When I heard that Bitte Orca was being re-released I was a bit hesitant to say the least. What exactly could the Dirty Projectors possibly have to offer that would warrant an expanded re-issuing of this highly underrated album?
A couple of acoustic live tracks, some unreleased songs and a remix or two are the common ingredients for a re-release and the Dirty Projectors definitely don’t stray too far from that recipe. They open the new material with five live acoustic tracks that exemplify the Projectors ambitious and other-worldly vocals. The opener, which happens to be the closer on the studio album, “Fluorescent Half Dome” is a slightly slowed down rendition of the original song that shows off Dave Longstreth’s uncanny vocals. They follow this up with versions of “Temecula Sunrise” and “Two Doves,” two of the strongest songs released by any band in ’09, and these acoustic versions only demonstrate the strength of the Projectors as musicians and composers.
The new studio material is not as rewarding as the live recordings and seems to be more of a dumping ground for some songs the band recorded that weren’t strong enough for a proper EP release. “Ascending Melody” is exactly what the name leads you to believe…ascending melodies. It sounds like a musical exercise, though an exercise performed by some extremely talented musicians. Of the new material, the strongest is without question “As I Went Out One Morning,” perhaps the most “accessible” Projectors song to date, a noir song with a propulsive rhythm and some of Longstreth’s most straight forward vocals. All in all the expanded reissue of Bitte Orca will be a nice album for avid Dirty Projectors fans, though probably not as necessary for the casual fan…if there is a casual Projectors fan.
