Discovery

“Swing Tree”
from the album LP
2009
iTunes

Rostam Batmanglij of Vampire Weekend and Wes Miles of Ra Ra Riot have collaborated to form Discovery, a “recording project” whose debut album LP is adorable and slightly affected, offering a geeky hybrid of the former’s orchestral rock and the latter’s “Upper West Side Soweto.” LP‘s percussive computer pop approaches hip-hop but veers away from that genre’s frequently overwrought production and preoccupation with excess. Minimalist jams such as “Orange Shirt” and “So Insane” are refreshingly weightless, and the playfully tinkling melody of “Swing Tree,“ while danceable, remains stripped-down. The album incorporates insider friends and references throughout. Guest appearances by Vampire Weekend’s Ezra Koenig and Angel Deradoorian of the Dirty Projectors, along with a nearly unrecognizable Jackson 5 cover, reinforce Discovery’s precocious, faintly pretentious appeal.