Dirty Projectors fans have been waiting to hear David Longstreth’s incomparable ululations since their 2010 Björk collaboration Mount Wittenburg Orca. Their new album, Swing Lo Magellan, is set for release on July 10.
“Gun Has No Trigger,” the first track released off of Swing Lo Magellan, delivers what we’ve come to expect from DP: something we did not expect. The song is laid out almost like a Bond theme, with a typical focus on rhythm and the human voice. It begins with a deceptively smooth female choir backed by a simple beat, all of which slowly erupt over the next 3 minutes and 24 seconds. Longstreth’s voice is the obvious star, but over the course of the track the chorus transforms into something wild and powerful. Longsteth’s ear is unique and it lends Dirty Projectors a vocal approach that is bizarre and utterly wonderful.
“Gun Has No Trigger” is a lot more listenable than previous releases but that doesn’t really bother me. The band has always written songs that play with the conventions of pop, and with this track you get the sense that they are becoming comfortable enough to get really close to the source. Dirty Projectors have the uncanny ability to write a song that is both completely catchy and totally weird. I think we can expect great things from Swing Lo Magellan.