Bitte Orca

Yea…I struggled with this one. The odd time signature on every track got to me. Could have been cool if used sparingly, but was grating after awhile. I did enjoy Stillness is the Move, but not enough to save this album from a sub-average rating. 2.25/5

never heard of them at all. Surprisingly. not awful.. some clunkers, but overall if you are trying to listen to all of the albums, there are much worse.

okay

I'm usually into indie rock/experimental rock from the 00s, but this album wasn't chosive at all and it sounded all over the place, I didn't like the songwriting or the singing either...

Two Doves gefällt mir. Der Rest? Nun ja.

Indie pop rock with the most annoying vocals and mind-numbing guitar plucking.

The Dirty Projectors ruined indie music for years. The worst kind of trollish, intentional obscuritism. I have never wanted to punch a guy more than this specific guy.

The Stillness is the Move!!!! What a song. Took a while for the album to click into place, but when it did I was totally won over.

Not unpleasant but a bit jarring at times. I know I won’t seek them out again.

Some decent songs, overall not bad

Difficult to listen to at times. The best moments were fantastic, clearly bands like Vampire Weekend were inspired by this.

Some cool moments, but just can't get into this album. I enjoy Indy/garage/alternative rock, but so many of the songs feel disjointed, melodies that meander, noise at strange moments. Odd harmonies over harsh synths. Nothing here is terrible, nothing here is great. It's all fine, but largely forgetable.

Bland, disjointed, meandering, definitely not for me. I’ve listened to worse on this list.

cool i guess

El álbum arrancó mal al punto de pensar que le iba a dar una estrella y que iba a ser un suplicio escucharlo. La voz masculina muy chillona y los coros femeninos muy altos en cuanto a la producción. Después de un par de canciones mejoró y fue un álbum que pude disfrutar un poco más.

Generally wasn't easy to listen to for me. The vocals just didn't sound good on top of their music. But I did enjoy some of the instrumental guitar and strings

Out of the gate this reminds me a lot of Animal Collective and Grizzly Bear in its atmosphere. Vocals appear to be deliberately distressed with a shifty instrumental. Pretty cool song, but not something you can really groove to per se. There were a few songs in the middle that stood out a bit more than the rest: Stillness Is The Move and Two Doves. Other than that, this was fine-to-solid indie capturing that late 2000s experimental layering sound. I enjoyed the listen, but it did not call to me in the same way that Vekatimest or Merriweather Post Pavilion did. For that, I would call this a high 3 / 5.

Really loved the intro to the first song, but it fell off a bit when the vocals came in. I can't tell if this is in a weird time signature that I just can't pick up, or if the instruments just felt discordant from the vocals the entirety of the album. A couple pluses about this album was using multiple singers and having some unique sounds in the instruments. Other than that, I never really got into a groove with this one. I was really looking forward to the album after the intro to the first song, but that seems to be the high point of the whole thing. Only about 20 seconds of a high point at the very beginning does not make for a great album.

A couple of the songs on here were a bit strange. But a majority of them were really cool. 3.5 rounding up to a 4 for me. A nice album that I probably won't listen to again

This was an interesting one. Hearing a decent amount of Vampire Weekend and Grizzly Bear. That classic 00's indie sound. This went in all different directions musically. Had it on in the background and it kept me pretty damn engaged. Useful Chamber was a standout to me. If I heard Remade Horizon in the wild I would've guessed it was Animal Collective.

Terrible.

They have a bit of a Beatles in the modern era vibe. A bit eclectic, but I liked it. Favorite track was useful chamber.

good leg bounce music

Really nothing to say on this one, didn't grab or hold my attention

Coherent incoherence. At least it was different. But it’s a different i’ve heard quite a bit. Still great.

Better than expected. Quirky

Un disco con popurrí de canciones, parecen inconexas. Pero las canciones están bien. Folk, africano, inde, Rufus... popurrí.

Not really my kind of music

I liked Useful Chamber the most I think. I really enjoyed the instrumental portion of it at the end, however I will say that I think that the drums didn’t really match the guitar and other instruments and seemed to over shadow the rest. Over all, I think the issue I have with this album is the way it sounds instrumentally. I feel as if the lyrics and the instruments clash in an odd way and don’t necessarily compliment one another. I also felt overwhelmed by the music at times— it felt as though the instruments overshadowed the lyrics.

Was a fun listen!

Math rock, progressive pop, indie folk? What a varied album! I really enjoyed this and the weird little offbeat additions. Cool time signature shifts, key changes, tempo changes, this is GOOD.

3.5/5

Oh! This was awful! It sounded like someone asked an AI to produce an album and went on to feed it with King Crimson, Yes (lots of Yes, positive prompt = just copy entire Steve Howe passages verbatim), Radiohead, and a little bit of Destiny's Child. Then, once the dreadful noise had been assembled, rather than granting it merciful death, they released it as an album. The singing is probably the worst aspect, or is it the blatant rip-off almost directly from other (better) albums that this entire dross is sprinkled with maybe? It's hard to tell which I despised the most listening to this. It's affected garbage of the worst order and it actually made me a little sad because it was just so self-indulgent and plain pathetic. The video for the single (llama being led by two robed women) tells me everything I need to know about how pretentious the people making this music were. After enduring this, I felt the need to clean my ears out,

Dense and groggy - I don't know if the whiplash approach works all the time, but there's a lot here for your ears to absorb.

Nicht so meins

listened to again fun quirky thing

So some good elements here and there, but really could not get this record. I couldn’t wait to move on.

I really don’t get this This is so shitty 1.5/5 What the fuck is this shit Fuck this album

Very modern, switches between lead singers, lived up to my image that of hipsters living in Brooklyn.

Really interesting! I like, mostly. Very cool musically and the lyrics and vocals are nice too.

Not my jam…

I tried to like it. And there were moments that I really did. But ultimately, it annoyed me. Definitely not for me first thing in the morning.

A decent album, some fun songs. Really solid. 3.6/5

Such a good album. Experimental yet very listenable and catchy with BANGERS!!!

Standard indie fare. Nothing exciting.

Interesting, poppy indie rock. There are some cool sounds and one really weird but fun track, “useful chamber.” Nice to listen to, might listen again.

Gefällt mir überhaupt nicht.

1. Cannibal Resource - 4.8 - this sounds terrible. innovation isn't always good. 2. Temecula Sunrise - 5.2 - imagine if jazz had none of the pretext. 3. The Bride - 5.6 - the end of this song is listenable. 4. Stillness Is the Move - 8.3 - actually creative and fun. still not my favorite but I can at least understand people liking this. 5. Two Doves - 8.2 - Again, this is great, creative indie pop. I don't know why they decided to start with something so terrible. 6. Useful Chamber - 8.5 - a bit too long, I see the vision. "Bitte Orca" part goes hard 7. No Intention - 7.4 - feels more standard. not as experimental as previous three good songs. 8. Remade Horizon - 8.8 - holy shit, great song. 9. Fluorescent Half Dome - 6.8 - eh. feel like they returned to the beginning of the album.

it's interesting - feels a bit busy at times, like some sounds/instruments are out of sync, but very chill vibes

Pound shop Animal Collective. And I fucking hate Animal Collective.

I am a sucker for interesting vocal harmonies, and this manages to be cool and pretty and diverse and fun and fascinating and just all around awesome.

Oh Dimery. *sigh* Tried. I really did. But when the Wikipedia page takes a paragraph to explain the album title, it’s as good an indication to what listening to the music will be like. Not surprised. Just disappointed.

I’d never heard of this band before. I’ve only listened to the album once. Wacky, to say the least. I love the harmonies. And I love the musicianship. Impossible to categorise. Constantly surprising. Changing approach from song to song, & often within a track - Useful Chamber is a good example. I really enjoyed this.

Jeez, it's hard to know what to make of this. I know the name and cover (great cover art, BTW), but knew nothing of the band other than a vague sense of this album being a bit of a critical darling. That alone is enough to set my spidey-senses tingling; critics are often pretentious wankers who like tuneless and needlessly difficult music that is just no fun at all. For example, Paul Thompson, in his rave Pitchfork for this album (Best new release!) says that Dirty Projectors "carry with them ambitions so grandiose it's no wonder they range from wildly inventive to practically unlistenable-- occasionally in the span of the same song.... In spite of its [previous albums, but also applicable to Bitte Orca's] comparatively light tone and the band's tight clutch on melody and rhythm, it was art-damaged and, to some, impenetrable. However you sized it up, you had to admit it was intriguing, even if your interest level waned with every passing yelp. This has heretofore been the story of Dirty Projectors: a band so brainy, so good at the very particular thing they do, they can be hard to like." Where I disagree with Mr Thompson is that he goes on to claim that this record is, by way of comparison with their previous output, enjoyable and lots of fun. Sorry, I don't hear it. This reminds me of other bands in the early 2000s with a notable Afrobeat influence (Tuneyards, Vampire Weekend), but I find this incredibly obtuse and elliptical, with none of the drive or joie de vivre that makes Afrobeat so compelling. I do not find this album fun. I don't mind fresh and challenging pop music, but this takes that to an extreme. And, if this is their most accessible album, god spare us from their other output. Taking a deep breath, I suspect that if I played this a bunch more times, I'd find a way into it, and find some things to appreciate. Buit I'm too old and cranky to do the work when there are other records that fill this niche without having to put up with this twaddle. I note that this album is not included in the latest edition of 1001 albums. I think this is a subtle admission from Dimery that this album was a flavour-of-the-week, without real staying power.

This whole thing is a garbled jumble of instruments with a thick smear of falsetto nonsense on top. There's not a single coherent song on the album! Every track is fractured and disjointed as though each instrumentalist was giving a time signature and a key and then told to "just play something neat, right?" These songs are the musical equivalent of a cartoon ransom note made of our cut-and-paste magazine clippings. This didn't come anywhere near enjoyable to listen to and I was thrilled - THRILLED - when it was finally over.

sanoisin että lähin asia the beatles bändiä mitä on mahdollista olla. albumin sisältämä musiikki tuntui hyvin paljon väreistä ja niiden vuorovaikutuksesta. onneksi olen värisokea heh.... kiitos pyhä kolminaisuus että kuuntelin nyt enkä vahingossa päättänyt junamusiikiksi laittaa.. liian puhdas ääni, olisi parempi jos äänitetty vanhalla huawei puhelimella, junaraiteilla... temecula sunrise

Feels like a pretty bog standard indie pop album. It’s a genre I enjoy so it’s fine, but nothing special, I wouldn’t listen again.

Just didn’t excite. Couldn’t recall a single song now

This one breezed by like a guava mocktail at a hipster bar

ll

I have a lot of thoughts about this album. Is bad musicianship actually bad musicianship if its intentional? Evidently, there are sparks of talent and decent sounding parts. I also think that this is probably one of the most polarising albums on this list. I can easily see how people can and do hate it, because it is an incoherent mess, key changes and tempo/time signature changes are for no purpose other than "because its kewl", and its somewhat of a pretentious hipster drivel that isnt going anywhere. I can see how someone can love it, because its a very unorthodox attempt at making something as far from mainstream rock/pop as it can be. Ultimately, music is art, and art is supposed to illicit emotions. But was the purpose of this album to illicit confusion and annoyance? I think, from "artsy" perspective, this can be compared to a Pollock painting. Most will say "its a mess" and question the sanity of people praising it, and people praising it will see some value in it, seeing some emotion in it, perhaps reflecting whatever they want to see from themselves. Ultimately, the question to me was "do I wanna listen to it again?", and the answer is a very confident "no Im good". Significant 30/80 yeah I think its worthwile to check out Liked 14/78 Added 4/78 YNN

The overriding impression left by Bitte Orca was 'irritating'. The vocals - all of them - grate. What's worse? The quavery male singing or the twee faux Space Age 'ahh ahh' female vox? At least the music...eh, no, that's a load of bloodless studio wank 'art rock' donkey shit too. By the sixth or seventh track, I just couldn't wait for the funny tempo change or unexpectedly 'quirky' modulation! I feel that I could take this band in a fight without any help.

Very fun weirdo pop, like a less dreamy Animal Collective

Release the hounds

Bitte, no more.

6/10. Unremarkable

This was decently entertaining, actually an alright discovery for a 21st century album that I hadn’t heard of. 7/10

Expressionismus im Vordergrund und den Künstlern deutlich wichtiger als Massentauglichkeit. Die vielen verschiedenen Musikstile und die nicht vorhandene Struktur hat es für mich sehr anstrengend gemacht, hier zuzuhören.

Some of the worst, self indulgent crap I've ever heard. The worst part, is that sonically this album sounds FAN-FUCKING-TASTIC. There are a smattering of good ideas in there too, they just forgot to put them together in any kind of meaningful way. Plus it's a stupid album name, with an arguably as stupid band name. Would give zero if I could.

Helt ok musik men några av de sämsta vocals jag någonsin hört, mina öron blöder.

Vill fan inte ens lyssna klart, usch. De har experimenterat i fel riktning.

Not bad. Sure sounds like they listened to a lot of Flight of the Conchords.

I can’t get over how the guy pronounces quest-a-yon. What I get most from this album is a real sense of exuberance. It feels joyful and alive, and as if the band is enjoying the ability to play together, and mess around with the weird time signatures and the odd vocal lines. I went into it fully expecting to hate it based on all of the negative reviews, but I had a really good time

My opening thought was "oh Jesus" but I oddly enjoyed this. There's some weird stuff, obviously, and some mad syncopation and bad drumming but it's art pop and there's space for that in the world. I wouldn't recommend it to a friend, mind.

A decent album, not a huge fan of this overall. I do really like the song No Intention. I don't believe that I will be coming back to this album very often.

Ne-e, neee-e, jag tror faktiskt inte det

Överlag så gillade jag den. Lyfter inte till riktigt bra. Men behaglig. Melodiskt och fint på ett roligare sätt än annan "fin" musik.

Hej, kolla på mig, jag är jättebra på att göra speciella ljud med min gitarr!

Går ut oerhört dåligt eftersom den manliga sångaren är både irriterande och rätt värdelös, i synnerhet på låt nr 2 och 3 (som är kassa i övrigt också). Sen kommer plötsligt Stillness is the move och Two doves som båda är rätt bra låtar. Därifrån år kvaliteten klart högre, även om bajsnödigheten tar överhanden till och från även här. Lyssnade igenom den här skivan fyra gånger och de sista två tredjedelarna av den växte för varje gång (låt 1-3 var fortsatt lika usla dock).

So original, great fun, catchy and edgy. Brilliant

Not that great. Fits well in to the 2010ish Indie rock trend. Seems like it wants to be different but fails. 2 stars

I listened to a ton of indie rock back in the late aughts and early 2010's, but I never made it around to this album. This album was a pleasant surprise. After reading the reviews, I was afraid this album might just sound like generic Indie Sleaze music, but I think this album had its own distinct feel. I thought the guitar playing, vocals, and odd rhythms were fantastic, and they really gave this album a unique sound. The string arrangements were really great too, especially on "Fluorescent Half Dome." I think my biggest gripe with this album being on this list is that there are other albums from this era that I think are more deserving of a spot (how in the hell is there not a Vampire Weekend album on this list?). But other than that, I enjoyed listening to this, and it's something I might return to some day.

Weeeeird

84/100

By "experimental" he means just making sounds and not following the expectations of music. Oh you want singing that follows a rhythmic pattern? too bad. It is still OK, but I'm not really enjoying David's singing.

As the vocalists say in Temecula Sunrise: AAAHHHH This is so hipster that it’s painful, even for this former tumblr hipster. Favorite lyrics: Your hair is like an eagle.

I wasn’t so sure about this album when I first heard it and seeing them at Pitchfork didn’t really hit me - if anything, it led me to disregard them more. But I’m into this app/project and if I could listen to an Adele album, surely I can listen to Dirty Projectors again. I am glad I did! It’s a really complex album that is beautifully crafted and grows on you as you listen. A little bit of Beefheart, Beach Boys, Of Montreal but blended together in a unique way. Great vocals, I will listen to this again.

This was interesting.

even as someone with i guess something of a pretentious taste in music (if you wanna call it that), this album makes me see why meatheads hated "hipsters" in the late 2000s/early 2010s. there's just something about this era of indie music. there are some cool ideas here i guess, but the more experimental moments border on parody. stillness is the move fucks though. 2.5/5

A great find by this list. The female vocals and the baroque elements combined with electronics and the instrumentations make every song a journey. I would say that some of those songs are too similar to each other. The male vocals can't keep up either. Certainly something I'd listen to again and again.

Rock alternativo surpreendente, boas melodias e vocais compostos

Indie sin sentido. La música va a su bola. Los cantantes, también. Un 2 porque alguna canción tiene hasta gracia.

eh

This album sounds like two cartoon characters having a fight in a ball of smoke. It's like they took some regular indie pop songs and put them in the Fuckalizinator. Songs speed up randomly, weird instruments fade in and out for no reason, the singer sounds like he's in the middle of getting crushed by a hydraulic press - what the hell is happening here. AI generated music. Not really something I enjoyed listening to while on the brink of a migraine. 2/5

Groovy, a little Vampire Weekendy, 4 stars.

Sometime during the turn of the millenium, indie morphed from being a descriptor of which music label an album was released from, to an aesthetic in its own right. Much of indie was a reaction against the sheer dearth in creativity and general thuggishness found in guitar music and its audiences (for a prime example, see Oasis, King of Britpop). Some bands eschewed typical time signatures, others typical key signatures, yet others still any hint of musicality to show that they were different. On Bitte Orca, Dirty Projectors display the twee tendencies of the movement. Most of the songs are 4/4, but Dirty Projectors noticed that by slowing the tempo down, they can give off the impression of a non-standard time signature without committing to the real deal. Similarly, by adding in noodling, they can give off the impression of pseudo-intellectualism. By yelping, they're singing could be misconstrued as interesting. Even the name doesn't mean anything, it just "sounded good". On Bitte Orca, Dirty Projectors go nowhere slowly, high on their own farts.

I think in the right mood I would enjoy this drivel. I am not in that mood.

Lot of noise. Not good noise.

Standouts: Cannibal Resource, Others: No Intention, Temecula Sunrise, Two Doves, Useful Chamber, Fluorescent Half Dome 3.75

My mind kept wandering away from this album while it was playing. I think that was from a sense of preservation

Het is heel interessant, dit ligt mij wel :)

Auf jeden Fall irgendwann mehrmals versucht. Geht ganz okay los eigentlich. Bisschen arty Indie Pop. Also es nervt nicht so sehr, wie ich erwartet hätte. Aber das ist trotzdem einfach nicht mein Ding. Jetzt geht es so ein bisschen in so Richtung R&B, würde ich sagen. Das ist wieder sowas wo ich denke, dass man das irgendwie mögen muss. Aber ich finds nicht geil.

Discordant and incoherent. I always wonder when I hear an album like this, does the artist actually like it? Or were they just sitting around trying to figure out how to be "unique". I liked the woman's voice on "Stillness Is The Move" and a couple other ones, but even those songs were not good otherwise. 1.5 stars

A bit too experimental and a-musical to my ears.

Ok

This was fucking awful. No cohesion at all, backing vocals are annoying as fuck, and it’s just loud for no reason. I made it through 4 songs before I had to turn it off. Garbage.

This is very intriguing! I actually really like this first song and I might even add it into my library. This is weird but delightfully so. Each song is different and fun.

This was painful to get through

Quirky indie pop. Has some interesting sounds.

I liked this album a lot. I was not familiar with this band before listening to this and I will definitely be exploring the rest of their catalog. This album was quickly and interesting. The vocals and harmonies were really good. Easy 4 stars

Ehrm muy experimental. Canciones distptivas entre sí. No le encontré ritmo

I mean as far as "experimental indie" goes, this is at least music. But there's not much there. This is the kind of thing I don't mind having on in the background because it's pleasant enough but you don't need to pay attention to it.

A real mixed bag of styles and odd, strange songs that are off-beat and sometimes interesting and overall an adventurous listen. There were a number of songs I liked, but also some that were a bit blah. So I like it, but I can't say yet if I love it. This indie "art-rock" band is trying hard to be eclectic and for the most part it succeeds. I'll listen again and more music from the Dirty Projectors and see if the music sustains itself (lasting impression), so maybe I'll have to increase my rating...? Or not.

I like how chaotic the production can feel while still sounding pretty good. His voice/singing style sounds super familiar, but I can't put my finger on why. Overall pretty alright. A high 3/5

Not for me. Annoying intrumentals bits, and I don't care for the vocalist.

Bit of a strange album Not for me

It’s fine. Won’t feel the need to revisit it, probably.

Nice album. I had not listened to the whole thing before this.

Stillness is the move is a banger. Not a fan of the whole album.

It sounds like it was recorded by killer whales. I'm really not sure if that's a good thing or not.

As pretentious as it should be in 2009. I think in the last 10/15 years, it's impossible to be "original" (for any sense of this word) without sounding at least a bit pretentious. It doesn't make this album a good one, but it helps to understand and maybe enjoy it more.

An interesting twist to the indie sound of the late 00's, but not something I will want to return to.

Me : Mom, can we have Grizzly Bear? Mom : We have Grizzly Bear at home. Grizzly Bear at home :

A kind of interesting math/art indie pop that has its own sound. A very unique product for 2009. That said, I'm not so appealed to it.

At the very least, this interests me Might take a few more listens for me to properly get it though Favourite tracks: The Bride, Stillness Is the Move, Useful Chamber

Bla

If this album was a colour, it would be beige. Offensively beige.

not really sure why this album gets the hate it does. sure, on its face, it is pretty nonstandard, but it's not totally out there and the sounds on it are pleasant and i find the time signatures pleasant and engaging. overall, i found it a pretty alright listen. something i could see myself coming back to in the future. i think to appreciate this album, you need to be willing to be challenged (only just a little bit imo), and i found the challenge to be fairly fulfilling. not my favorite album of all time, but an interesting and fun listen for me.

Had it’s moments but think it sent me to sleep at one point.

3 stars

Yeah, this just isn't for me. I can appreciate the effort but nothing I heard from this band begged for a second listen. I was happy when the album was done and I could move on.

Dirty Projectors have always been one of those bands that come up every so often that have some interesting songs. This album is a good example, most of it is mediocre but Stillness Is The Move is a realy standout for me.

Hmmm, I saw another review call this "Captain Beefheart pop" and I think that's spot on. They're deliberately trying to violate as many conventions at once, which makes this a challenging listen. If you're not in the mood to be challenged... well, just look at all the one star reviews! 😆 I gave this two listens and I'm sure with 2 or 4 more I'd really start to grok what they're doing, but honestly I'm not sure it'd repay the effort - I think if I want indie pop in this vein then I probably want friendly welcoming indie pop, not challenging avant weirdness. Fave track - eh..... "Remade Horizon" maybe?

Sounds like some kind of David Byrne (Talking Heads) experimental band. Not for me.

random mumbo-jumbo for the sake of it. no.

Digging this. Using conventions from indie music if it’s time and recontextualising them to make something unique. Cool

Meh

Backing tracks are interesting: math rock guitar shreds, super odd drum beats, weird squeaks... I'm into it. The lyrics and vocal performances throw me. It is also unfortunate that this album is 14 years old, putting it squarely in that trough between nostalgia and novelty. The whole presentation and sound of this record is very "Anthropologie-core".

Whoa, this was super cool! I loved all of the unique combos of tempo and phrasing, the vocal harmonies were amazing, and even the guitar parts that had tones which kind of pierced my ears found a way to sit in the mix as a whole in a way that I enjoyed. New to me, but great stuff!

Great album, but I was already a fan. I love the guitarwork, the weird time signature changes, dude's wacky voice, and all the melodic vocal layering. I think I prefer Swing Lo Magellan, but only slightly. 4.25/5

Decent but hardly life-changing indie rock. I definitely preferred the female vocalist to the main guy, wish she had more stuff here. C

Man, this was a weird one for me. There were songs that I liked and songs that I hated and parts of songs that were good but other parts not so much and I think that means that this is Jazz.

The sound definitely reminds me of a certain time in my life, though I’ve never listened to this before.

Meh, a little too noisy for me.

Trash, belongs in the 1001 albums you shouldn’t listen to.

Warbly vocals over disjointed complicated guitar parts and herky jerky drumming. There are some exciting sounds, including some nice warm fuzz, creative layering of vocal harmonies and instrumentation, and even a few good riffs, but nothing good lasts very long as songs swerve in new directions constantly. It has a very stop-start feel without strong melodic or sonic through-lines. More ‘interesting’ than enjoyable, pretty annoying to listen to really. The synthier soul tracks like ‘stillness is the move’ with more propulsion are good though.

This album is unclassifiable. It is known for breaking out of what people thought of as indie. The experimental nature of this album, especially in terms of vocal arrangement, time signature changes, and instrumentation, make this a challenging but rewarding listen. While I understand why people are put off by this record, it certainly takes a very unique approach and synthesizes a lot of music into one strange whole. Though this album often seems meandering and mostly concerned with making noise, there are moments of beauty and melody throughout that make it worth the listen.

A nice indie rock album, creative songwriting. Although there are many similar things like this from the last 10-15 years, I'm not sure how they pick one.

Zeppelin between 2 head scratchers. What the hell? I guess I wouldn't be so disappointed if this were anything worth listening, but damn it started and bad and got worse. Had a tough time listening and just wasn't for me. Sometimes I really wonder the criteria to make this list. I guess I'll 1.5 because they weren't as bad as some of the other shit I gave 1's. 1.5

This was the most okayest thing ever. Occasionally an interesting thing eked it's way through the noise. Production was pretty good. Other than that I don't think I'll go back to any of this. 2

1 What the hell is this? Is this what happens when Yale students start an indie band? Jesus Christ this was unlistenable. I thought it couldn’t get any worse than the first track… and then it somehow did. At no point is any kind of flow ever established; instead, it feels like they decided to write an album without any kind of discernible tempo or structure. In the rare instance it feels like it might do something cool, it gets interrupted by some jarring, out-of-place guitar work or strings. Also, this guy’s voice is annoying as all hell, and the girls aren’t much better. F this album. I walked away upset and had to go back and listen to more Zeppelin. Aptly, the title translates to “Please Orca”... which is nonsense, just like everything else here.

I am pleasantly surprised by how good an album by a band I’ve never heard of is. It feels original, unique, experimental, and fun, but, for some reason that I can’t explain, fails to excite me. There is no spark to it, at least not for me. Not to say I don’t like it. I really enjoyed it and hope to hear it again, but I may not remember it is all. 4/5

Pretty good. I never heard them before, at least not consciously - But this is a decent album. Its not AMAZING or anything, but its pretty good. 4/5

👍

Fíla þetta vel.

Supposed to be Indie / Prog Pop... ???? I just don't know what I'd call this one..... hmmmm perhaps it's in the bloody awful genre. The vocals and attempted harmonies are dreadful, absolutely dreadful, like something from kids in a school play production. The musical arrangements of instruments were eclectic at best, randomly disorganised and unrelated to each other would be the norm. I absolutely 💯 % guarantee I will never even consider playing this album again, and it has joined the list of 1001 albums you should NEVER hear before you die!

wow, a genuinely new to me genre. Minge music sung by a man. lets call it Mangina music.

A record often played at funerals for the deaf. This was the 13th time I've heard it this week and it brings me out in hives every time. A couple of perverts shitting on the milkyway.

It's very 2009. The indie well had run dry. WTF.

I actually kind of liked this album. I don’t know why I’m surprised? I think it’s just been a hot minute since I’ve heard something even slightly good. If I had been able to listen to this a couple more times I could even give it a 4, but I think even a 3 is good. 6.5/10 I think.

I've had this one for years and it's a tough one. Not *awful* tough but more of a challenge. I'm not sure how you describe this music - art pop? There were a lot of "this kind" (all different, so that phrase is kinda meaningless) of artists emerging around this time in the Animal Collective, Juliana Barwick, Grizzly Bear melodic-yet-jarringly-odd camp. That's just it - it's impossible to describe; you just have to listen to it. And after ... 20? listens (i hadn't listened to this album in a decade) I still have trouble judging it. It's fascinating, it's different, it's impeccably-crafted, the instrumentation is unique, the arrangement is completely unpredictable. And yet I cannot connect with it. I don't dislike it at all - it's a mood - but it's that connection that I've never been able to make that makes it a touch frustrating. I often wonder if I need hooks or a killer chorus and sometimes that's the case but ... if I can thoroughly immerse myself in a 20+ minute song like Genesis' Supper's Ready which has no hooks or chorus whatsoever then it's not a mandatory prerequisite. Yes, these are the negatives, if they *are* negative. So while it's certainly a challenging album, it does have its rewards. For instance "Two Doves" is lovely. "Useful Chamber" has a fascinating structure - beautiful and delicate interspersed with brief aggression. ...So. After a 2nd consecutive listen today I think an obvious personal sticking point I've missed is this: I don't like David Longstreth's voice. As soon as that light bulb went off I was able to hear this in a new and different way; I'm certain I'd love this album if it were instrumental or if either of the other vocalists (Amber Coffman / Angel Deradoorian) took over instead. This second listen was me focusing on everything *but* his vocals and I liked it so much more. TL;DR: very dense; at times too much so. But with such creative and atypical chord progressions and dynamics, it's really worth a few listens before judging. I hope to not wait another decade before listening again, but also might check out more of Coffman's/Deradoorian's solo work as a result. 6/10 3 stars *also it means nothing but reading an interview w Longstreth only hurt my view of him - slamming older/incredible musical artists and talents was supposed to go out when Cobain shot himself. Bullshit 90s "my music is cooler than yours but i'm pretending not to be cool" attitude that frosted/s me. Makes me hate his voice even more which is absolutely stupid I admit.

There’s a lot going on on this record musically. It makes me think a little bit of The Flaming Lips meets Elvis Costello.

Experimental yet cohesive and polished. It's something of a marvel, really, in that it defies characterization. Other than to say it's an all around joy, and better than awesome.

Interesting mix of Indie, Soul, Art Pop and a dash of Prog. I like the shorter and concise albums, but this was almost overstaying to me. There were moments I was really into it, especially instrumentally. Vocally it didn't get me that much. 7 out of 10

- Never listened to a Dirty Projectors album before - Heard of them and went into it assuming I'd like it but I was quite disappointed - Thought the two songs sung by the female vocalists were far and away the best, especially Two Doves - Maybe it would grow on me if I gave it a few more listens and I'll regret this rating because it does seem like something I should like but I mostly don't - Fav songs: Two Doves, Stillness is the Move

What is this? Chamber indie? Baroque pop? Anyway, this album has some of the most annoying vocals ever. Jumping notes and climbing and descending scales at will, the lead singer is grating and has no real sense of melody. This album is also very ungroovy, which can be ok I guess, but here it is just a bit unpleasant to listen to. The beat will slow down or speed up suddenly in ways that may surprise but don’t really serve the song. There are obviously some talented musicians involved, but it’s nothing I would willingly listen to again. Oh, and I hate the particular strain of dry electric guitar tone and scribbling lines. Unpleasant. Serious theater kid energy. I’m tempted to rate this lower, but I can see why it probably hit at the time

A very unique and fun listen. The vocals were so beautiful and soothing. I think it reminded me of Oh Wonder?

Weird

I was looking good for setting off to work on time. I don’t normally make a sandwich but today I was taking a packed lunch. Cheese, ham and pesto. I buttered the bread and opened the cheese - a pack of pre-grated mozzarella. We only bought it at the weekend and opened it a couple of days ago but parts of it have turned blue and fluffy. So I’m sifting through this bag of cheese, trying to find the parts worth keeping and isolate the rancid parts that are trying to make me ill. Is this what my life has come to in 2023? I make my sandwich, but now I’m running late so have to rush to work. I put my ear phones in to listen to my album of the day…

"Bitte Orca" by Dirty Projectors is a mind-bending journey through indie rock's most innovative corners. Released in 2009, it's a striking blend of intricate harmonies, unconventional song structures, and David Longstreth's unique falsetto. Tracks like "Stillness Is the Move" and "Cannibal Resource" showcase the band's genre-defying approach. The album's production is a sonic kaleidoscope, with layers of instruments and voices colliding in beautiful chaos. While its experimental nature might not be for everyone, "Bitte Orca" is a testament to Dirty Projectors' fearless creativity and their ability to push the boundaries of what indie rock can be. It's a challenging yet rewarding listen that continues to intrigue and inspire.

This album is the result of combining every acclaimed indie album of the 2000s

Annoying.

Vähän kylmäksi jätti! En saanut otetta 2/5

Tämä ei ihan auennut vieläkään, vaikka on tässä hetkensä. Välillä saavuttaa Björk-tason intensiivisyyden, mutta vastapainoksi on aika paljon tunneköyhää kikkailua. Arvaamattomuus pitää otteessaan kuitenkin sen verran, että sanotaan 3/5.

Tykkään bändin joistain biiseistä, mutta ehkä nyt listan luoman perspektiivin takia ei ihan koko levynä kanna. 2/5

not my cup of tea

Not good

4.0 + This isn’t a “chill vibes” kind of record - you’ll need to give it some attention. You’ll likely spend the first half feeling like the rug is constantly being pulled out from under you. “Oh, this is pretty. I get this,” you’ll think. Then, boom - the song turns into something entirely different. It gets annoying. But then you get 2 songs in the middle - “Stillness is the Move” and “Two Doves” - that actually settle into their groove, and that’s about as stable as the record gets before things go topsy-turvy again. There are sublime moments, such as the dueling female call-and-response chirps on “Remade Horizon”, or the fluttery African-sounding guitar licks on “No Intention.” This is a restless, uncompromising record that squirms in and out of colors and moods and refuses to be pinned down.

Not my cup of tea

I had not heard of this band nor had I heard any of their music. It's interesting; kind of indie pop with a little soul added. Personally, I happen to prefer the vocals by Amber and Angel more than those by David, but that's just my own listening experience. The performances by the instrument players are excellent. Overall, this is a very good album and I plan to explore more of their work.

4/5. Very funky and danceable, the end of the album does feel like b-sides of the first side. Definitely just sounds like slower versions of the better songs. Falls off but still the first few songs are bangers.

I’m not gonna make it through this list

No Intention sounds like lots of squirrels scratching away over piano strings. Occasionally entertaining but mostly unmemorable. It sort of just washed over me.

vet a faen var helt ok

My heart sank when I saw this was the weekend album but actually it wasn’t that bad. Quite a haunting sound but not unpleasant. A surprising 3*

Probably didn't give it a fair crack of the whip but didn't like what I heard.

I'll start with what is good first, or rather, what I at least can appreciate in some way. It seems to me all involved in the producing and creation of this album are probably all fairly talented individuals. The different singers of the different songs have clearly nice voices, the instruments i.e guitar especially is played by someone quite skilled. That being said, whoever wrote and composed these songs probably should pursuit a different career. Absolutely dreadful. A toddler, or perhaps a chimpanzee made this. That would almost be impressive, and I'd give it a higher rating if that were the case. Every song seems like a smattering of random noises that are tuned to frequencies that make my eardrums want to burst. Each part of the song is working against itself, it almost seems like if you isolated a certain instrument, you'd realize it was actually recorded for an entirely different, possibly even good song. The lyrics accompanying each and every track makes me roll my eyes. This album makes me feel like I'm on the Titanic, the songs are all muddled and confused like a passenger scrambling and falling off the side of the ship as it sank (perhaps running away from a band playing awful music.) It's been a long time since this album came out. Despite how bad it was, I can see how maybe this band might have cranked out some better songs after this. However, I will not be listening to them of my own volition, that's for sure.

Have really enjoyed this album over the years, probably their best and most accessible record, I'm going to enjoy revisiting this one!

Lush, complicated, fresh

Like an amalgamation of bands I like, and delightfully weird in places

I enjoyed the inventive harmonies and complexity of the compositions. Will seek in the future.

Angular, kinda Mathy. Nice voice. Wouldn't be out of place on Dischord. Don't like this one. Completely falls off a cliff from track 4, just want it to end now. Urgh, started off so well. 2 / 5 stars.

I am going to lean into this one and say it was great and unique and I enjoyed it. The female vocalizations were odd but mostly worked.

Det här är faktiskt ganska så dåligt. Ja, till och med uruselt.

shit sucks 2 1

It's a weird record. At times it seems completely random, off the beat and incompetent, at times it's genius. Over-all it's a mess. The male singer annoys me. He sings most of the time. It's still a good addition to the list, if only to show people what's possible. Favorite song: stillness is the move

At certain points I understood what they were trying to do....and then I lost it again. Interesting album but left me with a vague sense of annoyance. 5.5/10 Fave track: Two Doves

meh 3*

I really don't know what any of this was supposed to be, kind of like some hipsters trying to imitate jazz or progressive rock I guess. There were some okay parts here or there, but most of it felt super disconnected and without anything really standing out

"The Bride" was a pretty decent song. The rest was just a big mess.

Stillness is the Move is one of my favourite songs, but I’ve never listened to the other songs on this album. I really like the unique sound of the whole album, I’ll definitely be revisiting this album. 5/5

What do the orcas have to be bitter about? Is it that dolphins are more popular? Go, orca, go!

2/5 Best: Stillness Is the Move Worst: Useful Chamber

One of those bands I've heard the name of for over a decade and probably heard them on KEXP a bunch of times but could name one of their songs. Definitely has an aughts indie-rock sound. Not bad.

How else can I describe this album other than overwhelming? Not in the same way that shoegaze can be, but more so due to this albums lack of focus or any sense of normal song structure? Lots of random things thrown into the songs to make it feel less like a natural progression and instead something where you're jumping up, down, and all around. This can be a negative on the album, with it being pretty poor listening music at points, but it can also make the album stick out, especially compared to other pop of the late 00s. It, at points, reminds me of a Vampire Weekend jam session, and that is both a blessing and a curse. I think that when I give this album a four, it doesn't necessarily mean I think it is on equal standing with some of my other ratings, but rather does enough to stand out and have bright moments that the oddities of the album don't bring it down too much. I do, however, totally understand the relatively low average score. I struggle to put into words how I feel about this, but despite my middling review, I did enjoy this, and that's what matters here, I suppose.

Interesting vocal play. I hear the Bjork influence. Different. Don’t really like it though.

Yeah, I don't know. It wasn't terrible but it wasn't nearly as interesting as hipsters have convinced themselves that it is. Hard pass.

Interesting sound

It was listed as experimental rock, something experiments fail as this one certainly didn't hot the mark, my brain just shut off most of the time as vocally it was just grating.

Meh.

not really my type of music

That was strange. I can't recall hearing an album so dull without being able to put my finger on as to why. I don't know what I'm meant to be getting out of it. It wasn't terrible, or offensive to my ears, just so... empty, without the music itself being bland or quiet.

It's ugly.

Bitte Orca is just a bit too weird for me. Interesting turns to disinterested quite quickly. 2.

This is fine, but nothing more. Each individual song is quite nicely put together, but it's all a bit too gentle and doesn't have the impact that its trying to, and there's not really much coherence. As a few of you mentioned, it's in the same style/genre of a few contemporary albums we've had, and it's just not as good as them. Shouldn't be on the list really. 2/5.

meandering, odd. hmm

Too avant guard for me.

Liked a lot

Highlights: "Remade Horizon," The Bride," "Two Doves," "Temecula Sunrise" Not a bad idea to take ideas from Captain Beefheart and sweeten the deal with the thing he lacked the most: strong performances of stronger vocal arrangements, especially the dazzling ping-pong counterpoint on "Remade Horizon". You also get swelling strings in daring modern harmonies and lots of glittering guitar hammer-ons and pull-offs reminiscent of Malian blues with a twist of veering chromaticism. The main problem isn't so much Longstreth's strangled goose voice (again, better than Beefheart any day). It's really his lyrical fishtailing between jarringly stupid banality and megalomaniacal pretentiousness. This guy has himself staring into Nietzsche's eyes in the album art but sings stuff like "what hits the spot yeah like Gatorade? you and me baby hitting the spot all night." The name of the album, "bitte orca," repeated throughout the bridge of "Useful Chamber," is just his response to 'cellar door,' a pair of words he champions as being exceptionally beautiful. Please. Also, Amber Coffman's voice is very mainstream on the surface, but regularly becomes unbearably piercing and harsh, like a grotesque of its first impression. Besides the consistently interesting music, this is a good time capsule for the '00s boom in internet-driven college kid pop: the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Inventive, surprising, and almost unlistenable. This album goes out of its way to create extra tension so the resolution feels much more satisfying - I’m not quite sure if that’s a positive quality or not yet. Certainly unique and hard to describe, so it gets a 3/5 for eccentricity.

I like my noise pop albums but this was the height pretentiousness. And the male singers voice,what is going on there?

I can’t say this is good. The talent is there in all corners, but my god this is more complicated then Prog Rock, not catchy like pop or some indie, I can’t find any appeal in this. The songwriting is horrendous. Too unconventional. I can’t imagine the band enjoyed it either, hence so many former members.

Fairly average alternative rock album that does nothing to stand out or warrant any place on this list

Interesting choice from the dirty projectors, 3.5

The suburbs (2010) on tämän ärsyttävän soundin huippu. Tässäkin on omat kohokohtansa, mutta ne tuntuvat vain vittuilulta meikälle että joutuisin antamaan 2 tähteä. Kohokohdat eivät kuitenkaan ole kappaleen pituisia, joten on hankala sanoa milloin soitanta oli hyvää. Jokainen kappale on siis paska. Juuri tämän ajan indietä kurittaa tämä similariteetti, kaikki kuullostaa samalta. MITEN??? HÄH?????

Kind of experimental indie rock, but the "experimental" part was on the far end of the spectrum. Some songs were straight up unlistenable, with so many tempo changes, erratic vocals, seemingly having nothing to do with the melody and general lack of flow made it a challenge to stick with the album. It had few high moments as well, where the music suddenly clicks and is very enjoyable, unfortunately I doesn't happen too often. Very interesting and original concept, but maybe a bit too complicated for me. Nice attempt, though!

It’s nice seeing modern albums on this list but usually only if they are ones that are representative of good music that people my generation enjoy. This is another album that falls short of other albums in its era that isn’t as good as similar artists/styles. It seemed like this duo could’ve done better with a stronger sound on the production. The songs felt flat and unexciting. 4.1/10

This was good, but didn't really stand out for me as exceptional.

It's nice and layered but didn't amount to much. 2.5/5

Decent, but I would have to give it another chance to really appreciate it. Having said that, "No Intention" is just wonderful! The album also ended really well, although I will admit this was not a "one sitting" listening experience for me. 3/5

What can I say, average again, but slightly higher average

This is something I would not normally choose to listen to but I was pleasantly surprised and found it weird but enjoyable and calming to listen to

Try hard late 2000’s pop.

Too dissonant and experimental to put into my rotation. Pretty at times, though.

All in all, a good album, however, not something I will be purchasing. 2/5

One of my favorite indie rock albums of all time. 2009 the GOAT year. The guitar and vocal harmonies on this one are chef’s kiss.

Why is this on the list?

I really didn't get on with this album at all. Like Fleet Foxes and its ilk, but without the tunes

Individual songs I liked but as an album is was just okay. I do hear the influences on other albums, though

Like if you gave Captain Beefheart wireframe glasses and a Timothee Chalamet haircut

Rock alternatiu molt proper de vegades al que feia a l'época Animal Collective, sense arribar al seu grau de creativitat. Al seu moment se'l va reverenciar, però realment no era per tant, tal com testifica el temps que ha passat des d'aleshores

Very Yoko Ono-ish background vocals on the opening track, which at first were off-putting to me. But I decided to give it a shot and go deeper with an open mind. But no, I ended up absolutely, viscerally hating it. This is honestly one of the worst albums I have ever heard in my life. It can be characterized in one word: noise. Self-indulgent noise. I just don't get it at all. This album is the equivalent of an Ohio transplant who moved to Brooklyn to "discover" Crown Heights and now refuses to shop anywhere but Buffalo Exchange for his clothes. If you know, you know. Oddly mixed as everything is LOUD. All the sounds are competing with one another. It's an inharmonious, cacophonous disaster that should not be listened to with headphones lest you want to blow your hearing. The singer sounds like he's doing a half-rate Tiny Tim impression, the background singers shout over him, there are random claps interspersed everywhere, the music often changes key and time signature, and almost every song starts out slower and then has a "drop the beat" moment. It's just a mess. I bet when they were making this album, they were like "Fuck yeah! This sounds cool!" and nobody wanted to say otherwise. Because it truly doesn't. Offbeat hipster nonsense that is way too far up its own ass. Awful album. Right in the trash.

Gefällt mir net

Has tenets of something that I don't quite know how to describe, but I'm gonna call it hypermusicality - essentially a lot of intricate, accomplished, often quite clean and shiny musical elements layered over one another, that I'm sure to the more classically trained ear are very pleasing, but for me tend to add to less than the sum of their parts (Jacob Collier is a good example). I also find some of the bands vocalisations pretty grating at times - the frequent use of runs, bright harmonies etc. However nothing truly frustrated me, and there's certainly tracks I can see myself liking more if I came back to them. Not gonna make it anywhere near the rotation, but not a write off. Fave track: Two Doves

Some really unique stylings in the indie genre which makes for some really bubbly and fun listening. It is a style that can grow a bit tiresome and sometimes be challenging - I’m not sure if in a good or bad way. Indie music from this period has sometimes aged pretty badly (at least in my head) but I think there’s still some interesting stuff here I like this album overall and think there are a couple bangers for sure. A solid three-and-a-half; I kept tossing back and forth whether to round up or down and gonna just go with this. Shoutout to Stillness is the Move, but favourite track here was No Intention.

When I read "experimental rock band", I was skeptical. This was not difficult to listen to. It's a culmination of stuff that sorta works.

It sounds like alternative music that has a band and consistent melody and rhythm and applied and erratic, jazz structure. Quite challenging to listen to.

Interesting but some of it is too lacking in melodies/structure, Some good tracks and worth a relisten though

First time listener. This is really interesting. Hard to describe. Like a mixture of Vampire Weekend and Maps & Atlases. Catchy and familiar but also weird and almost experimental. Very cool stuff. 7/10

Mid

Boring drivel vocals. Somewhat interesting instrumentation that's constantly trying to be dissonant and disjointed and sometimes doesn't work. Although not the worst thing I've ever listened to definitely not going to come back to it.

Not particularly enjoyable or memorable.

Segue na mesma lógica na lista de mais um disco de banda indie que passa sem envolver. Nem mesmo com as músicas com vocais femininas mais interessantes.

Not what I was expecting. Descent

Meh

Pleasant. Fine. Not great.

Just not a fan of it.

Not bad, but it didn’t do anything for me.

Good, but nothing that memorable for me in there

Some very interesting rhythms and harmonies throughout. I'll probably need to give it another listen to see if it sticks more the second time. Definitely a good listen.

Vampire Weekend from Aliexpress

Almost! Good!

Did not much care for this one too much as a whole. Useful Chamber was the highlight for me. Very much felt the 2009 in it. Vampire Weekend vibes. I also did really love the auto generated Spotify radio for the album a lot so idk why Bitte Orca wasn’t doing it for me :/

Enpä jaksanut kuunnella loppuun, liian esittämistä taas, onneks ei oo sentään aivan indiee

Vau, olettepas te taitavia!

I mean it was a little janky at times, but id still say this is an okay album.

Never listened to this album full through. Very much a time capsule of that late aughts early 2010s vibe. Two doves was my favorite.

Experimental rock? I don't really think so per se, Indie rock trying hard to be different with some odd chords and tempo changes is more likely. In spite of that there's some good music on this album and I'll go back this album for sure. It's a 3.5 but perhaps over time I might think more of it.

The mix is crisp and creates nice separation while bringing elements forward as punctuation or focal points. Strings, electronics, and acoustic guitar all work together. The harmonized backup vocals are inventive and unique. Lots of flavor of world music African guitar and beats. Vampire Weekend influence for obvious reasons (roots in Ali Farka Touré?). Vocals have similarities to Jeff Buckley, or is that just me?

I listened to this a lot when it came out. It didn't sound like anything i was listening to at the time. I loved it then and i love it now.

I really like some of what is being done on here. But some of it doesn't quite click with me either. It's a good album though and I do think you should listen to it.

Not for me.

Band and album Iv never heard of. Feels like one of those albums that too indie to be enjoyable.

Blech

Ondanks een paar goede liedjes net iets te experimenteel

First, the music surprised me since the cover doesn't match with the sound IMHO. As for the sound, it's pretty odd - sometimes it sounds like Andrew Bird, sometimes like crazy 60s cult. Anyway, that was interesting experience!

I just found it annoying

A pleasant indie work. Loved the colors and textures. Loved the harmonies and musical progressions. Definitely will listen to it again.

This has a certain oddball charm. Clever, disjointed pop sounds with alternatingly pretty and atonal aspects to it. It starts out rough, but improves by the back half. Fave Songs: Two Doves, Useful Chamber, Fluorescent Half Dome, Stillness Is the Move

Pretty meta, saved a bunch

weird album that i couldn’t figure out

Really interesting sound and not at all what I expected to see on here. Don't know if I would go back to this but their sound is definitely unique. Cool instrumentals. I wonder how these songs are performed live. Fave track(s): Stillness Is The Move, Useful Chamber, Remade Horizon

Meh

Not interesting in any way that interests me. Some of the songs were pretty in parts and I didn't actively hate any of it, except maybe Remade Horizon. But I doubt I'll be giving it another listen. I am open to the idea it maybe possibly belongs on this list.

way too indie and drugged out

This album irked me in a way which is difficult to describe. It’s convoluted song structures, utterly pretentious lyrics (the level of thought which went into the album’s title is indicative of everything this group has to say: nothing) and general lack of melodic hooks got under my skin like no other record I have encountered on this list. A record for musicians who treat their art as nothing more than a self-contained field of theories and concepts. That being said, I’ll spare it a one star rating for the one or two flashes of intriguing sounds which threaten to grab the listener’s attention at a couple of points during the album’s run, but which are too ephemeral to ever leave an impression. Absolutely aimless, characterless, soulless pish.

Interesting, and at times even good, but I don't need to hear any more.

Some nice songs but overall too disjointed for me

As annoying as it is interesting. Excellent in some parts, excruciating in others. YMMV.

Nah

Listened to on 12/8/22 2.5/5 Favorite song: Temecula sunrise, fluorescent half dome This album was weird - not necessarily a bad weird but also indescribable. I think I liked it overall but very experimental indie rock made the songs a hit or miss

The sound of Pitchfork circa the late 2000s. Does Pitchfork have the same cultural impact and ability to make a band as it did back then? It's kinda interesting in that it's a weird blend of English folk, that Vampire Weekend Afropop sound, David Byrne-esque new wave, and prog rock. I think I was due to see them at a Brisbane festival that got canned. I did see Deradoorian, the band fronted by their ex-singer/guitarist. Was probably the worst attended show I've been to at a Zoo, not helped by being a Sunday night. I do remember her saying they tried to get food but everywhere was shut. Hooray for the "New World City" that is Brisbane.

Missed entirely. Good but not great.

J'ai bien aimé c'était original mais ca s'écoutait super bien. 3.5

this album is indie af and fits the time. good timing and guitar solos. maybe too clean at times, maybe too sweet at times. its good tho. its real good. love me some acappella vocals that lead to wild guitar solos and symphonic and anthemic head banger moments. kicks. hard.

The first album to cause me physical pain. After the first 2 songs I had to take a break, I felt like I was having knives shoved into my ears, I made it half way through the album and I regret not stopping sooner. Was not worth the migraines. 5/112

Sounds like 2009 in the worst way possible. Did not enjoy the vocals at all. Sounds uncertain, wandering, directionless but in an unnerving way, not an exciting way. Showed moments of promise but fell through.

What an absolutely infuriating listen with pretentiousness and dissonance in overflow. Absolute low-point is the useless hiphop beat in the middle of 'Useful Chamber' with equally useless spoken words(?).

What an absolutely uncompromising album. By no way a clean and easy listen but it’s overflowing with complexity, ideas on the verge of collapsing under their own pretentiousness (a few exceptions actually falls flat) and creativity. Dirty Projectors are fighting to keep their avant-garde thoughts inside the framework of ordinary pop structures - and somehow they manage to get away with it. One of the few exceptions is the middle break of “Useful Chamber”, which consists of a weird beat and misplaced spoken words. The rest of the song is just explosive. This really had a hold on me from start till finish even though I never fully knew where I was about to be taken to next.

Indoe hipster stuff, kind of disjointed.