I have a confession to make: I've never put as much stock in the Dirty Projectors as everyone around me ever seemed to. They were largely a band on the periphery of my interests doing cool things with cool people for cool people who were cool enough to be in the know. I first listened to them (and continued to return to listen to them) as more of an assignment in seemingly necessary musical assimilation than out of real desire. I've enjoyed some of their output (Looking at you "Stillness Is A Move" and the undeniably enjoyable Swing Lo Magellan) but never found myself as a diehard fan as I found most of my peers to be.
It was curiosity more than anything that led me to give former Dirty Projector singer Angel Deradoorian's solo project a test drive. What did her music sound like out of the context of a band whose function seemed to require so much focused cacophony? Enter Deradoorian's "The Eye" a track that's absolutely mesmerizing from the moment you hit play. It's music that pulsates with life as Deradoorian's vocals weave hypnotic serpentine patterns amid an increasingly complex psychedelic haze. "The Eye" is a musical optical illusion - Deradoorian going from one woman to many; textures going from simple but scenic to downright kaleidoscopic bursts. Just when you feel a sensory overload coming on, Deradoorian shifts focus, playing with the notion of clarity as you're fed different subjects, as they enter your field of vision and Deradoorian's vocals act as the track's sole anchor. Even the percussive bassline is unpredictable - pulsing then spiking, a constant then elongated thrum morphing to Deradoorian's needs. And despite all this compositional interplay "The Eye" manages to somehow resemble a pop song for the entirety of its radio-friendly duration. That in itself is the most impressive feat - condensing her experimentalism to maintain your interest while she spins as many plates in the air as she damn well pleases.
Deradoorian's debut full length album The Expanding Flower Planet is out 8/21 on Anticon records
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