folklore muy interesantes Bastante variado, me agrada, feeling a decent 4
Mist! Mist! Mist!
It was okay. There’s a lot of eclectic sounds. Think I listened to about 70% of the album. Could finish it - but fancy the next album.
The very definition of annoying and obnoxious in sound format. Worst song I've ever listened is The Bride. Just wow. 1/5
Impressive prog rock, reminiscent of Yes and Bjork. Fascinating chords.
I guess this is art?
I don't really like it.
Trying too hard to be something new and interesting, failing miserably. Some okay moments, but overall I did not like this.
later
This was bad.
Non-offensive millennial indie pop. Not much to be said really. I‘d rather be listening to Grizzly Bear if I wanted my fix of this genre of music
Listened Before? N Sorta a unique sound here. Almost acapella in places. Lots of voices contributing. I liked this one. Added to Library? N Songs added to playlist: Stillness Is The Move
Not my cup of tea. I won't yuck someone else's yum, but I don't go for lots of tempo & melody changes, falsetto, and generally this millennial indie vibe. It sounds pretentious to me.
I could smell the hipster on this from a mile away. 2.3.
A perfect combination of "pretentious" and "trying too hard." Personal enjoyment: 2/5 Relevance to this list: 2/5
Originele sound, gewaagd, wel wat over the top
The hipster in me is still alive.
Primera recomendación 25/10/25
Someone please explain it to me because I didn't get it at all...
A solid alt/indie/pop album. I have no idea why its taking up space on this list. Infinitely forgettable but not the worst I've heard. 3/5
Always associated this band with Animal Collective, who I don't like, and I see a lot of reviews here comparing the album to Captain Beefheart, who I also can't really get into. But I like this one, actually! It's pretty, I like the singers' voices, kinda reminds me a bit of like Linda Perhacs maybe?
I really don’t know how to rate this. Loved a lot, hated the rest. But I do appreciate the originality! This took some effort to come up with, do sure.
Groupe inconnu. Cet album est très original, et assez inclassable. Rien de standard dans les morceaux (harmonie, structure, choeurs), ce qui a attisé ma curiosité et m'a donné envie d'aller jusqu'au bout, et même de l'écouter une seconde fois. Par contre il est bien trop basé sur le chant, et l'accompagnement pseudo classique sur quelques morceaux me rebute un peu. Découverte originale donc, que j'écouterais probablement de nouveau et qui me donne envie de découvrir d'autres albums du groupe, mais qui ne rejoindra pas ma collection. =>3/5
Such a study in "how do we sound as annoying as possible and take the tune in a direction constantly that will make this as annoying as possible".
Oddly my opinion hasn't changed much in the decade+ since this came out: some amazing moments but too ornate most of the time.
This one wasn't for me. Gets a 2 because there was one song that was fine.
Ei ollut meikämarjatan musaa yhtään. Kuuntelin kuitenkin levyn läpi.
I was in college deep in the Pitchfork-verse when this came out and even then it didn't click with me. There are beautiful moments but holy shit are they trying SO hard you can hear it. 2/5
I came into this not knowing the score; it’s one of those albums that demands your attention with weirdness. Beautiful, jagged edges. The harmonies twist into shapes that shouldn't work. A great, complicated listen. Spins: 2 Playlist Additions: Cannibal Resource Stillness Is The Move Two Doves No Intention
Not my thing. Sounds like a cult waiting to dring the kool aid at the end of the concert.
Expérimental rock violin????
I have a lot of memories of this one. This is very closely associated with smoking a joint on an empty college campus in the dog days of the summer when it came out. While it does fall off a bit towards the end, I think it’s a good album that has a bit of a nostalgia tinge for me.
A really good album, I liked Stillness Is The Move, Two Doves, Useful Chamber and Fluorescent Half Dome the most.
This really made me feel old in that it felt so early aughts and that that is an actual thing that can be identified now. That being said, the music was okay, but wasn't really into the vocals. "No Intention" was really the only song I enjoyed on here.
Cannibal ressource - this is very fun, like i just smile the whole time haha 4/5 (fav) Temecula sunrise - like the guitar in the beginning, the singing and instrumentals dont sound so good together i find, a jit better in the chorus 2/5 The bride -3/5 Stillness is the move - 3/5 Two doves - so soothing 4/5 (close 2nd fav) Useful chamber - liek the vibe, feels like multiple songs just out behind each other, bitte orca orca bitte🕺🕺 3,5/5 No intention - 3/5 Remade horizon - it gives dancing in the golden hour in the living room with a loved one and orange curtains filtering the sunlight 3,8/5 Fluorescent half dome - chill vibe but a bit too long for my liking 3/5 —->3/5
Can’t quite remember how I first came to listen to this album, but it’s been a firm favourite of mine since it was released. At the time, I hadn’t heard anything really like it. It had that ramshackle naughties sound but way more eccentric than the likes of Arcade Fire and even Animal Collective. It still sounds as fresh as hell. Even though I had listened to it only last week, I was still really happy to have a reason to listen to it again.
I like this and want to listen again.
Overall fairly standard Late 00s/ Early 10s Indie/Chamber Pop, the harmonized backing vocals are annoying but the guitar bits are nice. Nothing really stands out positively or that strongly negatively. I would rather just listen to Mac Demarco. This list continues to drop the ball in its 90s-10s Indie selections. 4/10.
• 2/5 • one good single (Stillness is the Move), but the rest is too art-rocky for my taste
Not my cup of tea, but well produced
Joanna Newsome with attitude. Precious, but with teeth.
This seems like something I would like, but I didn’t really get it. It’s unusual, but somehow also pretty bland. I was disappointed. Favorite: Two Doves 3?
The frontman said this album felt like colors interacting. That context helps. It's like they took every musical idea they had over the previous year, put it into a kaleidoscope and turned the tube. Shifting layers, sounds randomly coming and going, rarely any of it repeating. Thats cool, but it takes so much effort to track; you've really got to engage to keep up. Whole album at once was too much, like sitting next to someone who is very nice but talks too much.
Bitte nicht Orca. Why do I have an earworm of the song Remade Horizon...
Was not my jam. I listened through about half of it. Don't think it's great background listening. Nothing musical or lyrically or melodically kept my interest, aside from the "annoying" sections.
Not my taste. Not quite tonal and pleasingly harmonic enough for me.
Meh.
sounds a bit like arcade fire probably shouldnt be on the list, but i liked it
Ok so on one hand, the large contingency of british people on this website HATE this album. On the other hand, /r/Indieheads adores this album. I fall somewhere in the middle. It seems like it's really trying hard to be unique and weird, and it doesn't always work. It's not an unlistenable pile of crap, 1001. It's not amazing, reddit. 3/5
Creative, mystical, kinda off-kilter and sloppy but in a way that works for me. Two Doves in particular is beautiful. Impressive guitars and harmonies, sweet orchestral bits
Every song passes, but not a single one "sticks" or gets to me...
This is a difficult one to rate. At first I didn't like it and wondered if I'd get through the album. By the middle, it was okay, and then toward the end, not liking it again. I'd give it a 2.5 but not sure I could really bump it up to 3.
I can’t decide if it is genius or annoying. I have listened to it - or at least started - five times. I do t think I hate it. But then I forget I’m listening to it. I think it’s good.
A ratos me hizo pensar en una buena cueca, a ratos fue el In rainbows, un poco de tUnE-yArDs (aunque revisando su primer disco fue de este año también). Habría sido un 5 instantáneo si lo hubiera escuchado eñ 2015.
This one was fine. Didn't love it didn't hate it. I do think I liked the second half of the album better. 3 stars
'Bitte Orca' is very hard to describe, as there's a lot going on here. Indie Rock seems to be the best genre to describe this release by Dirty Projectors, but there's plenty of falsetto from vocalist and chief songwriter David Longstreth [enough to keep Radiohead or The Darkness fans happy], as well as warm, multilayered female vocals, fiddly guitar and electronic trickery to put this album beyond any solid genre. But is it an enjoyable collection of music? Eh...... While I admire the creativity and ideas put into 'Bitte Orca', the dissonant melodies, random tempo shifts and that 'hard to escape' feeing the group is rushing through the vocals before the music has caught up make this record a rather perplexing listen. Now, if the purpose of the album was to create a unique listening experience that stands out on the basis of its individuality, then it definitely passed the test. But for me, the ideas seem like they're benched before they're given enough space to grow, so its really difficult [for me anyway] to truly appreciate this album. I do like weird, unusual stuff [Mr. Bungle, Primus, Kraftwerk etc.], but there's a consistency in those bands that I struggle to find with Dirty Projectors. It's like I'm hearing a strange, disjointed compilation album from four or five different groups. While I appreciate the daring approach to the album, it just doesn't do it for me. Not one song really grabbed me. 2/5
I think this would've been my jam in my twenties. A bit too all over the place for me now.
This one of those odd albums that it's hard to tell if I love it or not. Actually, no, I do love this. It's super odd, but actually really quite good. It's so unique that it's impossible to try and compare to anything. It's more worried about creating an interesting sound scape than about being good music, but it still ends up being a good listen. I don't think this is an album for everyone. Nor do I really think that this is a great album. I think it's pretty standard, in that, the first few songs are really very good, but the quality of the album drops off slowly until the last couple songs are pretty unremarkable. But those first couple of songs, "Temecula Sunrise" in particular, are so good that they make the album as a whole very worth listening to. I wish that the whole album wouldn't have dropped off as much as it did. If that was the case, this could have ended up as one of my favorite albums that I hadn't heard of before going into this. Favorite Song(s): Cannibal Resource, Temecula Sunrise
Dette høres ut som et sånt "intellektuelt" indie album jeg burde definere identiteten min rundt, men for å være ærlig, synes jeg det er litt slitsomt. Det er absolutt aspekter ved det jeg liker, men det føles litt som om de tar de verste innfallene til tidlig Animal Collective og setter det sammen med formål om å lage færrest mulig hooks. Bro, AnCo lagde masse hooks! Er dere for bra hooksa til AnCo? synes de hadde for lite freak folk neo-psych experimental noodling? at de solgte ut med Strawberry Jam? Vel, jeg er ikke enig.
Friskt album som tidvis edget meg
Her var det en god blanding av mye fantastisk, som samler seg til en enhet uten å kun være plukk fra diverse steder. Her hører man Lindsey Buckinghams kaotiske og gnistrende produksjon fra Tusk. Her er Peter Gabriels Genesis, litt Sondre Lerche og selvfølgelig Brian Wilson og Animal Collective. Dette er kompromissløst og tøft, og selv med alle de åpenbare koblingene klarer albumet å finne sin helt egen sound. Digger!
very low 2
I liked much of this. Nothing mind blowing, but interesting and quirky. Good clean family fun. 3.4
I found the front half of the album somewhat weak, but things started improving with "Stillness Is the Move." By the end I was left thinking that this was a decent album, but unfortunately not one I am likely to seek out often.
Short review I guess. It's a strong 3.
Never heard of Dirty Projectors, but it blew my mind. Finding an album like this is the reason, why I joined this club. Fav: Remade Horizon
This was actually dogwater. Holy. An astoundingly awful album. This being on a list of Top 1001 Albums You Should Listen To Before You Die is such a trolljob. I refuse to believe anyone actually enjoys this. An unbearable cacophony of noise. A caterwaul of random effects. Nothing is in time, hardly anything is in key. Every instrument and vocal is constantly in conflict with each other. This sucks. It's a goddamn pretentiousness, obnoxious, theatre-kid piece of crap coming from millennials who obviously were never told "no" as children. This is the direct product of gentle parenting. I actually hate this album. Life's too short for this garbage. This is disgusting. Every single musical decision made in this album's runtime is offensive. The fact that a producer/engineer listened to this constant overstimulation of random rhythms, keys, and vocals and OK'd it for public consumption was the day that humans as a species have gone too far.
Extremely vivid flashback to being a sophomore in college. I thought I liked this album but halfway through I remembered I only really like Stillness Is The Move and how the guy says “bitte orca orca bitte.”
I feel like I should have found this one more interesting. But it really didn’t catch me. Fine as a listen but wasn’t intrigued for more.
It's too much waily woop crap
One good song and some interesting ideas.
This is such a delightful little indie pop gem of an album. Love the off-kilter but charming pop across it all, especially opener Cannibal Resource with it's bubbly backing vocals and angular guitars, followed by Temecula Sunrise's ebb and flow tempo. I can see how some might find it jarring and messy, but I promise it works. If you found this enjoyable as an indie pop album but couldn't connect to the album as a whole, I recommend checking out Ra Ra Riot's album The Orchard! What a lovely 40 minutes that turned into hours with all the repeat listens!
Hadn’t heard of this band or this album before. Was better than I thought it might be, but still a little forgettable.
Pretty good album with a nice variety of voicing.
Painfully bad.
Cover 5 Generally not a fan of experimental groups (Beefheart, Tom Waits, Yoko Ono). I do very much like those that have a semblance of musicianship and understanding of a good beat (Primus). I might not be verbalizing exactly what I mean, though. Anyway, this album leans toward Primus, though they sound nothing like Primus. In other words, they at least restrain themselves from going completely off the edge. Unlike Primus, I'm not interested enough to look into their discography.
*2009. American indie. *Did not like this very much. *Sounds like something from Garden State, but not good. *Boring indie with too high pitched voices. RATING - 5/10
So many crazy good sounds and songs. Feels more modern than 2009. I feel like im a victim to modern ears but man this was fire. Begging to be sampled. Chatgpt was very wrong on the subject matter of temecula. FOUR
No private session used for spotify. Hated it, too electronic, too many random noises, too much whining in the background, too many tempo changes and all around annoying. Math and music have a lot in common, so here is a mathematical term to describe the album: disjoint.
Funsies
Not sure what's supposed to be so special about this lol
Irritating vocals sung in an atonal and arrhythmic style offset some otherwise promising tracks here. I guess I’m not artistic enough to enjoy this.
They have a nice sound, but the falsetto and the mandolin (?) phrasing gets old after a while.
Meh.
# In-Depth Review of Dirty Projectors' *Bitte Orca* ## 🎵 Overview *Bitte Orca* is the fifth studio album by the American rock band Dirty Projectors, released on June 9, 2009, by Domino Records. The album title combines the German word "bitte" (please) and "orca" (killer whale), chosen for its phonetic appeal rather than literal meaning . Led by frontman David Longstreth, the album represents a creative peak for the band, blending avant-garde experimentation with accessible pop sensibilities. It received widespread critical acclaim and remains a landmark release in indie music. --- ## 📝 Lyrics The lyrics on *Bitte Orca* are abstract, intellectually dense, and often enigmatic. Longstreth's songwriting explores themes of existentialism, human connection, and the interplay between nature and technology. For example: - **"Stillness Is the Move"** ponders philosophical questions like *"Where did time begin? Where does space end?"* , reflecting on the nature of existence. - **"Cannibal Resource"** uses surreal imagery (*"Look around at everyone, everyone looks alive and waiting"*) to critique consumerism or societal expectations . - **"Useful Chamber"** features the mantra-like repetition of *"Bitte Orca, Orca Bitte,"* which Longstreth has described as a plea or invocation, though its meaning remains open to interpretation . While the lyrics are often criticized for being overly cerebral or emotionally distant, they complement the album's experimental nature by encouraging listeners to find their own meanings . --- ## 🎶 Music The music on *Bitte Orca* is a genre-defying fusion of art-rock, Afrobeat, R&B, and classical influences. Key musical elements include: - **Vocal Harmonies**: Amber Coffman and Angel Deradoorian's vocal performances are central to the album's sound. Their harmonies are intricate, often weaving around each other in complex patterns, as heard in **"Remade Horizon"** and **"Stillness Is the Move"** . - **Guitar Work**: Longstreth's guitar playing draws from African tunings and math rock, characterized by fingerpicked melodies and sudden shifts in rhythm (**"Temecula Sunrise"**) . - **Rhythm and Percussion**: The album features unconventional time signatures and percussive textures, though some critics note that the percussion lacks innovation compared to other elements . - **String Arrangements**: Songs like **"Two Doves"** incorporate string quartets, adding a baroque elegance to the album . Tracks like **"Useful Chamber"** showcase the band's ability to merge these elements into a cohesive yet unpredictable whole, transitioning from woozy synths to explosive crescendos . --- ## 🎛️ Production Produced by David Longstreth, the album's production is clean, precise, and hi-fi, often compared to Steely Dan's meticulous studio craftsmanship . Key features include: - **Layering**: Each track is densely layered with vocal harmonies, guitars, synths, and strings, creating a rich tapestry of sound . - **Dynamic Range**: Songs like **"Useful Chamber"** build tension through dynamic shifts, from quiet verses to chaotic climaxes . - **Clarity**: Despite its complexity, the production ensures that each instrument and vocal line remains distinct, allowing listeners to appreciate the album's intricate arrangements . The production strikes a balance between accessibility and experimentation, making the album's challenging moments feel intentional and polished . --- ## 🧠 Themes *Bitte Orca* explores several overarching themes: 1. **Duality**: The interplay between opposites—organic vs. synthetic, chaos vs. order—is reflected in the album's title and musical contrasts . 2. **Human Connection**: Songs like **"Two Doves"** and **"Stillness Is the Move"** touch on relationships and emotional vulnerability . 3. **Creativity and Innovation**: Longstreth has described the album as an "homage" to his bandmates, highlighting their individual talents while creating a unified sound . The album's abstract lyrics and genre-blending music reinforce these themes, inviting listeners to engage with its ideas on multiple levels . --- ## 📈 Influence *Bitte Orca* has had a significant impact on indie and experimental music: - It inspired artists like Solange and tUnE-yArDs, who incorporated its vocal and rhythmic innovations into their work . - The album helped define the "Brooklyn art-rock" scene of the late 2000s, alongside releases by Animal Collective and Grizzly Bear . - Its fusion of R&B and art-pop (**"Stillness Is the Move"**) paved the way for later genre-blending experiments by artists like FKA twigs and Moses Sumney . Despite its niche appeal, *Bitte Orca* remains a touchstone for musicians seeking to balance experimentation with melodic accessibility . ## ✅ Pros and Cons ### Pros: 1. **Innovative Sound**: The album's genre-blending approach feels fresh and unpredictable, combining African rhythms, R&B, and classical elements . 2. **Vocal Performances**: Amber Coffman and Angel Deradoorian's harmonies are technically impressive and emotionally captivating . 3. **Production Quality**: The clean, detailed production enhances the album's complexity without overwhelming the listener . 4. **Thematic Depth**: The lyrics and music explore abstract ideas while remaining engaging . ### Cons: 1. **Lyrical Obscurity**: Some listeners may find the lyrics overly intellectual or emotionally distant . 2. **Vocal Divisiveness**: Longstreth's voice—often compared to David Byrne or Antony Hegarty—can be polarizing . 3. **Inconsistent Accessibility**: Tracks like **"Fluorescent Half Dome"** may feel less cohesive compared to standout songs like **"Stillness Is the Move"** . ## 🏁 Conclusion *Bitte Orca* is a groundbreaking album that rewards repeated listens. Its strengths—innovative songwriting, stunning vocal arrangements, and meticulous production—far outweigh its minor flaws. While not every moment lands perfectly, the album's ambition and creativity make it a essential listen for fans of experimental music. It remains Dirty Projectors' most influential and acclaimed work, a testament to David Longstreth's vision and the band's collective talent .
Temecula Sunrise // Stillness Is The Move // Two Doves //
Excellent album, varied with interest, a winner.
It was definitely different! But a bit odd.
Disappointing. For some reason I was expecting electro pop not light weight /arty/musings. Found his vocals particularly annoying but the tracks with the two ladies better - the pick being Two Doves which appears to rip lines from Nico's These Days - but mash it into a much weaker song.
Bitte Orca This really takes me back to circa 2009, a guy I worked with loved this album and was always putting it on in the office. I wasn’t massively into it back then but it’s definitely a bit more interesting than I recall, even if I’m still not totally into it. It very much feels like late 00s indie, a bit of Vampire Weekend, a bit of Bloc Party, a touch of math rock and experimental guitar-noise squiggles, which is not my favourite type of music, and despite some good stuff it is a bit patchy, not all of it working, Fluorescent Half Dome being the least successful probably. Cannibal Resource is a good opener though, and Temecula Sunrise takes a western sounding intro and makes it into a pleasantly wonky bit of indie. I really like Stillness is the Move, the female vocals work a bit better than the male vocals, the guitar line is nice, as is the bass and No Intention is good too, a similar type of track with the guitar and bass doing the same sort of thing as Stillness is the Move. And Remade the Horizon is decent, particularly the outro section. I’ll go 3, I’d listen again, even if it isn't that satisfying overall. 🐋🐋🐋 Playlist submission: Stillness is the Move
You know that trend in restaurants a while back where you could get a deconstructed apple pie or similar. And they just gave you the apple and the pastry but hadn't bothered to put it all together properly. This is the musical equivalent of that. That sounds negative, but the apple pie was still enjoyable wasn't it, and undoubtedly there was mastery behind its making. Take 'Temecula Sunrise' in particular - you can hear all the building blocks, and it's quite fascinating. Some of the blocks remind me of Talking Heads, the jaunty rhythms and the angular guitar. Then there's the Kate Bush female vocals which punctuate everything with airtight harmonies. Those intricate 'Hounds of Love' type harmonies are critical to the sound, such as on the mesmerising 'Useful Chamber'. They have a very idiosyncratic sound - quite minimalist, slightly overdriven guitars. Although I could see such an album being the go to for Nathan Barleys everywhere, I find it really rather soothing rather than pretentious. A knack for melody weaves through, even if they don't all take off. There's a creativity here that tips this to a four.
Reminds me a bit of Field Music: similar math-rock-adjacent playing?
I kept tuning it out while I was listening, so it must not have been annoying. Pleasant and melodic.
Trying too hard to be original, it ends up being both bland and undigestible. 2/10
No luce que esté mal... pero es un poco repetitivo ??? y un poco aburrido como que no me está aportando algo nuevo o divertido por el momento (llevo dos canciones) Its giving aprobado raspado quizás... o un 4 de 10 nose Me he aburrido ya... luce perdida de tiempo total
I'm not sure wahht to make of this quirky, slightly prententious, Art Pop album that reminds me of Robert Fripp. Is it bad - no, but should it be in this list - probably not.
Bitte Orca, for all its stupidity and annoying vocals, does belong on this list. For a moment, it perfectly encapsulated an entire scene. For some, this album was sacred. I recall hearing Stillness is the Move for the first time (separately from the album as a whole). The song was so perfectly descriptive of the sound everyone was going for, it actually brought tears to my eyes. When hearing it later, followed by Two Doves, the pair of songs were (and still feel) like excellent compliments of each other. However, barring select musical moments, interesting instances in an otherwise tiresome forty minute jumble, those two songs are pretty much all that remains worthwhile to revisit here.
Kinda pretentious, but I liked this. In my Goldilocks zone of weird but not too weird. Listened before: no Will listen again: probably
It's a weird album for sure, but I quite enjoyed it. The guitar playing is quite random and erratic and reminds me of Captain Beefheart at times. The playing and singing is all quite varied and the album doesn't wear out its welcome. There's intricacies and interesting tempo changes all throughout here. Not really my music but I enjoyed it.
This what imagine trout mask replica sounded would've sounded like if the band was being tortured. And that somehow makes it worse?? It has its moments but its overall a bit annoying to listen to
Felt like the music version of "modern art"
Not for me. 1/5
Vocals and guitar are jarring
Enjoyable album. This is the reason why I wanted to do this project- to discover stuff like this!
Perfect for my Friday train ride
Pretty good. The singing is very unique to hear although it sounds rather simple and I quite like that quality. The lyrics are good and the backing for the tracks are both peaceful and enjoyable. Unfortunately no one element stands out particularly well.
It started off okay. Then, I started to lose interest.
There's elements within this album that I like, but I really didn't enjoy how they all came together.
I liked this more than I thought I would, and evidently more than a lot of people do. Granted, the millennial experimentalism eventually kind of wore me down. But also, it’s very neat, and there are some beautiful tracks here. Happy to have listened to it. Fave songs: - Cannibal Resource - Temecula Surprise - The Bride - Two Doves - Remade Horizon
Would rather listen to Neil Young and I won't listen to Neil Young.
Difficult to listen to.
Nmcot
raar album met rare stemmetjes en rare tempo wisselingen... maar toch ergens niet zo goed als andere rare albums
Аритмичная и артистичная индюха с ловкой и едва уловимой мелодикой, благодаря которой прослушивание альбома превращается в увлекательный поиск сокровищ, закрытых за массой амбициозных решений. Гитарные отъёбы в стиле Лед Цеппелин особенно оценил.
I've heard of this band but I don't believe I have listened to a track of theirs. Definitely reminds me of all the music that was being released in the early 2010s. I can see why this album would fall in this list. 3-stars for me though.
They’re calling it the most millennial-coded album of all time
A bit all over the place. Didn't work for me. The male vocalist is annoying as hell. I don't think they knew what to be as they jumped genres faster than a hurdler. Pass.
Hm. This might be a long 41 minutes. Maybe a 2 for the first song with a lot of goodwill. My guess is it’s going to be a 1. Yep. A 1. Hate it
Unique music, vocalization, harmonies...All in all, a great album that warrants its appreciation. I was impressed with every song, but especially Stillness Is The Move. Every song was great not just good. Stillness was exceptional on an exceptional album.
Ein wenig verwirrende Klangkompositionen in Mischung aus Beat, Lounge und Ounk.
This wasn't too bad, but the man has an irritating voice
Meh, nogal vervelend om naar te luisteren. Soms lijkt het alsof ze ritme haten en klinkt het gewoon warrig. Wannabe Bjork 1.7
Tuneyards meets Neco. It was ok. 2.5 if there was a .5
Fun in a quirky way, but not sure I would relisten.
3.5
frekar random plata, ekkert sérstaklega hrifinn af henni
Creative, pretty, and chaotic. Some of the intentional off-beat loops can get uncomfortable before resolving into a melodic pay-off.. on some tracks though, it can be so frequent that it demands too much attention and patience of the listener (e.g. Temecula Sunrise, the opening of Useful Chamber, Remade Horizon). Still, when the record was released -- during the height of Pitchfork-era indie quirk -- it stood out as a bold experiment. The result was a fun and melodic indie-jazz album that remains worth appreciating. Also what makes the record so strong and worth coming back to are the near-R&B hit Stillness Is The Move and beautiful Two Doves.
ugh what have you done to my ears?
This sounds so painfully 2009 with too much going on.
This sounds very 00s to me. You can hear the influence of "freak folk" and electro-acoustic acts like The Books, Caribou and Four Tet.
First time I heard them. An OK album.
6/10 Favorite: Stillness Is The Move
Pretty good
Bitte Orca – Dirty Projectors (2009) | Experimental Pop / Indie Rock | Avg: 7.06 | Favorite Song: “Stillness Is the Move”* Bitte Orca is one of those albums that feels like it’s constantly shifting under your feet; it's inventive, intricate, and occasionally polarizing. “Stillness Is the Move” stands tall as the crown jewel, where the band’s off-kilter rhythms and vocal layering suddenly snap into something deeply catchy and emotionally resonant. Your scores show a solid appreciation across the board, with most tracks falling in the mid-6 to 8 range, suggesting that while not every experiment lands, the record succeeds more often than it stumbles. There’s a cerebral quality to this album, and at times it does ask for a bit of patience. Tracks like “Temecula Sunrise” and “No Intention” show how the band balances complexity with bursts of groove and melody. But it’s also easy to see how the slightly lower scores reflect moments where the eccentricity overshadows accessibility. Still, the album’s ambition is part of its charm. Bitte Orca doesn’t aim to please everyone; it aims to push boundaries, and in doing so, it creates some stunning highs and a genuinely original sonic world.
It’s pretentious hipster music but it’s pretty cool nonetheless. The vocals get a little grating at times but the instrumental work really ties it as a must listen album.
Fav: Two Doves Least Fav: The Bride Wtf was this, complete nonsense that every now and then had some cool parts that I could appreciate
I was listening to a podcast episode a couple weeks ago that began with a story about the host's experience at a performance by Bjork and Bitte Orca at Housing Works Bookstore in New York. (The story was hilarious, highly recommend. 60 Songs That Explain the 90's: The 2000's, episode "A-Punk" - Vampire Weekend.) I thought if Bjork loves them, I will too! Wrong. If I feel like crawling out of my skin for every single song, it's 1 star. I can't be bothered to justify any further. I never want to hear this again.
I’m all for creativity, new sounds, and experimenting… But this was just bad Maybe I don’t get it? To be fair, I haven’t listened to alternative music much, but the majority of this album sounds like it was produced by a kid who downloaded GarageBand for the first time and started mashing instruments together I want to give credit to the clear stand out track, Two Doves, which featured strong vocals and a nice change of pace from the rest of the album Now I never want to be too harsh on an song and/or album because art is very subjective (my comment about the production is my dumb attempt at humor so please don’t take it seriously) and what someone may think is bad, someone else might think is awesome, but I just didn’t have a good time listening through Bitte Orca If you listened to this and enjoyed it, that’s awesome Like I said, maybe I just don’t understand it That’s why I’m doing this in the first place; to branch out and grow my taste Favorites: None Honorable Mentions: Two Doves
ned s ganze glost, has ned so gfühlt
súper mid con algunas secciones más entretenidas y supongo que profundas. no me causó nada. nota: 3/5
I’d usually grunt at the genre of math rock, as it seems to just be prog trying too hard to be cool. However, I did find myself becoming hypnotised by the interesting melodies dancing around the bizarre time signatures. The gentle vocals add an extra dynamic that fits together nicely too. I expected this to sound like turd, but it was actually quite pretty.
Not for me
Super fun album. Had me dancing around the apt. Stoked to dig deeper into DP’s catalog
+1 star for spousal bias
Some goods songs, Not for me personally
That was okay, good sound tho
Interesting
Shoutout NBA 2k13 for "Stillness is the Move" fine other than that 2.5
Haunting and thought-provoking this album sounded a tad more dated than I would have expected having listened to it a lot when it first came out. It was a great end of a trilogy though with my last 3 days being Leondard Cohen's "You Want it Darker" and Public Enemy's "The Enemy Strikes Black."
This is just not for me. Something about it just makes me angry and I don’t know why
"Experimental rock" is apparently code for a bunch of aimless noodling and mismatched, dysrhythmic parts shoved together. I really try to look for some musical value in everything I listen to, but I couldn't find any here. This is just disjointed noise.
Это сложная музыка, за которую сложно зацепиться, и если бы не конфирмэйшн питчфорка, что это Музыка, я бы скорее всего никогда даже и не пытался ухватиться за песни здесь. Но вместе с тем, я рад, что таки распробовал. Лучшая песня - Useful Chamber.
Different, kind of catchy. Might need a second listen
I didn't hate it.
Tykkäsin itseasiassa aika paljon vaikken osaa oikeen selittää ees miks.
Girls singing was fairly nice. I didn’t need the man.
I think this is what “WtF?!” was made for…but in a good way…I think…mostly. Perhaps I’m the twee hipster who falls for this particular type of shit, but I liked this in that way that you like it when a stranger (perhaps a person living with dementia) tells you you’re good looking or that they like your shirt, it looks good on you, that way that makes you go “Huh, weird” , but that pushes a dopamine button on your chemical control panel, and so imprinting a positive feeling memory in your hippocampus.
Can’t say it better than Mike (as usual). Totally agree.
Did not enjoy this. Something about all the songs was jarring and annoying. 2/5
Enjoyed this. Recognised the track with Amber Coffman. Had it on a playlist for a while and loved it, but never bothered delving much further. Good this though, sort of somewhere between Animal Collective and at times Battles. Very eclectic, experimental indie. It does tail off at times but overall it’s pretty good and will be back!
So much of this was class but there was just too much nonsense that was also thrown into it. Singing style reminded me of Beirut, lots of it was higher definition mathy like Battles. But Battles also seem to know when to stop with the "arty" side I think. Gave it a quick listen again and with a bit of familiarity the weird stuff didn't annoy me as much so I think it will probably grow on me more. 4 for now.
Music made by people that think they are the reinvention of music. Too many pieces of pointless scarring. I went into this intrigued, I came out a bit dejected. Not nearly as good as they think they are.
I'm not really sure what this is, but whatever it is, it didn't do it for me. Bit too artsy. Not offensive though. I think it had bits and pieces I could enjoy, but it came with too much wanky hipster stuff 2
A quirky and pleasant album. Totally new to me.
Far from the worst thing I've listened to recently, I thought the vocals would annoy me but they strangely suit the melodies at play here. This could be one that grows on me, should I find myself returning to it in the future.
This isn't dissonance this is just bad singing.
Zuhause, Heidenheim, Deutschland. Zu weird & zu ungefährlich.
This album benefits significantly from immediately following Ryan Adam's "Gold" in my list. Almost anything would feel like a blessed relief after that. I have always found myself drawn towards unusual music. So I'm surprised I have never heard of the Dirty Projectors until now. It's really interesting. I see what they are trying to do, though I'm not certain they pull it off 100% of the time. It deserves another listen though. I've awarded an extra 1/2 star for not being Ryan Adams.
Took a while to get started, but once it does it's great
I have loved this album since it came out. I don't think it is perfect, but I'd give it a 4.5, as I think it does blend several things into something really special. It obviously is very inspired by 60's "outsider folk" and a lot of chamber music plus a lot of avant garde and elements of noise rock in the way it disrupts the rhythms and challenges the listener with new sounds and melodies.
Looking back, maybe we indie rocked a little too much in the 2000-2010’s?
Eh, not my thing. This sounds like a band that wants to run in 4-5 different directions and couldn’t decide so they try to go in all directions at once…and not in a good way. I don’t get it
Utter nonsense
Forgetable
Very interesting electronic instrumentals which work harmoniously with the two vocals which both have their turns in the spotlight. Some experimental reverb and other effects on the guitar makes it a fun listen. “No Intention” is my favourite, hands down, simply for its soulful and lively vocals accompanied by the backdrop of the simple instrumentals🤩.
I could have made it through life without having heard this and been perfectly happy.
Nice indie, nothing too revolutionary
I've never heard of Dirty Projectors heading into this album. The beat in Temecula Surprise was a bit jarring as it felt like each instrument was playing at a different tempo. (To be honest, it actually felt like multiple tracks had this sound.) I favored the female featured vocal tracks compared to David's. I think it fit the genre a bit better. Can't see myself coming back to this though. (1.5/5) Favorites: - Stillness Is The Move
I had no idea who this band was, but this immediately brought me back to the era of early 2010s hipster-pop that I have a soft spot for. The male singer has a sound that reminds me a lot of Passion Pit, but I found myself more drawn to the songs led by the female vocalists. I can’t put my finger on it, but there’s something missing here that bands like Passion Pit or MGMT seem to do a bit better. Favorite tracks: - Stillness Is The Move - Two Doves
This album is so interesting in a way I wish I was into more, these songs have so many weird, janky and angular melodies to it but they all just work to make some bright and pretty pop stuff, so you'd think the fact that it's so complex would click with me right? Yet it kinda doesn't, I guess because while cool that it sounds so weird it feels kind of aimless for most of the time to me, it has many ideas but I don't think they end anywhere interesting in most songs except for Useful Chamber which feels like the most realized version of what they are doing. So not bad but not my favorite for sure.
At first I tried to like this and it didn't work. But then I tried to dislike it and that DEFINITELY didn't work. Secretly, I loved it the whole time
It has elements that I should really enjoy but it wasn’t doing it for me. Second listen was better tho.
It was fine
Well, there went my plan to listen to every album in its entirety before passing judgment. I could barely make it through 15 seconds of each track on this one.
A wonderful foray into avant garde art pop containing many interesting textures. I could mull over the soundscapes presented in this album forever; however at the end of the day this album seems so concerned over the landscapes it paints that it overlooks the impact on the listener, which in my opinion not resounding but muted in contrast to the colors this album tries to present
I'm torn between really enjoying this, and being tired of the pop-iness. I can't really decide how I feel about it. I'd give it a strong 2.5 stars.
Less charming than it was on release, still technically incredible
Weird new gen hippie crap. Not impressed
I intentionally avoided this album at the time it came out because everything I read about it made it sound really unappealing and pretentious but I was pleasantly surprised, there's always something interesting going on and it sounds like something I will enjoy even more with repeat listens.
Shite
Too hipster for my tastes.
Ok then. Not sure what this was trying to achieve or why it made so many ‘best of’ lists. Whatever it was, the experiment did not work on me. Flashes of niceness overwhelmed by the lack of cohesion or much of a discernible tune.. No Intention stood out for me. Don’t know why
Двоечка
You can't fool me. This is a prog rock album. Indie, my ass. By the way, that's a good review.
Really liked these guys. Kind of odd and reminded me at times of Animal Collective, but interesting.
Too hectic for my brain
I was really ready to hate this ... but that is why we listen BEFORE we judge.
Not bad. Similar to some other bands I like. Wouldn't buy it but wouldn't skip if it came on.
Well, that was painful to listen to! It reminds me of when I lived in the Philippines and we used to go to this kind of outdoor food and beer court, served by several small bars/stalls. Each one would be playing a different kind of music at max volume, and some would have people singing karaoke. The discordance of the various competing sounds used to give me a worse headache than the bad beer I was drinking. The experience of this album had much the same effect.
Pop structures with some avant garde weirdness mixed in. I can’t shake the “indie sleaze”-ness of the record, though. So so so many people forced themselves to listen to this record because it got buzz from Pitchfork
I only clicked with one song, I feel disappointed
very weird album NGL but interesting nonetheless
01) Cannibal Resource - 6,0 02) Temecula Sunrise - 5,0 03) The Bride - 5,0 04) Stillness Is the Move - 5,5 05) Two Doves - 6,5 06) Useful Chamber - 5,5 07) No Intention - 5,5 08) Remade Horizon - 5,5 09) Fluorescent Half Dome - 5,5 TOTAL: 5,56 (56/100) Current ranking: 509/596
Never heard of this album before - and it was better than I expected but still not going to use up cash on the album. Nice vocals though!
Not my thing
What in the hell even is that
The entire time, I was thinking: "what am I supposed to do with this information?" Right from the first track, Cannibal Resource, we hear contrasting elements of several eras of music. The brash, complex timbre of late-70s-esque drumming, guitar tones from a bygone era, both messy and clean vocal harmonies (representing new and old, respectively)... and a melody that's extremely difficult to follow on a first listen. This last aspect is a common theme throughout the album. Temecula Sunrise gets even tougher to follow, introducing what I can only assume are polyrhythms to the mix. And nonsensical guitar solos. Every melody is in conflict with its chord, and at the same time every chord sounds just a bit wrong. The Dirty Projectors pick and choose musical elements seemingly at random – like suddenly introducing a doubled electric guitar and bass line at the end of The Bride with a completely novel riff which is played exactly three times, then the song ends. Stillness Is The Move and Two Doves are the easiest songs to follow mentally. Probably why they have the most listens on Spotify. In both tracks, I enjoyed the vocals and strings competing to see which high-frequency texture could outperform the other. No Intention is also a fun track with a simple modern-rock texture and a great repeating guitar riff. But others, like The Bride and Fluorescent Half Dome, are unapproachable – at least during the first listen. A bit like Captain Beefheart (or what I imagine his stuff is like – still holding out on Trout Mask Replica until I get it on this list). Or maybe a Frank Zappa mimic who aged less elegantly. 2/5 Key tracks: Stillness Is The Move, No Intention
This album rules. This is what college for me sounded like
An unremarkable album, didn’t hate it but didn’t like it either. Perhaps an unappealing mash up of different genres enveloped with bad vocals. This is a high 2 for me.
Grand, sounds like 2009. A good rule of thumb with this list is that albums added after the original version was completed are extremely hit or miss. Whoever made this list had a hard time of pinpointing the contemporary albums that would have a lasting impact.
162/1089 - This really doesn't sound like the album cover. In fact, it really takes don't judge a book by it's cover to another level. I thought I'd dislike this based on the description (odd-time signatures, strings, indie, math-rock, etc.) but it was really well executed and the string sections were CHAMBER strings and not ORCHESTRAL which was nice. Gives it a more intimate feel and allows for more striking counterpoint. One issue I noticed is many of the songs are in G major right in a row but it's just a minor complaint. Overall, I feel like I learned something today. P.S. Does the above sincerity read too millennial? I'm a zillennial so I should probably balance it out with some zoomer-speak: Jacob Collier if he was good at music 😎" Nah but seriously I enjoyed this.
Awful woodland sprite music.
Boring
Interesting and eh. But maybe I wasn't in the right mood for it
Utter garbage.
Not as bad as I thought it would be, but very up it’s own ass.
Good… want to like it more, but it exhausts me a bit. Shame. 3.5ish? …it made me come back for more… 4
When you show up for the daily album and find you've stumbled into a meeting of the Hyperbolic Karen's Pearl Clutching Division. This album is a lot better than the comments. Yeah it's different, but I like strange. Your never going to great any of this on the radio. It's too good for that.
I liked the first track and then things went Chinua Achebe: they fell apart. Not a great listen, a lot of Tune-Yards type odd sound noises. A lot of songs just blended together.
Cannibal Resource...starting off weird. It's almost an anti-song? Like it's trying to avoid making sense Temecula Sunrise...sounds like the dumb shit I would come up with while noodling on guitar The Bride...what is happening?! Stillness is the Move...sort of resembles a pop song. I can groove to it Two Doves...hmm. I appreciate the attempt at a sincere acoustic ballad on an otherwise strange album but it's just not good. Useful Chamber...continues the weirdness. Not an enjoyable listen No Intention...an accessible and welcome reprieve from the rest of this insanity Remade Horizon...guh wtf is this? Sounds like a first draft with high production values Fluorescent Half Dome...not my thing. not my thing at all
Starts strong. Goes downhill quickly. Nice guitar playing.
It was interesting for sure. Most of the songs didn't really culminate the way I wanted but it was pretty satisfying when they did. Rating: 2.3
Just a mess Fave Song: Two Doves
Favorite Track: Stillness Is The Move
Weird without being good or bad
There are some genres you can get away with no melody, but indie rock is not one of them. Simpsons: No
It's never good when I read 'experimental' in the description. This wasn't too bad though.
This was just a dull indie rock album that didn't really do anything. I'm not sure why this has been placed on the list. Maybe the back end of the 2000s was short on albums, and this was one added to make up the numbers?
This album gave me the ick.