MP3: Dirty Projectors “No More”
http://www.scjag.com/mp3/do/nomore.mp3

Dirty Projectors is the project of Dave Longstreth, with a rotating cast of characters supporting him. The band will release its fourth full-length, Rise Above, on the newly launched Dead Oceans label, on Sept. 11. On the album, Longstreth re-imagines songs from one of the most beloved albums of his youth, Black Flag’s Damaged. It should be made clear that this is NOT a covers album.

Following the 2006 EP New Attitude, Longstreth went to help his parents move out of the house he grew up in. Among his youthful artifacts was the cassette case from the Black Flag album Damaged. This brought back all sorts of memories – Black Flag was one of Longstreth’s first loves – but the tape itself was missing. So, like the character in the Jorge Luis Borges story “Pierre Menard, Author of the Quixote” who sets out to recreate Don Quixote line by line from memory, Longstreth went to the nearest Guitar Center, purchased the cheapest cassette four-track he could find, and embarked on recasting Damaged from memory, without re-listening to a single note or reading any lyrics. The ten songs that make up Rise Above (titled after one of the tracks on Damaged) stem from these four-track demos, recorded at his parents house on an acoustic guitar.

All that Jorge Luis Borges-inspired jive might just be hot wind if Rise Above weren’t such a hell of a record on its own terms. It resounds with a kind of elegant simplicity: beautiful interlocking guitar parts, gorgeous three-part vocal harmonies, and some great songwriting. Chris Taylor of Grizzly Bear manned the knobs, giving Rise Above the same rich sound that he brought to his own band’s acclaimed album Yellow House. Longstreth used the same musicians that appeared on the US tour on which he debuted these songs, and Rise Above captures the inventiveness and raw power of Dirty Projectors’ live arrangements at long last.

Dirty Projectors will tour non-stop in support of Rise Above, first performing throughout Europe, appearing at festivals, supporting Beirut and headlining. Following their European tour, they have a special one-off show at the Whitney Museum of American Art on July 20th and then in late August they will embark on a full North American
tour with dates to be announced shortly.

Dirty Projectors - Rise Above Track list:

1.What I See
2.No More
3.Depression
4.Six Pack
5.Thirsty and Miserable
6.Police Story
7.Gimme Gimme Gimme
8.Spray Paint (The Walls)
9.Room 13
10.Rise Above

Tour Dates:

07/20/07 New York, NY - Whitney Museum
07/21/07 Baltimore, MD Whartscape Festival w/ Dan Deacon, Spank Rock, Ponytail and more

North American Fall tour TBA

Websites:
http://myspace.com/dirtyprojectors
http://deadoceans.com/

Hi-res press materials:
http://deadoceans.com/press/press.php

It’s already been a busy month for the men of Blitzen Trapper - they just wrapped up a tour with The Hold Steady, self-released their third album, Wild Mountain Nation on June 12 and are now preparing to hit the road once again, this time alongside the amazing David Vandervelde (and a few shows on their own after they part ways in Ann Arbor). All this and a Pitchfork Best New Music review - it’s been a good Summer for the Blitzens so far. The band calls Portland home, but the tour begins and ends in Seattle, with a somewhat belated home-town CD release party on June 28 at Holocene. Also, before their Seattle show on June 23 the band will stop by the studios at KEXP for a live session at 3pm. It is also worth mentioning that this tour will be the first time that Blitzen Trapper has ever played shows on the east coast, and their show at the Mercury Lounge on July 25 will be their first show EVER in New York City! The Trappers are also thrilled to be sharing the stage with Marnie Stern, The Shaky Hands, Pseudosix, Jennifer Gentle, Smoosh, Aqueduct and Canada along the way.

BLITZEN TRAPPER TOUR DATES

06-23 Seattle, WA - Chop Suey #
06-28 Portland, OR - Holocene (CD release party) !
07-11 San Francisco, CA - Bottom of the Hill $
07-13 Los Angeles, CA - Spaceland $
07-14 Tempe, AZ - Stinkweeds $
07-16 Austin, TX - Emo’s Lounge $
07-17 Dallas, TX - The Loft $
07-18 Houston, TX - Walter’s on Washington $
07-19 Hattiesburg, MS - Thirsty Hippo $
07-20 Atlanta, GA Drunken Unicorn $
07-21 Wilmington, NC - Bella Festa $
07-22 Washington, DC - Rock and Roll Hotel $
07-23 Philadelphia, PA - Johnny Brenda’s $
07-24 Allston, MA - Great Scott $
07-25 New York, NY - Mercury Lounge $
07-26 Buffalo, NY - The Icon
07-27 Ann Arbor, MI - Blind Pig $*
07-28 Chicago, IL - Empty Bottle
07-29 Minneapolis, MN - Triple Rock
07-30 Omaha, NE - The Slowdown
07-31 Denver, CO - Hi-Dive %
08-01 Salt Lake City, UT - Kilby Court
08-03 Seattle, WA - The Crocodile Cafe ^

$ with David Vandervelde
# with Marnie Stern
! with the Shaky Hands, Pseudosix
^ with Jennifer Gentle
% with Smoosh, Aqueduct
* with Canada