Dirty Projectors - New Attitude EP
Tracklist:
- Fucked for Life
- Two Sheep Asleep
- Imagine It
- Likeness of Uncles
- Two Young Sheeps
- Darkened Car
- To The Mall
EPs often foreshadow a change in a band’s direction, or provide a sneak peek at songs that are in the workings for possible future album appearances. That is the case with New Attitude, and Longstreth seems poignantly aware of that fact. He stands to make a decision now as to which of his varied paths to follow, but this EP suggests he just might continue his multi-pronged approach to music.
The first three songs show the varied sides of Longstreth quite well, with the first track being the newest route his music has traveled. The frenetic screaming over the harsh music of “Fucked for Life” speaks to something that has obviously invigorated Longstreth’s efforts.
This inspiration runs through the next two tracks, which rank among the disc’s best while being totally different from each other. The frenetic acoustic music of “Two Sheep Asleep” is accompanied by Longstreth’s always inventive rhythmic experimentation and he seems to sing with no regard for “the norm”. His vocal innovation raises “Imagine It” to another level, and it almost resembles a Prince song over a more puckish Books track.
After the lively “Imagine It”, “Likeness of Uncles” ends what is referred to as Side A with a slow atmospheric piece, not unlike tracks on Longstreth’s earlier albums or like those artists most similar to him like Bobby Birdman or even at times Phil Elvrum.
Side B begins with the peppy and contently simple “Two Young Sheep”, a song concerned not with impressing anyone with its experimentation or technically impressive performances, but simply with creating a rhythmic groove which invites different players to layer their instruments over each other. “Two Young Sheep” is the first of what is a surprisingly contented new almost jazzy sound for Longstreth. That is, until Longstreth begins to wail over the track; then the intriguing juxtaposition of the music and Longstreth’s voice takes the forefront, but fortunately Longstreth’s words don’t carry the harshness of his voice. After “Two Young Sheep”, “Darkened Car” is an astounding change of pace, but one that is to be expected from the oft-morose Longstreth.
An EP that is all over the map, New Attitude’s half hour lifespan ends with a song that is equally jaded and despondent as its creator. “To The Mall” could easily be three songs, one a typical Longstreth ballad, one an atmospheric synth symphony and the final an 80s synth sounding cheeseball ode to a girl in a mall (with a female vocalist at the helm). This EP is as disjointed in its single frame as Longstreth’s other albums are from each other, but the positives from it are enough to make it worth listening to and make Dirty Projectors interesting enough to follow closely.
MP3:
Fucked for Life