Anybody who’s been to a Dirty Projectors show in the past few years can attest to the exhilarating feeling they produce in person. There’s Dave Longstreth’s strange warble and jagged guitar work, all the while the three-headed dragon of Amber Coffman, Angel Deradoorian, and Haley Dekle perform some of the most complex and jaw-dropping vocal harmonies you’ll ever see. Yet anchoring all the artiness is Nat Baldwin, bassist for the group and a songwriter in his own right. He’s set to release his fourth album, People Changes, on May 24, but in the meantime you can check him out live tonight at Club 1808. more ›

Deliberately complex arrangements? Off-kilter time signatures? Afro-pop and jazz inspired guitar playing? Dirty Projectors' music takes just about every musical motif that one would associate with the term “pretentious” and combines them to form their dense, challenging albums. One of their music's side effects is that it turns even the harshest critics into gleeful schoolgirls who seemingly shriek at the mere mention of their name. While it would be easy for one to write them off as a critic's band, their ability to weave actual pop songs out of their hodgepodge of an approach is something that sets Dirty Projectors apart from many of their art rock contemporaries. more ›

Fun Fun Fun Fest continues to tease us with a selection of intriguing leaks in advance of the November festival. Austin's little festival that could (not necessarily so little anymore) continues to impress: this week's leak includes news that Snapcase, Dirty Projectors, Yelle, The Gories and Cap'n Jazz will all be performing. more ›

Dave Longstreth's polarizing vocals and his ensemble's teetering, off-kilter support structure have always been interesting. This year, Bitte Orca proved their ability to be accessible as well as challenging. more ›

The internet is undecided - are the Dirty Projectors worthless, off-key hacks, or is their 2009 album Bitte Orca the Best Album Ever? more ›

If Saturday was The Day It Rained At ACL, Sunday will surely be remembered for the mud. And the stench—upon arriving it was noted by more than a few fans that the park bore an overwhelming olfactory resemblance to an ill-kept petting zoo. The origin of the odor seems to have been the unholy combination of Dillo Dirt and straw used by festival organizers in a futile attempt to sop up some of the mud slop. Though the mud was deeper and more treacherous in some parts of the park than others, it pervaded; the distress suffered by the $2.5 million Great Lawn was heartbreaking, and it simply stood no chance against the cumulative total of 180,000 sets of feet stamping through it over the three-day festival. In the end, surely to the dismay of C3 and the City of Austin, it looked more like a giant half-melted tub of dark chocolate gelato than a carpet-tight fairway. Nevertheless, the condition underfoot didn’t deter most from cramming in as much value for their entertainment dollar as possible on Sunday. more ›

The Sunday ACL schedule got two new holes last week after Sonic Youth and Marva Wright canceled. Today, ACL announces their replacements, Dirty Projectors and Mike Posner. more ›

Dirty Projectors sold out their last show in Austin at Red 7, but they're coming back in October. They'll be at Antone's on October 26 and tickets go on sale this Saturday TODAY at Frontgate. Or, you could try your luck winning a pair right here: more ›

Photos courtesy Chad Wadsworth. more ›

Dirty Projectors' new album, Bitte Orca, is a multi-faceted dream of a work: sometimes it feels like a rock album ripped straight from 1974, sometimes it’s an elegant string-supported beauty, sometimes it’s a pop album practically ready for the sweetness of radio, and still even other times it’s an oblique dash through counterintuitive song structures and harmonization. Often, it’s all of those things at once, as for the first time the wizard vision of lead man Dave Longstreth has graduated from mere experimental chops and into full-fledged songs. Put all that together and it gains Dirty Projectors entry into what's been a recent hit parade through Austin, joining such 2009 über-luminaries as Animal Collective, Grizzly Bear, and Bill Callahan at our local venues. While the instrumentation, led by Longstreth’s singular guitar work, is flawless and captivating in its execution, the big draw that makes the Dirty Projectors stand out is the astounding vocal interplay between Amber Coffman and Angel Deradoorian, whose tangling of voices in shocking yet artful ways will be on full display tonight at Red 7. more ›

Austinist is hosting a listening party and happy hour in the Mohawk's green room on June 9 to celebrate the release of Sonic Youth's The Eternal. Gerard Cosloy will DJ and Waterloo Records will be on-hand selling copies of the album. more ›

The pressure’s been building behind Dave Longstreth’s meandering Dirty Projectors project for the last few years, and 2007’s excellent if somewhat mystifying Black Flag covers/“reimaginations” album Rise Above brought listener intrigue to a new high—could it be that idiosyncratic oddball and Yale dropout Longstreth was growing nearer to accessibility? It seems so, and, really, the career trajectory here is not at all unlike that of fellow 2009 darlings Animal Collective, in that both started out hyper-obscure and intentionally abrasive, with an emphasis on willful experimentation and defiance of gratification, only to slowly but surely move towards a refined confidence in heightened normalcy. And that’s not to suggest that either outfit has shirked their uniqueness; they instead have learned to channel their innovation in a way that produces complete songs that human beings will actually enjoy, rather than just fragmentary attacks on musical reason. For Dirty Projectors, that turning point is embodied in the sparkling Bitte Orca. more ›

In the tradition of house/venues like the departed Jesse’s Bed and Breakfast and Natrix Natrix (a label as well as a venue, who are also co-presenting this show), the up-and-coming Rancho Relaxo is poised to take its part to promote music in residential spaces in Austin, at least until the neighbors call the cops. The venue has already played host to Sir Richard Bishop and Yellow Fever, and will hopefully continue to sponsor creative performances for some time to come. more ›

The Church of the Friendly Ghost’s forte is bringing its audience a range of new sounds, and this Friday night is no exception as four Texas experimental musicians will take the stage at the Salvage Vanguard Theater paired with artist LORI 16MM, who will be projecting a film and visual installation. more ›

Photo of Okkervil River sound check courtesy Kevin Schneider Peter & The Wolf's Daytrotter Session was recorded here in Austin at Big Orange Studio during SXSW, which Hunter notes was marked by highlights like "Dirty Projectors, this one rad chick, and blacking out onstage at our showcase," and lowlights such as, "This one guy, that lame dude, and blacking out onstage at our showcase.” He recorded a handful of songs, including the previously unreleased... more ›

There's something about this unpredictable spring weather that's just so tiring. If you think it's going to rain, it's going to be sunny. If you want sun, you're getting clouds. If you plan an Easter barbecue, it will be freezing cold and sleeting. These are the days the names of playlists on your iTunes are called "Upbeat" and "Light-hearted" and "Even If It's Raining I Will Ride My Bicycle." On these lists are Motown favorites... more ›

For those of you keeping up with casual SXSW events that don't require badges or (hopefully) redonkulous lines, we've got an update on local in-store events from End of an Ear record store on S. 1st. For more information on all of the artists scheduled to perform, head over to the Instore information page on End of an Ear's site and follow the links. All of the events are free, so mark your calendar.... more ›

"The book is a riddle, it's our generation's bible, and you have to guess the title with one clue: After photoshop was used only to remove certain letters, what remained were the words FACT and CON..." more ›

MONDAY [music, swing dancing] Paris 49 weekly set at the Continental Club, 6:30-8:30, No Cover! [music] The Wind-Up Bird, Dirty Projectors, Vuk, at Nat Baldwin at Emo's [lecture] LBJ School's Future Forum series hosts "Genocide: Personal Perspectives from Burundi". LBJ Library, 7pm TUESDAY [film] Jean Luc Godard's Breathless at the Alamo Drafthouse Downtown, presented by the Austin Film Society [film] Fast Times at Ridgemont High and American Graffiti at Paramount State Theatre (through Wednesday) [music]... more ›