Reviews (page 6 of 8)
This is a strong candidate for the most 2009 album of all time; maybe even more than The XX. It's peak late 00s indie excess and quirkiness for the sake of quirkiness. It's impossible to understand the rise of 'Stomp Clap' indie folk in the 2010s without understanding how unbearable 'regular' indie became. I'm not sure there's even any Stomp Clap records on this list which seems unfair given it's momentary importance, but I won't dwell on it. The Dirty Projectors brand of landfill indie made great fodder for hipster store soundtracks and forgetting that we were in the height of the worst recession since the great depression, but it's never been great active listening music. "Temecula Sunrise" and "Useful Chamber" are especially difficult listens. The only bit of nostalgia I got from this record was a compulsion to listen to Los Campesinos! (apparently my preferred version of this kind of music). Two stars because it offers useful momentary context, but otherwise doesn't feel like required listening. I won't revisit this one.
1.5
Not as good as thought I was. Remembered why I deleted it out of my iTunes. Boring
This is a Seinfeld album - it's an album about nothing. It's not great, not offensive, not imaginative, not bland - it's really not anything. I imagine the band looks like an SNL skit about a hipster/indie pop band that never made it but still somehow continued into their 40's. So many f'ing 2's on this list.
Two Doves wants to sound like Nico's Fairest of the Seasons, right? kinda like aspects of this in a way that makes me ashamed to be a Millennial. things I will defend: - the time signature inconsistencies & changes are a good idea to give the songs forward motion. they show up in organic places. they simply didn't rock hard enough for it to land. - the split parts are a good idea, a thing that is consistently cool in band dynamics. some of the guitar lines are a big nothing, some of them do rock. the indefensible: - Dirty Projectors guy's oversinging lots sounds like a band trying hard to be fun, not pretentious, but they don't get there, and I do feel a little sad judging. this is a 2 because I can't see myself suggesting anyone listen. music: hated. (⌐■_■)
re-living 2013
Not objectively horrible, but so incredibly boring and tuneless.
4/10
I heard a toddler cover this record, track for track, on a Fisher Price toy piano, with his feet.
Favourite: Two Doves
Ehh, not for me. Kind of weird.
Felt pretentious and self-indulgent in an obnoxious way. 2*
I thought i would like this when it FIRST started (based on the instrumentation) but the background vocals were something... I like parts of it but some of the more experimental choices are not for me.
Would have gotten 1 star if not for Two Doves. I don’t know how this album got on this list. Maybe I am too young to appreciate its relevance at the time but I have never heard of this group before today.
favs: stillness is the move
Too busy I can’t submit to anything
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.
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.
Very up it's own arse, I think.
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
That was pretentious fluff.
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.
Respect to LZ. This one's isn't a fave for me
Impressive playing but sounds way too American for me.
Some of this was okay, but it was mostly pretentious and try hard.
2 stars It was giving me anxiety
whatever
Maybe a 2.5
Non traditional song structures.
21st century synth indie. It's fine at what it is but not my thing.
Trying too hard to be something new and interesting, failing miserably. Some okay moments, but overall I did not like this.
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
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
This one wasn't for me. Gets a 2 because there was one song that was fine.
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
Not my thing. Sounds like a cult waiting to dring the kool aid at the end of the concert.
Expérimental rock violin????
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.
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
Joanna Newsome with attitude. Precious, but with teeth.
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.
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.
'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
very low 2
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.
One good song and some interesting ideas.
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
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.
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
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.
Vocals and guitar are jarring
There's elements within this album that I like, but I really didn't enjoy how they all came together.
Difficult to listen to.
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.
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
frekar random plata, ekkert sérstaklega hrifinn af henni
This sounds so painfully 2009 with too much going on.
First time I heard them. An OK 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
ned s ganze glost, has ned so gfühlt
Not for me
Some goods songs, Not for me personally
That was okay, good sound tho
Shoutout NBA 2k13 for "Stillness is the Move" fine other than that 2.5
I didn't hate it.
Did not enjoy this. Something about all the songs was jarring and annoying. 2/5
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
This isn't dissonance this is just bad singing.
Zuhause, Heidenheim, Deutschland. Zu weird & zu ungefährlich.
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
Forgetable
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
It was fine
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
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
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
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.
Not as bad as I thought it would be, but very up it’s own ass.
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
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
There are some genres you can get away with no melody, but indie rock is not one of them. Simpsons: No
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?
A very interesting album. While I do find some of the tracks to be cool and well produced, I feel like most of the tracks are just compiled sounds and random odds and ends. I wish I could say I liked this record more. Sorry…
I was not previously familiar with the artist or album. This is kind of a strange listen. It's indie with both male and female vocals, mostly acoustic guitars, and some tracks have strings as well. There's some strange syncopation and repetition on some tracks that's a bit off-putting. The tracks overall don't feel coherent as an album. Some interesting parts but not enough to come back. Would not listen again.
Não é meu tipo de música. Para meu gosto é muito chato. Ouvi o álbum todo e esse tipo de indie experimental não me pega mesmo. Tangzu Wan'er SG.
Likte da ikkje
I half expected some guy to start screaming "HEY" in the middle of No Intention.
This really does nothing for me, and it's not even good enough to get a 3. Still not like... aggravating or anything, just not really anything. Almost interesting in a couple parts.
Did Dirty Projectors pay to be on this list or something? If you thought this album was boring but that they had some neat ideas, check out their song Break-Thru, it's great.
Thoroughly uninteresting album. I don't think a single song or even moment on this album hooked me aside from the pretty decent Useful Chamber, but also nothing was offensively bad enough to be memorable. Arguably, the worst kind of album.
Another entry in “why on earth was this included in the list?” Some good parts, some incredibly weird and annoying parts. Won’t be revisiting. Shoutout to whoever put “Stillness Is The Move” on the NBA 2K13 soundtrack though
The second half of this album was great. The first part of the album was like a "worst of Arcade Fire" compilation.
This is a little like walking into a modern art museum; it's interesting, but you're not sure you really get it. It makes you feel something, but mostly just uncomfortable with the fact that something is just "off" about it. This is a museum I will not be revisiting.
This didn't leave much of an impression for me. Sounded a bit folky vampire weekend. Very 00s
Idk about this one... I haven't listened to new music in a while and this one did not stick. A lot of the songs felt disjointed and others felt like a hodgepodge of random stuff. I really liked No Intention and that's about it, because it was steady, and had a catchy guitar part. Other than that, the first 3 songs were uneven rhythmically and I wasn't a huge fan of that. Useful Chamber just felt random, and by the end, the songs were kind of uninteresting. I like the idea of having the female singers, and they are good background singers, although it got repetitive throughout all of the songs. The lyrics are good though, that is a strong point on this album. Favorite Song: No Intention Least Favorite Song: Useful Chamber
A bit too twee and clunky for me, even though it actually pulls itself together a bit in the second half. Favorite song is “Stillness Is The Move”, specifically featuring the girl on the left of the album cover, Amber Coffman. I knew I recognized that voice from somewhere, shes featured on Rusko’s “Hold On” and Major Lazers “Get Free”. If you haven’t heard the latter, you should listen to it - one of the better, more meaningful, left-of-field songs to ever come from and edm group.
I still don't know what to make of Bitte Orca. I guess it's easy enough to listen to. It contains some experimental components that I'm not exactly wild about, and a fair descriptor to use is weird. I heard some Eastern-inspired sounds, which is always interesting. But my life is not enriched or better off after this album.
This was definitely eclectic and leaning more into heavy hipster territory of the indie genre. Not that there is anything wrong with that, inherently. That said, this just often felt experimental and noisy and wasn't completely to my liking. Oh well.
Indie background album
Really didn't get this album. It all kinda sounded the same and was just another indie pop album. 4/10
Very choppy n sloppy sounding. It sounds disorganized and as if ideas and rhythms were just slapped together without regard to how they fit in the song. Some interesting moments, but ultimately it’s a fatiguing listen.
I don’t like slow sad bisexual music
This was too indie for my tastes. I wanted to like it but ultimately found it aggravating to listen to.
Seemingly nonsensical lyrics with okish music
meh
At times I started to kinda like it but then the singer started to annoy me again. I was gonna give it a second d listen but decided against it. 2 stars
I really wanted to like this one. And some parts I did. But that was the problem- it was only in parts. I don't think there was one song I liked all the way through; some started good and went bad, some started rough and improved, and others oscillated between the two. Anything else was in the "OK" territory of neither good nor bad. To me, a lot of it felt disjointed. Like the guitar was playing one song and the percussion another, and they didn't really match up to make something cohesive. Or the vocals were in one space and the music was in another. It was like they had a ton of ideas for songs when writing the album, but instead of ditching the worst ones, they kept them all (and combined them) anyway. I'm guessing that's what they were going for, as it was definitely pervasive and was the sound of the album. If so, I'd say they accomplished their goal. I'll give them credit for that. I'll say I was underwhelmed, but not turned off. I appreciated it more than some of the super bland stuff that I've gotten on here, as they tried to do something different. It was definitely interesting. But still, I can't say it was good. Overall: 2.5/5
3/10 MARTHA!!! The raccoons are in the garage again playing the rock music. stop feeding them the butter!!! 5-13-2025
It was different, I was finding it alright until the last few songs which were obnoxious and repetitive. Favorite song was Stillness is the Move. 4/10
Eh
1.77
It’s ok.
Quirky, too arty for me. A few more nice tunes might help.
Ok. Some tracks were pretty good, but nothing that really jumped out at me. I can see this being “Best Album of the June 2009” but I don’t think it’s stood the test of time. Can’t rate it higher than “Low” by DB though, because in retrospect that album was presaging this style of music 20 years earlier.
Never heard of them, like many others on this list. And it seems for a reason, as I could've continued my life perfectly without knowing this record.
Vaikeaselkoinen levy, ja yritin joitakin pätkiä kuunnella useampaan kertaan. Mutta ei ihan kelvotonta kuitenkaan.
It's that pretentious Indie guy in college who thinks he's too deep for anyone to understand.
Voices were ok, but the songs sounded like someone just threw together random words with no meaning.
meh. some was interesting, some was more noise, and the vocals were hit & miss (female much stronger than male). why was this on the list??
Not really for me
It reminds me of talking heads - and similar to them I feel I should like it more than I do. It also reminds me of 80s King Crimson, the flaming lips and Arcade Fire. It’s weirdness, but modern weirdness. Unfortunately, I don’t really like the lead singers voice. It feels more “wacky” than “interesting”. Maybe I just don’t like modern things! Might give it another try but I don’t feel compelled to listen to it.
Not for me….
I don't even know where to begin. It sounds experimental, yet well put together? Very indie, very melodic, but not for me.
Not a fan of this one, it’s not necessarily bad, just weird and I didn’t really enjoy it. I agree with the other reviews about it being needlessly offbeat and random notes and backing vocals thrown in for the sake of it, I actually like quite a few parts about this album: the acoustic guitar throughout is really nice, the strings in some parts as well and my favourite part is the transition from stillness is the move to two doves which the latter is definitely my favourite from here and the former is probably second. Other than that the rest of the songs I didn’t really like as it mostly consisted of drums which didn’t even feel like they were part of the songs and vocals mostly in falsetto for some reason repeating the name of the song a multitude of times with female backing vocals thrown in. Overall a 2 but a high 2 (4/10).
Never heard of them and pretty sure I will forget about them before the end of the day. It's one where I'm just not sure why I needed to hear this before I die. It's hard to understand what the hell is going on and I actually fine all the vocals rather irritating...
Album 732 of 1001 Dirty Projectors - Bitte Orca (2009) Rating : 1.5 / 5 I typically like Indie rock but I don't know what they are trying to do here.
Don't know what this is seems to be all over the place. Jazzy noise
2.7
I prefer Tune-yards. Deradoorian's solo record was pretty good. (Exploding Flower Planet - I went back to it after and it's still good) I see this is from the Of Montreal school of trying to fit 5 different songs into one. Except in many of these tracks they're being played at the same time. I'm all for experimental music, it pushes music forward. Also, not all experiments are a success. Stillness is the Move was really good though. Just play tunes, dudes! You can get away with all sorts of experimentation if you hang it around a consistent melody. Useful Chamber is just irritating, please stop.
Boring Brooklyn hipster noise.
I don't mind some out there shit. I can get on board with some pretty funky stuff. I don't fucking like this very much though. What a chore. Like a high school band. Simple and trying to be clever. Don't come back. Two stars.
This feels artsy for the sake of it. I don't know what it's trying to say.
Never heard of them. Was too experimental for me. Felt like a combo of the worst parts of Kevin Parker and Bon Iver tasked to make something weird. This was unfortunate because I really liked the tones of the instruments and production. It just wasn't done in the best way. I liked the harmonies and the vocalists is definitely talented, but the tempo changes were too frequent for my taste. Useful Chamber was my favorite song followd by Two Doves. Strong 2. Only a strong 2 because of the ties to Rusko with Amber Coffman. That dude makes great wubs. Could make an argument questioning the existence of this album on the list. Definitely couldn't listen with Drake's grandmother.
I’d rather listen to vampire weekend. Album sounds great and the playing with time is cool along with the angular guitar riffs throughout, but this doesn’t really do it for me. Mr. Projector sure knows his way around a DAW (please teach me btw), but maybe having an outside producer would’ve helped them with creating a more cohesive project. There’s something here, but it feels more like noodling on a MacBook than anything else.
didn't care for the opening track. sound kind of too busy, almost trying too hard to sound unique there with all the layering going on. 2nd track had a good acoustic guitar part in the beginning The Bride was alright and Stillness Is The Move had a unique sound, I liked the sound of the vocals. I didn't care for Useful Chamber at all and skipped it half way through overall this isn't for me I think, possibly a 2 today.
Um not really my style.
I just couldn't get into this. A little too scattered and unstructured for me.
meh
I can't get the sense
A lot of sounds just for the sake of it. Beautiful harmonies with half melodies. It’s pretty but that’s it. 5.5/10
This was okay. A couple tracks caught my attention for being really odd.
Listened: 06/03/2025 Album no: 30 % rating: 43% Fave song: Not for me. Had its moments where it went a little Radiohead but yeah, turned it off half way though.
Came and went... Really nothing crazy. They where guaranteed better albums in this era to get a spot if you ask me.
barely melodic but uninteresting
Too much "experimental". It's hard to concentrate on the music.
Although I tend to admire "weird" music, this one made me groan. The schizophrenic tendencies of this album are overwrought and annoying. While both the vocals and the guitars going on during 'Temecula Sunrise' would sound good in isolation, they're jammed together in total rhythmic dissonance. 'Two Doves' sounds like a psychotic cover of Nico's 'These Days'. In acknowledgement of the obvious inspiration, the song even rips a fitting lyric from Nico's song and declares itself an untouchable "failure". Is this supposed to be some outrageously cheeky meta-irony that I can't begin to comprehend? Although none of it is bad, I'm baffled by this bunch of bizarro songs.
not my thing.
I feel like I should appreciate the ambition and that it wants to be more than just another indie album, but I also don’t really want to listen to it again, so…
Bland 00's hipster blandness. Bland.
A bit meh.
По мнению А: 3/5 По мнению С: 2/5 ИТОГОВАЯ ОЦЕНКА: 2/5 (24.01.2025)
Unfortunately mid and doesn’t need to be heard before u die.
Meh. I just can’t think of anything to say about it, really. I forgot about it an hour later.
The first song was a bit weird but it had shades of The Futureheads and the Flaming Lips, leaving me cautiously optimistic. But that was as good as it got. On some of the songs, it seemed like different band members were playing completely different songs and genres to each other and it just didn't work.
Didn't hate, didn't love
This irks me. Comes of as pretentious
Weird noises, weird music and boring to boot.
Someone loves the smell of his own shit, I think.
Dangerously close to one-star territory. Hard to say I enjoyed a single song.
A sloppy mess, to put it kindly
It sounds like a typical 2000 indie record. I never listened to that and I still think I did not miss anything important. This als goes for this album. Not bad but also not interesting.
Not terrible, so on this list, that's worth 2 stars, buI never want to hear it again.
i don’t even know what genre this would be called but i know i don’t like it
A few bright spots but generally not for me.
Stillness is the Move 5/5 Weird album overall. A little too chaotic I think for me to really enjoy it. It's like a few songs didn't want to keep a melody for longer than 30 seconds. But I can see this growing on me over time to a 3/5 but only a 2 from me dawg
So far this is awesome. Abstract instrumentals tickle my brain. The second half of this album is pretty obnoxious. The vocal melodies are very reminiscent of the annoying technical flexing of singers like Jacob Collier. No hate to Jacob, but I find that style to be humble brag-esqe.
Not as bad as expected from browsing the reviews but certainly lousy. Every song sounds unfinished and lacks direction. The cool moments are quickly obliterated with noise.
What in the art school hell is this? There’s a couple of decent moments when they become a pretty adequate chamber pop band, but other than that… no thanks.
I like how the first song starts a lot with the long snazzy guitar. vocals come in and it’s like disjointed in a way I found weird at first but then it got nice. Generally the vibes are kind of like async beats with indie style vocals and I’m digging it so far. Stillness is the move comes in with some new high pitched sounds that i really like, and the lady vocals are so nice. Honestly overall opinion is a bit angsty for me
Unusual. No natural flow to the melodies or instrumentation. Sounds like a collection of musical snipets, which is quite tiring on the ears.
I did not like this. I agree with others saying it sounds quite pretentious, and I think the cover art amplifies that notion.
yeah i have no idea what the point of this being here is
I wrote a review for this but it didn’t save, basically it was boring
I wrote a review for this fucker and its gone. So im gonna summarise it. What was the point. Sounds like it couldve been good but someone fucked with the settings accidentally and couldnt ctrl+z it so they just went ‘fuck it, put it out like that, im not redoing it’ Stillness is the move was enjoyable. As was Useful Chamber for about 30 seconds, then it gave caesar the seizure and nearly caused a pile up in the middle of the big small heath roundabout. That 1.1 of a song is the only sing saving this from being 1 star. Not because the album was particularly bad, it was just uninspiring and sort of happened, rather than even being able to understand if I liked it. All in all… weird. Dont know why i had to hear this before I died. Maybe some cunt in the band has a friend who does the list. Basically rewrote he whole fucking review n’all. Pisstake
Started off great before descending into an irritating unlistenable mess!
This was super boring.
I did not enjoy this. There's some real vocal talent on display, but the whole is weaker than the sum of its parts. Sometimes the album seems self-important.
i didn't necessarily dislike my time with this, but i certainly did not like most of it, either
Not for me - a bit of background noise, slightly grating I'm afraid 2/5
The word "bitte" is a German word for "please", and "orca" is another name for a killer whale. Frontman David Longstreth states that he liked the way the words sound together. This sums up the pretentious nonsensicle garble this album is. Weird just to be weird.
This band reminds me of the Lumineers trying to be the Yeah Yeah Yeahs playing songs written by David Byrne. There are moments where the music is smooth but then suddenly disjoints itself. For some this may be enjoyable but for me, no.
This was nice. No vocals, all instruments. Pretty easy listening, but didn’t tickle my fancy
Challenging. Some highlights some other bits where I felt it was playing with time signatures for the sake of time signatures. Can think of more worthy albums to be here (though they might not be as cool)
I just do not care for music like this.
Experimental is the euphemism for tuning up throughout the album. Sounded like some stream of consciousness singing. Was hoping for more with a song titled Temecula Sunrise, all a bit disconnected but a good one time listen. I saw colors with Orca, Bride, Two Doves, and Temec Sunrise. (2.4*s)
This album is so hipster it hurts. Some of it is nice sounding but the off tempo structure of most songs plus the lead's vocals are annoying. "Useful Chamber" and the violins on the closing track are good but the band just tries too hard to be unique. A little shout out to Temecula was a surprise. Must listen before you die album? Orca please...2.1.
This album ran the gamut for me. Parts of it were irritating and pretentious. Other songs had a cool indie sound that I vibed with. I feel like Dirty Projectors is an offbeat artist that should resonate with me and that I should have liked this more than I did. I should have liked this more than I did. Maybe I was in a bad mood or something. Might have to give these guys another shot. 2.41 stars
Tries very hard to be included in a Richard Ayoade film soundtrack
There are pieces that I like but it never really came together
A l'époque de sa sortie j'aurais très probablement été conquise, en plein milieu de l'afflux foisonnant de groupes indé. Sauf qu'en 2025 j'ai la sensation que c'est daté. D'autres ont su rester dans mon oreille sans que ca ne prenne une ride (Arcade fire pour ne citer qu'eux). Pour être honnête, je ne pense pas réécouter...
#382. Okayish, I guess? 2/5: uninspiring
Radiohead's ADHD kid brother. There are occasional flashes of genius, but the way it can't ever settle down to one thing becomes grating and irritating after a while.
Picture this album as a lego set. You give the set to a 5 year old to complete, and they don't follow the directions. Once assembled, you can kind of tell what the final product was supposed to be, but pieces are all over the place where they don't quite fit, and even though it could be interpreted as "alternative," it really isn't pleasing to look at. But the child is happy, so you play along and say, "Well done!"
Bitte shitte, innit?
2009. This band is one I know, but never loved. Listening to this album confirmed that feeling. I can't deny it's brilliance, technically and experimentally. But, it does not fall well on my ears. I think there is disharmony between the frontman's vocals and the other sounds that just do not sound pleasant. BUT, I will say, on a few tracks, what feels like being trapped in this cacophony will sometimes settle, and your left with a beautiful moment. And that I love. For me, there like a hyperish, jagged Vampire Weekend or entranced, shinier Vulfpeck. Obviously, you hear a lot of Animal Collective, too. The work is deft, but the tracks, aside from 2-3, don't resonate. Fav track: The Bride
Favourite songs: Stillness Is The Move, Cannibal Resource Least favourite songs: Useful Chamber, Temecula Sunrise 2/5
The very definition of trying to hard. I did not bitte on this one at all, bitte but no bitte.
Never heard this before. Pretty unlistenable. fluctuating between a 1-star and 2-star rating.
Welp, that was… something. The first track had me optimistic about where this album was headed, and then it took a 90° turn, and then another, and then another. There are some bright moments that feel like this band knows what they are doing and has a developing sound. Then there are others that feel like they enlisted a 6-year old with a Mattel Magical Musical Thing (look it up) to play random notes. Disappointing is a compliment.
Indy folk rock? Hipster rock folk? Folky Hipster jams? Idk it’s not for me but I’m sure there’s a dude with nose piercings riding a fixie while drinking kombucha in San Francisco FUCKINGVIBING to this
грязные прожекторы надо помыть
I don't even know where to start with this ramshackle amalgamation of noises. All I know is that I didn't enjoy it.
a bit weird in places, but some tracks were ok
Not sure if it was intentional but this largely sounded like they were trying to lure in whales. Reminded me of some sub-par support bands I’ve had to suffer through before the main act. Meh.
Complex to the point it feels random. Am I allowed to say it's too artsy if I like Björk, and it's surely influenced by her?
I didn't like this 15 years ago and I don't like it now. Just when they get you in a groove they uproot everything with the most garish sonics or rhythm change they could possibly imagine. I get that they want to be \"indie art rock\" or \"avant garde\" but split the diff, folks. It's frustrating because when they toe that line, the project often works. These moments are often short-lived, however. It usually helps when the interesting thing that you're presenting an audience with is listenable. This is why people find this album pretentious.
If Geddy Lee from Rush made 2012 hipster music
Just felt like random stuff slapped together. Had its moments though.
Bitte nicht Orca
It sounded like everyone was trying to show off and forgot to listen to each other.
Incredibly overrated by everyone, starting from Pitchfork. It’s over complicated, barely tuneful, the singers are annoying, etc. I didn’t understand the hype at the time and still don’t understand. Looking back, 2009 was a bad year in music, except for the xx.
Just ok
“Stillness is the Move” is a good song. Unfortunately this album has eight other songs on it. You just know that everyone in this band owns grooming products that cost more than my car and also smells bad all the time. From Wikipedia: “Longstreth notes that the music contained within the album "felt very [much] about colors, and their interaction,"”. Isn’t that just indie music in a nutshell? Other genres have songs about sex and drugs and dancing and frustration and divorce and violence and poverty and things real people deal with, and indie music has songs about things twenty-five year old sadboy trustafarians think about while they are high on mushrooms and meditating in their Brooklyn apartment next to their vegan kumbacha. They call it indie music because it belongs indie trash. On May 8, 2009, members of Dirty Projectors collaborated with Bjork to perform an orchestral composition for five voices and acoustic guitar composed by Longstreth as part of a charity concert to benefit Housing Works, a nonprofit dedicated to finding housing for homeless men, women and children with AIDS. Halfway through the concert the homeless people stood up and said "if it’s all the same to you, we'll stick with the AIDS!"
Pretentious and annoying. Hard pass.
boh mi sembrano tutte uguali.
Not really my deal.
this started out well and declined very quickly
Easy listening but a bit boring
Didn't see the point to this one.
Just blends in. Nothing special
I don't get it.
A Monet of an album - looks OK from a distance, but when you pay some closer attention it's a right old mess. Half the time the rhythm section seems to be playing a completely different song to the rest of the band, and there are moments when it settles down into a more regular type of music and then they realise that they need to be more avant garde and it jets off even further up it's own arse.
Meh
This one didn't do much for me. Started to get on my nerves after awhile. 2.5
Might be the most overrated album of the era. Should be right in my wheelhouse but I just can't get behind it. 1.5/5
This started out inventively interesting but got really hard to listen to. Not too catchy but that seems like the point.
After a random hangout with the band during their tour for this album I picked it up and gave it a listen. It didn’t really hit for me and every few years I’ll give it another chance hoping it grows on me differently. 15 years later and it still doesn’t hit. I don’t know if it’s how it was mixed but for the most part it doesn’t sound right and is hard to enjoy. Maybe David just doesn’t have any rthyme with his guitar. 🤷♂️
4.5/10
ja nee leuk hoor maar hoeft van mij niet zo, niks echt achter gebleven bij me
beetje weird Niet mijn ding
Gear: Hifiman Arya Artwork: 🔵🔴 Mix: 〰️ Musik: 🤨 Wertung: 🔵🔴/5
Indie triphop with lots of wailing
The sort of album that would really benefit from a few more listens, but there's no way it's getting them. Fairly incoherent on a first run through.
I liked Stillness Is The Move ... otherwise
That's not my taste in musik.
Maso
Stillness Is the Move is the only song I kind of liked.
Not very coherent. Favourites: stillness is the move, two doves, useful chamber. Very artsy and hard to enjoy. 2/5
Very 2000s
uninspired and unmoving to say the least. coke zero version of vampire weekend
Interesting enough album. High 2
Shitte Orca
Så er den også hørt. Fik en lille smule Blur vibes ind imellem, men ellers for mig at se en rimelig gennemsnitlig plade. Det var lange 90 min at komme igennem den udgave jeg kunne finde af pladen.
Der er nogle interessante elementer. Men som helhed bliver det kedeligt på trods af den skævhed der er i musikken.
Strange sounds
This album was all over the place. It couldn’t decide if it wanted to be good, bad or boring. It had shades of all 3, but mostly landed on the boring, bordering on bad.
The first track was ok, just the right side of wanky, but it leeeaped way over that line coming into track 2. Track 3 doesn't show any sign of stepping back. This guy singing is annoying me enough just listening to him, I have no idea what I'd feel if I saw them live. It's just so pretentious and pleased with itself, but the content is so bad. "Stillness is the Move" has something about it. See, this is a bit more cohesive and works for that reason. I seem to have inadvertently done a 'track by track' review again, so may as well continue. Track 5, "Two Doves", what have you got? Ehhh.. it's quite nice. I like the violins as usual. If I heard this track in isolation I might be more dismissive, but maybe on the back of the poorer tracks, something like this stands out a bit more. Track 6... Ooh I like the weird synths, but oh wait, this stupid bloke is breathing sensitively over the top again. He's starting to really wind me up. They're being all weird with the music now, seemingly just for weirds sake. Good job! I do like these mad guitars rounding out the song though. "No Intention" is a more palatable track, but nothing special. Track 8, mmmm, a delicious cup of weird indie wank, delicious. God they must be so pleased with themselves. Nearly done, track 9! Oh whoops, I completely tuned out and didn't really pay attention, I only really caught the end. Erm, let's just say that it was probably 'ok at best'. Overall grade: 2/5, "Mostly Bad"
Strano, non ho finito di ascoltare
Uninteressanter Art Rock.
See all other 1 and 2 star reviews to sum up how I felt about it. It wasn't unlistenable, but I did FFW through a couple towards the end, hoping for something that I would enjoy. Really thought it was rubbish though. 1.5 stars
It’s certainly an album. Some of the music reminded me of Battles. 2.5 stars.
Urgh. I can be a wankery indie hipster at the best of times but this was too much for me. There were brief flashes of something resembling a tune, but every time something interesting happened they seemed to shoot themselves in the foot straight away. Neither vocalist is as good as they think they are and it was a difficult listen.
The first song on this album gave me such severe sensory overload that I'm not sure how I feel about the rest of the album, I just wanted all sounds to stop. I'm not sure music is meant to make you feel like that. The album had some moments I didn't hate (Two Doves wasn't bad), but it was mostly kind of annoying and I did not enjoy the 40 minutes I spent on it.
This album epitomizes hipster pop, embodying its eclectic, seemingly random mix of styles. To some, it may seem like a messy art project, but to its creators, it's a masterpiece. As for me, it’s just a pile of shit, trying to be something that it’s not.
It’s not the worst album on the list. But it didn’t need to be on the list.
Well this pick is a dud. It's not unlistenable, but it was testing that line for sure
Where there is pretentiousness there is an indie opus of keyboards, acoustic guitar, fuzzed electric guitar, drum machines, with a cacophony of vocals. There are flashes of interest but it tries too hard at being avant garde.
Weird and not great
some songs when the guy wasn't singing were ok but this was not good
A difficult listen.
Indie rock standard. I guess theres production value behind it but unless you are still really into 500 Days of Summer you can skip this.
It's a tough listen, a real mixture of styles, often in the same song that is just confusing. I'm usually drawn to bands labelled alternative but this is just a mish-mash of styles, tempo and forget melody.
Never heard of the band or the album yet I come away disappointed. Theres a good album here hidden amongst a forest of disjointed guitar and captain beefheart meets Mariah Carey and mika. At no point does the guitarist simply play what the song requires preferring instead to use it as a canvas to Jackson Pollack over.
More indie. Not for me. Nourres would love this though
Not my favorite. Little too whiny to let me enjoy the melody.
Found this really irritating.
Kind of interesting but overall didn't hit
I enjoyed their more focused songs. But overall this album wasn't for me.
Meh... not that bad but too distracting.
I reserve 1 ratings for albums that I just can’t bring myself to listen all the way through. This one I was at least able to get through. I often like experimental / noise rock, but this one I just don’t see it. Odd choice for this list, IMO.
This album was weird but I don’t know if in a good way or a bad way. I’m leaning more towards bad
Some pretty moments but this really didn't resonate with me.
# Playlist track - Two Doves # Notes - The male vocals are overstretched in pretty much all the tracks. - Never ending unnecessary harmonies feel pretentious. - Boring as hell. - One star for being kind of unique sounding but that's all.
Well, I suppose we all have our limits. I honestly wanted to like this band, they had those moments where they almost seemed quite brilliant, but each and every time they went into some experimental off key or weird mixy thing that threw everything off. I was like "you had this!" why did you throw your voice off like that? What did you do with that amazing riff? Why do you feel the need to be so Brooklyn hippy?
I should like this for it's experimental tendencies but it doesn't really grab me for some reason. In fact I'm finding that it is frequently annoying me. It comes across as somewhat "lightweight" to me. Beautiful in a way but also perhaps trying a bit too hard to be so.
Too quirky and annoying
Je peux comprendre le statut de cet album dans le monde du art rock, mais j'avais vraiment de la difficulté avec les voix du chanteur principal par moments. Il faudrait que je redonne une chance à cet album. Clairement ça s'entend que beaucoup d'aristes plus expérimentaux des dernières années s'en sont inspiré. 4/10
Nice to be reminded of how great Stillness is the Move is. The rest is more clever than loveable.
meh.
Not for me
Felt too indie for me
Maybe not as bad as some make out this isn't really that groundbreaking and allied with the fact the genre isn't up my street I wouldn't rate it highly. Some interesting sounds but quite generic framework.
Why? Why is this album here? Why was this album made? Why do critics like it so much? Why did I sit through it? The first two songs are basically unlistenable. The next few tracks have areas of promise, but they inevitably devolve into noise and weirdness. At some point I kind of stopped paying attention and didn't even realize the album had ended and the streaming algorithm was playing related artists. I can appreciate the idea of playing with sound and textures to create more of an art piece (a painting, if you will) than a song, but that's just not how or why I listen to music. I listen to it for the stories and the emotional connection, and there's just not a lot of that here. There’s some interesting guitar work, I guess. Otherwise, unless you enjoy Tiny Tim trying to do Bjork and pretentious bloviating about nonsense, don’t waste your time or torture your ears. 2/5
Accomplished but ass
Struggled to enjoy much of this one.