Dirty Projectors have, historically, been the kind of group that fans label as "experimental pop" and "art" while others denote the music with the less flattering "indie rock." Well, pals, I've got news: We're all coasting to experimental pop town now whether we want to or not. The new Dirty Projectors song, "Keep Your Name," abandons the sneakily shredding guitars and unblemished vocal harmonies of past albums for pianos, programmed drums, and wild vocal modulation. It is, at the very least, a deviation from the formula. Oh yeah, also it features Dave Longstreth, uh, like rapping?So yeah, you might see more similarities with the jarring, processed effects of Frank Ocean's recent Blond(e) than much of the past Dirty Projectors catalog. Vocally, it's almost entirely Longstreth, although there are some subtle female background harmonies. Is it interesting that Frank Ocean, Bon Iver, and Dirty Projectors all apparently disappeared for four years and returned treading similar sonic ground? To me, yes. Another thing that might be interesting about Dirty Projectors' path over the last four years: There's some relationship stuff in this song that feels quite possibly autobiographical and certainly might color the tone of the album compared to the subtle sweetness of Swing Lo Magellan."I don't know why you abandoned me / you were my soul and my partner," Longstreth begins the song, although he soon offers some hints that he does in fact know. His rap verse goes "I didn't pay attention / I didn't take you seriously / and I didn't listen / I don't think I ever loved you / that was some stupid shit" and then more pointedly, "we shared kisses and visions, but as KISS's shithead Gene Simmons said a band is a brand, and it looks that our vision is dissonant." He then goes on to sing "you always hurried to grow up / I think I'll always just feel kind of the same / what I want from art is truth / what you want is fame." Are these comments about a former bandmate that he was dating (i.e. Amber Coffman)? Let's not presume. But if the song and video's shared themes of disintegration and distorted sense of self are any indication, we're in for a wild ride wherever Mr. Longstreth is headed. Watch the video below and download the song here.Follow Kyle Kramer on Twitter.
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