Dirty Projectors: Rise Above

Label: Dead Oceans

Chances are, you know the genesis of this record by now: lead Projector Dave Longstreth finds old copy of Black Flag’s Damaged sans cassette; decides to record the entire album from memory; hilarity ensues. (Well, maybe not the last part; I may be confusing Rise Above with the preview of Michel Gondry’s Be Kind Rewind, which applies a similar mentality to film.) The results heard here juxtapose frantic guitars, walls of harmonies, and disparate vocal approaches; the unceasingly shifting result may turn off hardcore purists. What makes the record more than an interesting experiment is how it does, in its own way, approximate memory: the swirling choruses of backing vocals, Longstreth’s alternately crisp and mumbled delivery, the rushing series of notes emanating from guitars. More often than not, the concept pays off: “Police Story” suggests a Bill Morrison film noir, while “Six Pack” attains a manic, almost unhinged pop energy. (Tobias)