Artist: Dirty Projectors Album: Swing Lo Magellan

Year: 2012
Duration: 0:0-1

Swing Lo Magellan: A Critical Review of the Album by Dirty Projectors

Dirty Projectors is an experimental indie rock band that has been around since the early 2000s, hailing from Brooklyn, New York. The band has undergone several lineup changes over the years, with frontman and lead singer David Longstreth being the only constant member. With each release, Dirty Projectors has explored different themes, sounds, and genres, making them one of the most innovative acts in the music industry. In this blog post, we'll be taking a closer look at Swing Lo Magellan, their 2012 album, and critically review it while giving some context to the band's history and the album's genre.

Swing Lo Magellan is a deviation from the band's previous albums, which were driven by dense instrumentation and complex arrangements. Instead, the album features a stripped-down sound with a focus on songwriting and lyrics. As can be deduced from the album's cover art, Swing Lo Magellan has a pastoral, homespun feel to it, with lyrics that explore themes of love, mortality, and the search for identity.

The album's opener, Offspring Are Blank, sets the tone for what's to come, starting with stripped-down bass and building up a more lush arrangement as the song progresses. The track builds into a catchy chorus with Longstreth's falsetto and harmonies that draw you in. Other standout tracks on the album include About to Die, a song with sparse instrumentation that focuses on Longstreth's voice and the poignant lyrics; and Impregnable Question, which has a memorable melody and a sweet harmonizing duet with band member Amber Coffman.

What's most impressive about Swing Lo Magellan is its simplicity and sonic clarity. It's unclear whether the album was intentionally designed to sound lo-fi, but the pared-down sound makes it feel intimate and personal, like Longstreth is singing straight to you from his living room. The instrumentation, including the occasional use of strings and woodwinds, serves to support and complement the songwriting, rather than distract from it.

Having said that, Swing Lo Magellan isn't a perfect album. Some of the tracks, such as Just from Chevron and Maybe That Was It, feel half-baked and underdeveloped, as if they were sketches for songs that were never fully realized. However, the majority of the album is strong enough to make up for its weaker moments.

Dirty Projectors' Swing Lo Magellan is a stark departure from their previous works, stripping down the band's sound to emphasize their songwriting and lyrics. While some of the tracks feel underdeveloped, the majority of the album showcases Longstreth's ability to craft memorable melodies and compelling lyrics. Swing Lo Magellan may not be the band's most accessible album, but for those willing to dive into its pastoral, homespun aesthetic, there are plenty of rewards to be found. For listeners looking to explore experimental indie rock, Swing Lo Magellan is an essential listen.