With an ever-changing discography and lineup, Dirty Projectors is back with its first full studio album since 2012. The album is a soulful exploration of vocalist David Longstreth’s break-up with now ex band-mate Amber Coffman, with diverse melodies evolving into an adventurous and challenging experience.

Dirty Projectors, the decade-plus-long recording pursuit of producer and vocalist David Longstreth, is back with its eighth studio album, almost two years after the project’s last EP. Unlike previous releases, this particular self-titled album sees Longstreth with a host of new contributors including Tyondai Braxton, Mauro Refosco (Atoms For Peace, Red Hot Chili Peppers), and Dawn Richard (D?WN). At a glance, this isn’t a lineup to be sniffed at, but with Dirty Projectors being renowned for a wildly diverse discography it’s hard to say what can be expected from the album.

The biggest change to the lineup and the band's sound is the loss of Amber Coffman’s vocals. Undoubtedly this release confirms media rumours that Longstreth and Coffman split last year, and the album lacks any remnant of her musical input, as well as being quite obviously a break up album. The first track and lead single off the album, which consequently sparked rumours of the break up, is ‘Keep Your Name’. As a stand alone track, this is the first taster of Longstreth as a solo artist. Lyrics about detaching from another person swerve in and out of a warped loop of a 2012 release Swing Lo Magellan which featured both artists. “We don’t see eye to eye,” Longstreth croons, while exploring themes of divorce and estrangement: “What we imagined and what we became/ We'll keep ‘em separate and you keep your name”. Isolated drums, grand piano chords and a swatch of plainspoken vocals maintain a Dirty Projectors-esque vibe while his baritone vocals and lyricism reveals that heartbreak and depression are at the core of this release.

This can be seen prominently in the absence of female voices throughout the whole of Dirty Projectors. The lack of female energy, notably Coffman’s, lends itself to becoming the subject of the entire album. Longstreth’s loss is felt by the listener, through the vacancy of harmonies. All that is left is Longstreth’s own voice indirectly reflecting his status without Coffman in the band and in his life. Despite this rather mellow revelation on the album, Longstreth’s vocals come across developed and versatile. He takes advantage of the fact that his voice is now the core focus of the project. Chopping, layering, speeding up and slowing down his vocals, he portrays the literal and metaphoric process of self-examination and reflection. The lament of ‘Keep Your Name’ is quickly contrasted to the pathos of ‘Little Bubble’ and the falsetto leaps of ‘Winner Take Nothing’. In these fleeting moments, we see that Longstreth has gained some confidence in his vocal ability, surely a development that can only be interpreted as positive amongst the melancholy of this album.

However, where Dirty Projectors establishes Longstreth’s self-reflection it lacks in tact. Tracks such as ‘Work Together’ and ‘Death Spiral’ are uncomfortably glitchy and packed full of pitch-shaped ballads, bad news for any fans who were hoping for the soaring harmonies that had worked so well on previous releases. It’s clear that Longstreth’s aim here is to push his capabilities as a songwriter and a producer to a new level, but whether this effort pays off is arguable. R’n’B influences make their cameo here, but they work in a confusing way that does little to add consistency to the album as a whole.

Ultimately, the entire release is clearly a narration of Longstreth’s private catharsis and healing, and the emotional rawness can’t be ignored. Whether purposeful or not, it acts as a statement for Longstreth’s perspective and opinion on his breakup with Coffman. With Coffman set to release her debut solo album City of No Reply this year, it will be interesting to see whether the two albums come together as a conversation.
Sian Blewitt

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