Bitte Orca

Starts off terrible, gets better in the middle (even my foot started to wiggle), finishes like it started. The wiggle deserves an extra star :)

Both Bitte Orca and Swing Lo Magellan teceived quite a bit of hype at the time. From memory: Swing Lo Magellan is their most accessible album and I do not mind listening to it (in fact, Gun Has No Trigger is a great song).. ..whereas Bitte Orca was just a bit too much Pitchfork for me - it certainly has some good moments but can also irritate in other songs.

What on earth was this?

Too experimental for me.

Välillä tuntui ettei tätä voi kuunnella kuin jakomielitautiset. Yksittäisiä hienoja hetkiä laskematta melkosta scheissea.

Täs oli paikoin potentiaalii, mut yhden kuuntelukerran jälkeen jäi aika jalkoihin

4.6/5 Such a great album - the vocal stylings of the three leads are incredibly original and match arrangements that are fun and hard to predict. My favorite DP album, for sure

Interesting, spacey, pretty and nice

My first thought about this is: I know I listened to this album about 15 times in 2009 & 2010. But I can't even remember what kind of music this was. It has left no lasting memory at all. And now that I've re-listened to it a couple of times over the last 2 days that feeling hasn't subsided. It's all pleasant music, I don't dislike listening to it. It's clever enough, musically, rhythmically and lyrically. Musically it's in the Indie style I loved back in the day (Yeasayer, TV On The Radio, the whole Brooklyn scene). But it doesn't do anything for me. It's passing me by. And I don't feel I need to listen to this again.

Wasn't sure about this at first...but it grew on me later, then I realised the album finished and I was listening to random tracks vaguely linked to the album, so what I liked was not the album itself...

It was fine. I didn’t listen seriously enough to formulate a strong opinion. And maybe in the end, that’s worst than even the harshest 1 star review.

This was the most 2009 Williamsburg album to ever 2009 Williamsburg

I had never heard of this band, and it was pleasant enough, but nothing that will stick with me long term.

Didn't really resonate with me at all. Am I missing something? Just kind of boring sad pop? I had high hopes since I know one other song by Dirty Projectors.

4th October 2022 Listened in the day while working from home. Chilled yoga in the evening. Vintage, angular, intelligent 00s indie.

Creo que no les entendí, vaya, su concepto o el género donde se puedan catalogar. Tiene momentos interesantes pero la mayor parte del tiempo fueron ruido de fondo.

Mucho mame. Le entré con la mente abierta y ganas de conocerlos porque me daba gusto ver una banda joven en la lista; me llamó la atención la portada e incluso un poco los títulos de las canciones. Pero agh, una vez que empieza, se siente como si fuera un hipster que estudió música tratando de presumir las técnicas mamalonas que conoce para tocar instrumentos. Los primeros segundos son bonitos y muy rápido se vuelve cansado.

Used to be a fan of this album, but I feel like it's a bit of a chore to listen to now and David Longstreath is a self-righteous prick.

crazy good alternative album just a 10/10 for creativity alone actually amazing

I really love parts of this and then others get too experimental for my tastes and the noise rock aspects are overbearing. "Two Doves" was my favorite song from the album. Overall the bass was very good throughout the album.

Nope... I want it to be good and then they start singing

No thanks

Why is there a cat screaming in the first song? He was horribly out of tune in the bride. Why is this on the list?

did not listen, did not like preview

It

delte meininga om dette likte eit par songar, men det var og nokon ganske plagsomme

Bitte Orca is the fifth album by American indie rock band Dirty Projectors. It's an indie rock or experimental pop album, but that's just a surface classification. You'll have to listen to it to really understand what type of music it is. For me, I did not like this album. It was too flighty and sweet, so I could not grasp what theme or musical direction the album wanted to go in. All of the songs blended together, causing none of them to stand out to me - even the award-winning "Stillness Is the Move" sounded bland to me. I am the odd one out when it comes to my opinion, because most critics loved this album - although even some of them also admit it's hard to describe the music without one listening to it themselves. I do not need to listen to any other Dirty Projectors' albums if this is their normal music.

Don’t tell the indie kids, but I think David Longstreth is a massive Steve Howe (Yes) fan. He laces Howe-isms in his guitar playing through out the record. If you don’t believe me, listen to the title track or “Temecula Sunrise”, if you’ve heard a few Steve Howe solos or enjoy Yes, it’ll hit you hard. Honestly, it’s pretty amazing, like if you dropped Steve Howe into Stereolab and it somehow worked. Ok, enough trying manipulate the generator into giving me a Yes record to review. (Serious about the Steve Howe thing, though). Bitte Orca separates itself from a lot of 2000/10’s indie rock with its complex, layered arrangements. It’s a daunting listen at first, but when it clicks, it’ll likely leave you wanting more. RIYL: “Point” by Cornelius, Steve Howe’s work in Yes.

Awful. Not even music.

HL: Useful Chamber, Stillness is the Move There were moments where the album’s frequently-changing nature almost lost me. Overall though this was a great listen. September 2, 2022

kind of boring

Good album, weird riffs that were fun to listen to

Surprisingly fun and delightfully eclectic. Good for another listen someday

I was worried that this would be too cutesy-fartsy for my taste. While it did occasionally veer into cutesy-fartsy territory, it had enough substance that kept it really interesting and not annoying at all to me. I plan to listen to this again and explore more of their music. 4 stars.

I’d heard of Dirty Projectors but never heard their music. Now I have, and I don’t know if I could describe what I heard. Is that good? Regardless, I enjoyed most of it, especially when it came to the syncopated chorale runs.

Like a bad open mic night - a new song starts every 15 seconds with no connection to the previous 15 seconds

Well this isn't awful but it sure ain't good. It seems to revel in broken melodies and dissonance, without the charm needed to carry it off.

If there's a such thing as progressive indie, it's this. I was pleasantly surprised! Every song interested me because they were constantly surprising me by changing in ways I didn't expect. It was very impressive and felt very creative and fresh. This one could definitely grow on me more, I will return

Couldn't really find anything I liked if I'm honest

This is quite an attention grabbing bizarre album. This is almost a live 'jamming' session album, I couldn't really describe the genre, wiki calls it 'experimental rock' - experimental is right, rock - not so much, it's more modern classical folk singer-songwriter jazz? Anyway - there's lots of surprisingly elements, off key measures, tempo changes or skips - it could ALMOST be background easy listening music except for the injected surprise elements draw your attention back constantly. Unfortunately, not a fan of the singers - who sounds like a less controlled 'Mika' - high pitched, shaky, something I guess you need to get to like. I can understand the ideas behind the album, though it's not really to my personal taste.

Indie vibes

I was way into this kinda stuff in college. The name of the band and the album cover are very familiar to me. Listening to it, I don't believe I have heard it before. It takes me back to '09 for sure. It feels sort of dated in a "very much a product of time/place" sort of way, but I still really enjoy it. Unique vocal stylings. You know what? Bitte Orca IS fun to say!

Was average.

Super original futuristic retro sound, already a modern classic. 7/10

Was very very decent. May need to relisten again very soon.

Kept thinking I was going to really enjoy and song and then it would go off in a different direction .

Thought this would be right up my street however it got on my tits to be honest. Maybe I wasn’t in the mood. Oh well.

This was bad. Felt like a punishment. Would vote this off the list.

7/16/2022 - ALBUM #170 https://open.spotify.com/album/2Geg4mwE8z9DO5BSSUoMKz?si=36887e03a2324980 Today's Album: "Bitte Orca" by Dirty Projectors - This is an album very unlike most albums I have heard before, and it is for the very best reasons. The opening song, Cannibal Resource, introudces the listener to everything that makes this album great, from the thoughtful lyrics, to the jangly and echoey guitar effects, to the tight drums and bass, and of course the fantastic female vocal harmonies. This album somehow captures a very youthful spirit to it while maintaining a pretty rocking core to it’s overall indie sound. The production of this album is pretty great, if not maybe a tad sterilized and clean, but that is pretty easily forgiven given when it came out. I really appreciate some of the odd rhythms this band uses in the verse structure and melodies of these songs. It reminds me to some of Bob Dylan’s experimental songwriting techniques if they were revamped for a modern, slightly more hipster, audience. The song Temecula Sunrise is a beautiful example of this with some incredibly jarring and unsteadying rhythmic changes that somehow sound beautiful in their janky, offcenteredness. I think part of this warmth and cheeriness to their sound comes from a fairly melodic bass guitar and what sounds like an incredibly skilled drummer when it comes to timing. There are of course other factors to this like the bright guitar sounds and beautiful harmonies, but the rhythm section of thi band really strikes me as what is keeping the core of the sound together. I also think this album flows together pretty nicely and it feels like one of those projects where the songwriters are very tuned into how the record should flow as a musical journey, which is something that I appreciate. I do think there are moments where the scattered and syncopated rhythms become a bit samey throughout the tracklist, but I also think there are a ton of interesting risks being taken to change up that sound, like on the track Stillness Is The Move. This song also shifts the background female vocalists to the foreground and drops the usual main male vocalist and I think this really helps to diversify the vocal feel of the record. Overall, this is an incredibly creative and colorful rock album that no-doubt inspired countless indie musicians for years to come (let alone most modern female vocalists!). Give this one a listen if you like indie music with a fair dose of quirkiness to it and enjoy a lot of interesting auxiliary instrumentation. Super fun! Highlights: Cannibal Resource, Temecula Sunrise, The Bride, Useful Chamber, Remade Horizon, Fluorescent Half Dome Score: 8/10 One of the most sonically adventurous indie albums I have heard

3.75

Not my taste

leiðinlegt skrítipopp, tekur sig of alvarlega með allar klisjurnar

Bit weird. Wasn't surprised to see that they've collaborated with Bjork.

Hated the voices.

Well this was a splendid surprise. Had not heard of the band before. The album contains plenty of thrills. The harmonies complement the lead so well. Plus the album manages to extend time. It appeared much longer than reported timing. Maybe those odd time signatures did the trick.

While songs lack depth and substance - sonically and melodically it’s a quite interesting and varied album.

A new band for me. Really enjoyed this album. Got an Arcade Fire vibe about it.

Very bad. Nein danke from me!

Tja, dit kende ik helemaal niet. Begon lekker, werd wat vaag maar bleef verder wel ok

Totaal nieuw voor mij, best aardig plaatje, maar moet het waarschijnlijk meer draaien om erachter te komen of dit echt wat voor mij is.

Beetje weird, maar ook niet vervelend.

Niet heel spannend, maar het had ook wel weer iets weirds wat het toch wel interessant maakte.

Best vervelend eigenlijk. Die stem van die man ook; een soort kruising tussen de zanger van Simply Red en Belle & Sebastian. Misschien komt het door de hitte, maar ik verdraag het slecht.

A fun, defiant LP that pushes slightly above the crowded 2010s indie scene. There's some excellent guitar work here, and the arrangements are generally chaotic and absorbing without being too abstruse. There is a fair amount of soft-voiced downtempo generic indie filler, however, and even the most interesting tracks suffer a little from lack of editing when they introduce a fun guitar lick... only to repeat it for four minutes into an eventual fade-out. Longer tracks are fine ('Useful Chamber' is one of those sprawling indie anthems that contains worlds within itself and invites endless relistening), but only when there's a fair amount of variety to keep things from getting stale.

Pitchfork probably gave this a 12

Refreshing, eclectic, lovely harmonies. Not a group or style I am that familiar with, so difficult for me to compare it to anything else. But it did sound like Jeff Buckley may have been an influence? Not bad at all

I really enjoyed the mixing of electronics and strings, the male and female vocals. Very experimental and playful. The more electronic songs reminded me a little of Age of Adz by Sufjan Stevens. 3.5

Please, killer whale? That is all this reviewer needed to confirm that this album is lost, befuddling, and an object lesson in being a waste of time. Perhaps this album is for musicians, or math-rockers inclined to scramble the brain for no reason other than they can. The pretentiousness that seems to ooze from this album and its compositions is infuriating to where the ears wanted to vomit. With all respect and seriousness, if a listener has to search for an album's intention or motivation, this qualifies as meaningless drivel. Art, such as the one seeming to be promoted here, is meant to challenge and inspire, hopefully to remain begrudgingly respected. This album is just crap, an inspiration for insult and dismissal. If that is the reaction aimed for, then spot on it is. If a band wants to experiment and play chords at random, then re-arrange all that into something that makes enough sense to get a record label to distribute their drivel, then this was it. Every member seems to do their own thing, and they are bad at it. The band is not without some semblance of talent, the whole thing just feels wasted, as though the mindless mashing of chords as a child was praised by over-supportive parents who then paid for a recording session that then was just trendy enough to be looked at as some sort of priceless abstract determined to be refreshingly different. Yes, it is different. Yes, it is not the usual fare one can expect from the so-called mainstream, but at least there we can hear music that is infuriating for better reasons for sounding too good and formulaic. This album is so bad it makes one want to defend pop and mainstream, and that is a bad thing.

Awesome album! Very unique, vocals are different but fit the feel very well. Loved it.

It's just a horrible mess of crap songs, badly played, badly sung. it was basically unlistenable. To call this hipster pop is an insult to hipster pop.

Okay. A bit annoying at times, like a less-good White Stripes

Pretty much unlistenable the worst album I've ever heard.

Jesus. What a load of utter bollocks. Started off shit and just got worse

It took 3 or 4 goes to listen to this album. TIP: They made it too complicated and it's better with only one headphone bud in. I used the right one. I don't know if the left channel is any better. The lyrics were utter bobbins.: think teenage poetry attempts. I can't go as low as one star reasonably because they clearly made an effort and have some misplaced talent.

Another ex-1001 album. http://1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie.wikidot.com/album-artists-a-z-ex I didn't like it at all. Felt like I'd heard this kind of thing in plenty of other more well know late-2000s alt/indie/faux-folk/hipster bands. I like the artwork, if that's any consolation.

I couldn’t get into the earlier Dirty Projectors releases, but Bitte Orca was one of my favorite releases of 2009. The songs were more conventional in structure than past works but maintained the eclectic playfulness that Dirty Projectors was known for. While there is a lot going on throughout the release, it somehow is all grounded. Well done.

Didn't like this very much. Too much electronics and not enough "real music". Vocals sound like high pitched whines. Certainly wouldn't be on my list of albums that you must hear.

When I tell people I usually don't like indie rock this is what i'm talking about. The music jumped around to various sounds without ever really establishing a groove and some of the falsetto vocals became really unbearable at points. I think this is somewhat technically impressive and was probably a difficult album to make, but it is not an enjoyable album to listen to. I don't feel like there was much soul in here.

Not super into the songwriting or the vocals, but there are some super interesting production and mixing choices here that make it feel more substantial than a generic indie pop record.

Another casualty of my “I wasn’t paying attention to ‘mainstream indie rock’ at this time that I definitely would’ve liked” era

Weird but I liked it

High hopes. Wasn't awful but varied between tiresome & grating in some areas. "Useful Chamber" was terrible. I thought they'd accidentally mixed two songs together.

4/5. Pretty experimental/out there indie. Lots of cool highlights 🤙

Bitte Orca by Dirty Projectors (2009) With opaque, underdeveloped lyrics spiced with scattershot references without meaning (from the Song of Solomon to Bob Dylan, but why?) no one agrees on theme or message, although suggestions range from (1) gestalt, to (2) surrealism, to (3) post-structuralist interrogations of binary opposition which focus instead on a mediating third order between idea and reality. I prefer (3), and I dare you to try to prove me wrong (Turdle-Loo!). In terms of composition, well, the listener is immediately struck by studied chaos, (i.e., not randomly improvisational), punctuated with infrequent moments of rhythmic sense and serendipitous tempo variations; the jerky motion of anti-meter is disconcerting (and post-structural, see (3) above), but mildly entertaining. It certainly sounds well-rehearsed. I’d like to see what a group of kids on Dick Clark’s American Bandstand would’ve said about one of these songs (“Uh, gee, Dick, I can’t dance to it, but I’ll check with my friends to see if it’s cool and get back to ya”). The talented female backing vocals, with crisp timbre and good blend (especially on “Remade Horizon”) provide suitable counterpoint to the male lead vocal, however, all these vocal flashes are harnessed to the delivery of melody and harmony that’s disciplined but rather aimless, kind of like a university marching band doing a halftime routine of “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida”. The musical highlight of the album, in my view, consists of the centrally placed back-to-back tracks “Stillness Is the Move” and “Two Doves”, each featuring lead vocal by one the group’s two female singers. Cool sound. I say listen to these two tracks a few times, then listen to the rest of the album once, and then toss it. 2/5

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

Un disco con popurrí de canciones, parecen inconexas. Pero las canciones están bien. Folk, africano, inde, Rufus... popurrí. 4

Okayish songs, chill for sunny Sundays but repetitive and not catchy

Second Listen. One of the most interesting (in a bizarre way) albums on the list. I don't think any one song stands out, they are all fairly equal to me. I have a favorable opinion of the album this time around, not sure if I think it is worthy of the list, but I enjoyed it. 3/5

I listed to it many times in a row.

Ok ig

Not my vibe, from what I recall.

Okay

It's a bit too quirky for my taste. I do like some of the instrumentation here, however I find the vocals off-putting at times.

Good album, but like most of the post-2000 additions to this list I gotta ask what makes this a must listen? I've never heard of this album or group. Granted when this was released, I had a four year old running around the house. 3.5/5.

I expected to like this a lot more than I did. I had heard ‘Stillness...’ previously and liked it so much it made the cut on my Christmas podcast that year. But it turns out that that track was an outlier, especially as it had a different singer. I really don’t like the main voice: whiny and emotionless. The backing is more interesting in places, but the rest of the album (other than Stillness…) just felt quirky for the sake of it, and lacking in focus and much melody. Would not recommend.

The bass sounded non-existent on this. Maybe it was my Spotify being streamed through AirPods? The production sounded very tinny. Which is a shame as there could be a decent rhythm behind the lyrics. There's perhaps a concept album trying to break through here. It felt like there was too many competing genres trying to be heard. tbh I didn't give it my full focus.

Euphoric Pop. Great Production.

I've heard other Dirty Projectors albums before that I've liked better. I want to like this one, but it's a little too discordant for me to totally get on board withh

Le nom du groupe annonçait la couleur toutefois je ne m'attendais pas du tout à cette horrible expérience visuelle. L'album est en effet projeté sur une toile blanche à l'aide de deux appareils qu'on devine à peine sortis de la cave. Les images sont de cet fait d'une qualité des plus médiocres la faute à une large couche de poussière et de toiles d'araignées recouvrant les deux objectifs. À fuir.

Si l'absence de talent avait un nom, ce serait sans aucun doute Dirty Projectors. J'ai de plus très peu apprécié le moment où le chanteur du groupe, en plein milieu de sa "performance", avale soudainnement le soleil, avant de nous le recracher à la figure dans un ray de lumière éblouissant. Un album à fuir donc.

Saved Prior: None Off Rip: None Cutting Edge: Two Doves Overall Notes: Well I don't like this first song but maybe it'll sound less disjointed as it goes.... update dear god it has gotten worse they've got to be trolling hipsters you will pay for your Useful Chamber crimes

Interesante, bueno

Too much for me, but great rhythm

can't listen to it, too experimental for me

Unexpected and easy to listen to.

Some interesting moments and quite musically diverse but reminded me of the worst excesses of mid 2000s "art pop" – mostly self indulgent and unlistenable. What's wrong with a melody?

Tuneyards, anyone?

Pop sin estridencias. Melodías algunas un tanto extrañas. Agradable, pero sin aportar nada

No.

Reminds me of Tune Yards and Vampire Weekend in parts, that sort of 'New York, we all went to music college' indie. That said its got some really interesting bits particularly vocals wise and the album flowed nicely. Probs a 3.5 but will round up

Band name and album art were vaguely familiar but the music was all new to me. Funky fresh, inventive blend of electric, acoustic, orchestral, world music etc. Really picked up momentum at track 4 - would've enjoyed more tracks with the female vocalists. Less exciting second time round once the thrill of the new had worn off, but I still appreciate the creativity.

I wanted to like it but ultimately found the record quite boring. I was surprised to see they were American. I was guessing Finnish or Norwegian.

This is a pretty eclectic sounding album. Sophisticated pop music for the new millenia. hear a little Vampire Weekend at times also some TV on the Radio. And definitely a Beach Boys thread running through their songs. I enjoyed some songs but many son gs did not hold my attention; 2.5 stars

Rating: 7/10 Best songs: No intention, Remade horizon

Somewhere in the early 2010's, a "facts" page in Facebook once boasted: Japanese scientists have created an MRI machine that can record your dreams and reconstruct them for you to watch while you're awake. And that made me think: considering the illogical and very, very weird stuffs that we see, do, and experience in our sleep-worlds, what could we watch if such MRI machine exists. And more importantly, how will we REACT? But apart from images, our brains actually created SOUNDS too. And of course, the sounds isn't any less weird. A lot of people are probably aware of those non-existent symphonies and synths and voices screaming random words like opera singers. I experience such music when I am about to sleep or about to wake up. And thinking about the fact that my skills in music stuff is zero, I guess that EVERYONE'S brain creates unique music too. My point is, what if instead of recording what we see in our dreams, we record what we HEAR in our dreams? What would we hear? Well, in 2009, some people who call themselves "Dirty Projectors" made a pretty convincing impression of those weird dream-music. They called this album "Bitte Orca". Please killer whale. And hearing those while awake? Weird. Weird. And weird. And perhaps I would have the same reaction if I saw my dreams in that MRI machine. I would see all the eccentric adventures and the illogical stuffs in it. I would find it weird. And this is how I describe "Bitte Orca". Surreal lyrics, unpredictable sounds, and tense yet fun overall atmosphere. It's dream music (no, not the Minecraft YouTuber). It reminds me why I love dreaming. It is where we temporarily throw logic and rules aside, and just have fun and face the chaos and surprises of human imagination.

pretty forgettable

Try it, you'll like it!

Noticed one of the songs form 2k13 lol but really enjoyed the album!

Best Song: Stillness in the Move. Best vocals of the album. Worst Song: Temecula Sunrise. Really don't like the instrumental spasm they do right before the words "Temecula Sunrise". Overall: Fun looping and layered instrumentals that just ultimately wasn't for me.

Beetje vage pingelmuziek. Ik kan er niet van genieten, maar het irriteert me ook niet zo heel erg.

5/10

Kannte ich nicht - nicht schlecht - aber werde ich nicht wieder hören

Upbeat joyous nonsense.

This is just a bad album. None of it was memorable or groundbreaking or interesting. Thankfully it was only 41 minutes long. No need to listen.

That was fun!

This is pleasant plinky plonk pop but utterly devoid of anything that stands out. I know they are an American band, but it's like listening to bottled Shoreditch at times. Temecula Sunrise is basically 20 songs they didn't know what to do with.

An incoherent, discordant mess that’s seriously painful on the ears.

A defining sound of the late 00s, much like Vampire Weekend, Acade Fire etc

I think these songs will take more time to enjoy. Kind of a strange album.

What is this? And how can I get slightly more but not a lot more than this?

This era of indie-rock/pop just annoys me.

Well, on first listening, I found I liked the most traditional-sounding song, "Two Doves" and found the rest hard to get into. I worked a little to get into "Stillness Is the Move" and started to appreciate it a bit more. Repeated listening may spark more appreciation, but there's hundreds of albums to go and I'm not gonna.

I listened a few times and still couldn’t really get into it. There is a peculiar nature to the compositions that I thought repeated listening might make me better see the beauty. However, I still only found the album as something that I can tolerate, not really like.

Lots of melodic and rhythmic unpredictability on this one. Interesting vocals and instrumentation, too. Sometimes it's really interesting and fun and sometimes it's hard work to listen. I loved Cannibal Resource, particularly the backing vocals and the guitar in the instrumental section mid-song. I loved Stillness is the Move, including the title (this is a band that likes a juxtaposition I think). Two Doves sounds like contemporary musical theater (that's a compliment coming from me) and contains the line, "But our bed is like a failure." And Remade Horizon is really great, again with the hooty backing vocals that I find so charming. Most of the rest didn't really work for me. Temecula Sunrise has extremely pedestrian, extremely depressing lyrics. ("Definitely you can come and live with us. I know there's a space for you in the basement, yeah. All you gotta do is help out with the chores and dishes." Poetic in its banality? Actually, kind of yes.) In The Bride, the handclaps after the line, "no one has any good reason to live," were...surprising. I'm giving this one a 4 because the songs I love, I really love, and I am giving them each a star.

Have never heard of this group before. As I listened to the album the first time I felt like I might be hearing something very modern what with its odd song structures and airy backing vocals. Is this some post-modern new wave or something? I kept thinking that maybe this is a little too modern for me? I did not feel comfortable listening to this album. There was something persistently alien that prevented me from enjoying this. I started listening a second time but abandoned that attempt after I started feeling annoyed. BITTE ORCA is some new kind of music to me, but I don’t see myself wanting to hear any more of this. There is real talent on display but ultimately I feel unable to relate to this… even though I kind of wish I did.

The first album and group that was completely new to me on this list. I enjoyed it as something fresh and different.

Cool, aber auch schwere Kost!

Guter anspruchsvoller Pop

meh

Close to a 4, but I don't feel quite that strongly.

This was a painful listen.

Didn't like as much as I remember. Vocals sound great and interesting music, it just doesn't add up to much really. Stillness Is The Move is a great song though

Wel lekker apart, maar de gebruikte geluiden en stemmen spreken me niet aan

Very enjoyable. Most likely a strong grower.

OK. Nothing out of the ordinary

Didn't like temecula sunrise, but the rest of the album turned it around for me.

This was pretty good. I wasn’t a fan of some of the vocals but the rest was inoffensive

Not immediate but wanted to listen again when it got to the end

Mellow melodies, soft voices, a good indie album

I really wanted to like this album but it didn't give me anything to really grasp on to. This history was fascinating - including the stories behind the band members and the art work - so I would love to spend more time in the space of this album but in the meantime I'm giving it 3 stars. Mainly becuase I can appreciate the experiemental nature of the album and the fact that the Dirty Projectors tried to do something a little different... It just may be a little TOO different for me.

It's growing on me.

Flaps around more than an erotic bat, yet somehow appealing. Most songs went places unexpectedly, which I like. One song in particular had off-key singing, was not a fan

Very much a Euro Alt Rock / Indie type thing. Never heard of this group before. Very up and down with some relatively normal folksy type indie tunes, and then getting into some weird yodeling and jazzy/inconsistent melodies. It was ok, seemed very experimental, not really my cup of tea but I didn't hate it. Vocalists remind me of Mother Mother, lots of harmonies with the 3 of them but the music almost gives me a Swedish or Icelandic Fairy-tale kind of vibe. A bit trippy and very offbeat. It's so hard to pin down.

Bought this at the time but not impressed. Forgot to add tunes!

I've heard of the Dirty Projectors, but I wasn't sure if I've heard any of their music. I've probably heard at least one of their Tiny Desk Concerts. I wasn't sure if "Stillness Is the Move" was a track I've heard before, or if some of the sounds used on the record just remind me of other music. Most of the album felt that way - new music to me but with hints of sounds I've heard before. This isn't bad. The album was put together in a way that I think that it qualifies as a potential re-listen of the whole album.

A bit of odd-ball pop music. Does not stray away from eccentric arrangements and play-styles. But, at it's core, it's still pretty good indie pop music. Some may find the eccentricity annoying, what with the constant off-beat hits and moving from one riff to another. It sounds similar to what ADHD would be like in music form. All that being said, I don't think it would be nearly as memorable if it didn't have those manic moments. One of the simpler songs, Two Doves, is a nice song but doesn't stick with me like the weirder tracks that come before. The drum break in Useful Chamber was particularly fun, leading into the dirty distortion of the next section in the song. I think, at the end of the day, this isn't going to be one of my favorites. It's just too self-indulgent to have any really depth, despite how much I appreciate the choices made to make this album stand out.

Sometimes good, mostly bad

5/10 - Talent was there from the musicians but the vocals were super off putting. I feel like they are very pretentious....

Definitely missed this whole 2010s indie scene and can't say I regret it. Just can't wrap my head around why anyone would submit to this torture. The music is a grab bang of half finished guitar parts and weird synths, the lyrics are inane and the lead singer has one of the most annoying voices I've heard so far on this list, which is saying something. The only bright spot is when one of the women is singing and that only happens on the one single.

Chaotic eclectic sporadic fun. Build ups followed by sudden drops. Smooth guitar work interrupted perfectly by the crash of a cymbal then followed by intentional offbeat drum solos and it all works. Wonderfully unintelligible cannons and echos and dynamic duets between two strong vocalists. Bold new sound seems right here and I will definitely seek them out for more like this. Very unique sound. Cannibal resource, Temecula sunrise, remade horizons, stillness is the move

Great harmonies with interesting music to go along with it

2/5 naaaaah

Good indie music

I wish I’d discovered this album outside of this project, as one day is not enough to really rate and digest it. However, I think this is still a pretty clear 5 here; I love this creative and experimental indie.

This is a great experimental indie album, reminds me of Discovery. A big fan of some of the strange cadences and the colorful sound.

A bit of a hot mess, some interesting sounds but I just got bored and wanted it to end. I thought the female voices on the first track were cool, but all i could think with the lead vocalist voice was pretentious. Sorry, but no.

Interesting. One of the male vocalists sounds like Jeremy of "Woody & Jeremy"

// Favs: – Score: Light to Decent 3

I *think* I liked this. It was an experience.

This is why i don't bother going to see the bands when i'm at ATP

Reading the reviews I thought this was going to be pretentious rubbish, but it was actually enjoyable.

Alright

A bit too experimental for my taste

Chill, nothing exciting but good.

Such few contemporary albums and this is what they choose?

Funky style, I really enjoyed it.

Voor mij weinig boeiende zeroes rock

Stillness is the move is die goede NBA 2k13 bop. 3.5

2.3 Welcome to Te Boelaerpark festival, hier hebben we bakfiets atracties en gratis gemberbier! GTFO absoluut geen plaat da ge MOET gehoord hebben

Oh dirty projectors daar luister ik al eens graag naar, dit album nog niet beluisterd dus ben benieuwd, is vaak goed voor rustige achtergrond muziek. (vaak zowat toffe vrolijke geluiden) Stilness is the move - goei pop jam Voor de rest; goed voor op de achtergrond

Vocal harmonies were interesting, but otherwise somewhat unremarkable

Weird not great. Have heard stuff like it. Can't see that there's not 1001 albums better.

This was an interesting modern relief after a run of stodgy 80s acts. Kinda weird, thin, jagged stuff. Pretty good in parts but was lacking either a folk mind or a indie pop dancefloor heart.

Pretty art pop/rock. A bit meandering and it often feels like random harmonies and notes for the sake of it.

This album felt disjointed and none of the songs really engaged me. Not a fan.

Nah

The singer and some of the songs gave me some serious Ra Ra Riot vibes, which I enjoyed. Highlights: Cannibal Resource, Two Doves, Fluorescent Half Dome

It's like Captain Beefheart pop

A little boring, but an ok record

Took a second listen to get this one but it’s actually pretty good. I really like the way they use the guy and girl vocals and some of the weird guitar timing was really interesting. I could see this growing on me and deserving a higher rating but for now it’s a 3. My favorite tracks were “Cannibal Resource” and “Stillness Is The Move”.

not my cup of tea

Truly a first listen for me, probably my first album on the list that I really didn't have much context on. Like, heard of the band before, had some sort of indie rock context, but that's it. And, I'm liking it - a good surprise. Not sure how much I'll want to stick with it over time, but I could see it growing on me (the way Of Montreal's "Hissing Fauna.." did, or could see it getting old. But, for now, I like the layered vocals, the mix of soft and hard, the general feel of orchestration to the whole thing.

no

It was okay, a little too indie for me. No songs stood out but it was nice background music.

Está ok, prefiro o de 2017.

el vocalista suena demasiad como john lennon y me incomoda mucho no voy a escuchar esta atrocidad

Ovo je zapravo jako dobar album. Odlično ime benda, coveri albuma su im top i htio sam neko vrijeme ih preslusati i evo napokon. Nešto malo drugačije, instrumentalna potkrepljeni sa ženskim/muškim vokalima.

Nope

experimentell und teilweise sehr nervige Sounds...

meh

Начну с небольшого списка альбомов, вышедших в 2009 году и не указанных в списке: Karnivool — Sound Awake Mastodon — Crack the Skye Sonic Youth — The Eternal Muse — The Resistance Kid Cudi — Man on the Moon: The End of Day Converge — Axe to Fall Porcupine Tree — The Incident Puscifer — "C" Is for (Please Insert Sophomoric Genitalia Reference Here) Tyler the Creator — Bastard Bat for Lashes — Two Suns Immortal — All Shall Fall и наконец ебучий Сплин — Сигнал из космоса. Год явно был не выдающимся для музыки, многие из этих альбомов на гениальные не тянут. Но насколько же они лучше, чем Битта Орка. Смешно, что это поняли даже создатели списка и пидорнули из него пластинку в ревизии 2018 года. Но мы, видимо, ознакамливаемся с какой-то более древней версией, поэтому кушаем на здоровье. И не сказать, что альбом прям говно. Ну да, это очевидно новый для меня арт-альбом, который и не должен даваться легко. Уж чего нельзя ему вменить — так это банальности и потакания массам. Музло экспериментальное, самобытное, местами цепляющее, местами сбивающее с толку. Но я так и не смог запустить эту музыку к себе в сердце. Оооочень много ничем не обоснованного авангардизма для авангардизма — все песни кривые, ломанные, практически нет четких мелодий, которые бы придавали композициям целостность. Оно всё как-то существует отдельно друг от друга, песни внезапно стопорятся, меняют темп, начинается какая-то ничем не обусловленная какафония, вокалист воет где-то на уровне умирающего попугая. Ну да, как эксперимент это необычно и уважабельно. Но слушать такое для удовольствия просто невозможно — каждая песня просто душит, просто блять ногой на горло наступает своими полумузыкальными выебонами. Короче хз, ну 5/10 где-то, не могу толком определиться, что с этим делать.

Нормис не заценил. На грани с неслушабельным. Какофония, которая мало того, что слух режет, да к тому же эстетикой приятной не обладает. Бездушный звук, будто нейросетью состряпанный. Тогда, когда это похоже на адекватную музыку, вроде бы радуешься, но понимаешь, что до хорошей музыки всё же не дотягивает. В качестве неплохого ухо выцепило трек Useful Chamber. Который намекает, что существует вероятность въехать и во всё остальное, хоть она и КРАЙНЕ МАЛА. Посему совсем на дно альбом опускать не стану.

а ниче прикольно так

This really captures a particular area of indie pop for me. I've heard it before and will listen again.

asdf

I thought it was nice and varied. I didn't think it sounded loads like vampire weekend tbh. I might give it another listen later today because word on the street is it's better the second time.

Ponderei em dar 1 a este álbum. Indie Rock, pop consegue ser muito desintressante. O minimalismo é giro quando apresenta-se num formato minimalista, intimista ou algo mais obscuro. O som destes senhores enquadra-se mais numa sonoridade expansiva num contexto que é minimalista. Simplificando, estes cachopos têm um som muito aberto e relusente para a pouca quantidade de notas e instrumentação que metem, falta sumo. Grande parte da instrumentação existente passa por palmas em algumas faixas e um coro para cobrir a falta de tudo. O cantar é nauseabundo, é chato, em que não acrescenta nada. As vozes femeninas costumam fazer backing vocals com algumas aparições em papel principal pelo meio. Tendo que a instrumentação é minima temos de compensar com vozes magistrais, como as da Amy Winehouse, Adele, Freddie Mercury e outros mais... Contudo, estes senhores estão mais para cantores de bar com pouco talento, o Dave Mustaine parece cantar baladas melhor dos que eles, isto é uma afirmação grave. Novamente, é talvez uma brutalidade, eles fazem sons com as vozes, de passarinhos, de coros de outras coisas para compensar vazios de instrumentos, mas é tudo tão pouco e fraco. Nada aqui faz crer ficar, faz crer desligar e mudar de rumo. Mas voltando ao inicio, porque não dou 1? Eles nas guitarras minimalistas por vezes têm acordes e ideias interessantes, contundo sabendo sempre a pouco. Um bocado de História, estes senhores são americanos, são comparados há tantos músicos porque flertam com rock e pop. Mas sinceramente acho a arte deles má, então não levo a bem alguns comentários deles, como dizer "I Fucking Hate Frank Zappa", sendo que estes homens nem uma fração têm do talento que o Zappa tinha. Eles estão no ativo a muitos anos, desde 2002, mas eu só gostava de saber quem perde tempo a ouvir estes sons vazios e desconexos. Dou por mim a querer desistir disto. A melhor música é a Useful Chamber. Nota: 3/10 Dia: 21/06/2024

I got slightly into Dirty Projectors around the time this was released. I don't listen to whole lot of indie rock anymore, and didn't even have a FLAC copy of this - so I guess it has been years since I revisited it. Damn, it's still good. I love the abstract songwriting and idiosyncratic delivery. I love the way layered voices are used, and I love how the music is crisp and precise, but carries a big sense of possibility, like they might go off in another direction any moment. Can't think of anything I would change about this, so 5/5.

OK, this was probably the strangest album yet. I have no idea how to start describing it. But I definitely really liked it a lot - without being able to describe why either. I have already saved the album to listen to it again another time. But first I'll just go straight ahead and listen to something else by Dirty Projectors. Update: I then spent the rest of the day listening to radio playlists based on Dirty Projectors and loved it all the way. Even though I still don't really know what kind of music this is.

Fuck this shit...

Bit weird

Too eccentric for my taste.

even the most accessible dirty projectors is probably fairly niche. regardless, i think i probably love this album. i love the weird time shit he does.

I can usually be objective and I understand that just because I don't like a thing that someone somewhere might love it. Perhaps it's just not for me. This album, however, made me angry. It's so bad. So so bad. I can't even figure out what they're trying to do here. There's no cohesion, no atmosphere, no point. Awful stuff.

The sound is immediately recognizable as more modern than most of the 1001 LPs. I like the way the guitar plays the rhythm without strumming. I appreciate the originality of how they accomplish this. There is something  in their sound related to the transitions within the songs that you might label unusual or creative (depending on whether you like it) . It's not only  the vocals or guitars coming in unexpectedly, although this is done a fair bit,  but also other jumps within the songs.  I can't  describe these maneuvers  well and certainly can’t explain how they get the listener to heed the jumps but the fact they accomplish this with the listener validates their creativity.   While I appreciate the music and the creativity,  I find the "sleight of hand"  in their music cumbersome and, at the end of the day, exhausting. 

The record was quirky and took some risks. While it was not my cup of tea I know some folks who probably love it or would so.

Surprisingly good album from a band I've never heard of!

I don’t know how I feel about this

I enjoyed this album and more so on the second time of listening, my favourite track was ‘stillness is the move’. I would have no idea how to categorise this music genre but i’m a fan yeah. Not quite 4 stars but a high 3.

I'm certain there is more here but I lack the motivation to discover it. The vocalists all sound top notch though. Sounded like a bunch of talented people were in the other room noodling.

I don't really get it. The album manages to be good, interesting, bad, and bland. Unfortunately, none of good parts are very interesting and all of the interesting parts are bad. The very best of the album sounds like it belongs on a better album.

im not sure what that was

Klinkt als wat ik al luister. Leuke rock :)

Frequently kind of jarring, and a little too out there for me to deeply enjoy it.

Salvages a three because its so close to being good. Some of their artistic choices making it see more disjointed than it needs to be. Feels a bit like my head is spinning listening to this album. Worth maybe giving another shot later

I did not enjoy this. I felt like they were trying too hard.

Loved it when I was 14, still love it now.

Decent!

too clever by half for me

Life too short for this shit

Some of it was ok but no idea how the hell this made it on onto any greatest album list 🤷🏼‍♂️

"I think you're more than a terrified witness Behind the arbitrary line" (Cannibal resource) "On top of every mountain There was a great longing For another even higher mountain In each city longing for a bigger city" (Stillness is the move) Pues bastante bien, me gustan mucho las letras y el arte es muy bonito.

Experimental music can be very very good or can miss the mark completely. This is the former. Reminiscent in places of a Zaireeka-era Flaming Lips and a more polished Deerhoof, which is very much my jam. I'd never heard of Dirty Projectors before, but enjoyed this enough to want to check out more of their back catalogue. If it is as good as this, I will be in for a treat, but suspect 'hit and miss' may go with the genre... 4/5.

3/5

Not for me

This is a quirky collection of songs. I enjoyed the ones with the female vocalists; moving the background vocals up front was very different and original; I didn’t like the constant changes of mood and tempo. This wasn’t in the original 1001 so it must be a recent addition.

I like this more than I'd like to admit.

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

Reeeally nice. It reminds me of tune yards a lot

Wonderfully quirky and inventive. I think The Dirty Projectors and Grizzly Bear were two of the best indie acts of the early 2000s. Like any offbeat and complex works it’ll take a few lessons to grow on me but then it’s gonna stick for a long time, unlike the formulaic pop on mainstream radio

Great band. Saw this album played in person in Dallas. Still love it.

An interesting mix of electronic, rock, pop, orchestral, etc. Creative structures. Experimental without being dissonant. Just not for me.

Nonsense. Nonsense. NONSENSE

Not a fan of the overly clean indie-rock sound or the tight harmonies. The stranger/off-kilter tracks are the strongest (second half of 'Remade Horizon'). 4/10, would benefit from being less formulaic

sounds very generic, hard to understand why it made the list. maybe I am missing something.

Enjoyable but kinda weird and hectic

Bad...

Rock experimental.

Haiku Tuesday: Rock Experiments || You know, most experiments... || They fail, like this one.

Wasn't that interested

No

Great album, always fun to listen to this unique band.

I don't know what I was expecting, having only ever listened to a couple tracks from Dirty Projectors. They were huge with the hipsters while I was in college, so I guess I just never listened. A fine record, but forgettable.

"Bitte Orca" roughly translates to "Thank You, Whale from Free Willy." I wanted to like this but it's hipster bullshit. So much vocalizing/modulating in every fucking song. Weird inflection can be cool but not in every fucking song. I couldn't understand the lyrics so I looked them up... mistake. It sounds like experimental college kid music. I can't imagine listening to this for fun. Music for people who want to appear interesting. Spare me. No Intention raises it from a 1 to a 2 for me.

I really liked this album. I discovered this band relatively recently and liked their album with Bjork. I think the way the use the male and female voices is interesting

nja...

Creative, out there indie melodies, otherwise meh

Indie with a capital I. Not my thing.

A lovely album. I can't put my finger on what is so unique about them, but they just seem to have a way of composing and writing that is unexpected, unusual, and appealing to me.

shit

Very chill and soothing. Not an every day listen.

n/a

didn’t really need to be on this list but cool. liked it more when listened twice.

What a disaster. No songs, just a guy pretending to have talent.

thought it was pretty cool

REALLY COOL MAN

The vocals, a little trying to me. Maybe too clever by half.

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.

I respect the experimental-ness, but it doesn't always work for me. The guys voice is not my cup of tea, the female led vocals are better for me, like on Stillness is The Move which is not bad. But it is definitely indie-pop, which in the end I still don't usually like a lot.

eh

Whiny falsetto and asynchronous rhythm are not welcome, Orca. Stillness is the move is okay.

Very into this. Cool indie vibe with catchy melodies and pretty vocals.

I enjoyed this but didn't love it. I think if I was seeing them live I really like them but nothing really drew me back to the album. As discussed I think they are a time sensitive band and listening to them now they just sound like many others bands but looking at the year this album came out it must have been a pretty fresh sound.

On second listen I did like this album more - I think I would have loved it had I discovered it during my indie phase of high school

Pretty good. A little odd at times but enjoyable.

1.5

Me

Alright I guess

Another great album from an indie rock band I didn't know. Keep them coming!!

This sounds like the kind of horrible jangly trash that dicks who work in record stores like to recommend just because it's obscure. Some music deserves obscurity.

Hmm, probably too experimental for my tastes. I suspect that if I were in the mood for it, it would rate more than 2 stars. As such, I'm not, and thusly: 2.

not for me.

Gillade det här ganska mycket. Jag kan verkligen uppskatta flippiga rytmer och taktarter men då tycker jag att hela bandet får spela samma flippiga rytmer och taktarter. Blir lite för otajt ibland tycker jag. Åtminstone för mina sköra små lekmansöron.

Pretty tripped out actually and I ended up listening to a handful of the songs more than once

Excellent album by Dirty Projectors. Some people say the vocals are like soap, but I love this dude, and the abstract sounds they're putting out.

Wtf was this shit?

3

2009 indie

Interesting

This album caught me on a good day. I was in the mood for something like this. But, as I type this, I realize the album was largely forgettable.

Indie-rock, moderne, opløftende, eksperimenterende, varieret vokal

A great deal of this record is a guy singing in falsetto while two female voices do a weird "vocal hocketing" thing that I learned about today. Dirty Projectors is one of those art pop bands that think switching obscure time signatures in the middle of a song makes them worthy. Technical acumen is nice, but they occassionally forget to make the music listenable at the same time. Best track: Two Doves

Too fiddly for me

This is more of a 3.5 than a 3. Some really beautiful moments here, but sometimes a little too chaotic for my taste. Still, I'm surprised by how much I enjoyed it considering the fact that I got a free song from this album back in 2010/2011 and I didn't like it back then. We love to see the evolution of music taste! Growth!!

stop sprawling and start editing people

Longstreth's voice sounds a bit strained on the first few cuts, but the compositions are intricate and the backing harmonies are delightful in stereo. Temecula Sunrise underlines the suburban angst with interjected "yeah"s. There's a prog-folk feel to first three songs, and they start in roughly the same way: minimal instrumentation and male vocals opening into movements and soundscapes. Stillness Is The Move is the proof that this is not the formula. It establishes that fact with its vamp. The sequencing continues to flow thanks to the string section linkage, until No Intention breaks the flow with a hint of a different kind of project altogether. The album ends with Longstreth in a halfway point between his early, more forced vocals and the more comfortable timbre of the couple preceding tracks. This time, he enters after an organ, and the song and album come to a close as the ideas on it come to fruition. I didn't expect something this accessible when I saw Trout Mask Replica comparisons, but this project earns it when its title is realized in lyrics.

2009. Key Songs: Stillness Is The Move, Useful Chamber

Very cool freak folk record

A bit plinky plonky in places but it had some good tracks

3.5/5. It was different, but good. I liked the sounds on it. I need to listen again.