A band eager to make a splash with a "major musical statement" has several options they can pursue. Among them, they can make a big album with plenty of fresh material, or they can bombard fans with a bunch of smaller releases in a relatively short period of time.
Dirty Projectors have chosen to do both; the group issued a series of five EPs in the second half of 2020 (
Windows Open,
Flight Tower,
Earth Crisis,
Super Joao, and
Ring Road), and the album
5EPS collects them into one grand-scale, 20-song package.
David Longstreth was and remains the key musical architect behind
Dirty Projectors, but the EP series found him sharing a bit of the creative glory for a change. The first four EPs each featured a different musician on lead vocals, and the final entry was created in collaborative fashion. While each EP has a somewhat different musical tone, ultimately this all sounds very much like
Dirty Projectors, as defined by the angular melodies, electronically altered vocals, close vocal harmonies, and an approach that fuses R&B, world music, and indie pop.
Windows Open, featuring
Maia Friedman, is a light and agreeably sunny set with an emphasis on acoustic guitars.
Felicia Douglass headlines
Flight Tower, and the tracks have spare but danceable grooves, mass vocal overdubs, and flashes of aggressive electronic accents.
Kristin Slipp is the lead vocalist for
Earth Crisis, where the dramatic tone of the melodies is expressed primarily with strings and orchestral instruments.
Longstreth indulges his fondness for vintage bossa nova on
Super Joao (a tip of the hat to
Joao Gilberto), a lighter set with relaxed tempos and plenty of acoustic guitar.
Ring Road feels looser and less manipulated than the rest of the EPs, and sounds the most like what one traditionally expects from
Dirty Projectors, which makes it a fine finale for the set. The construction of
5EPS is quite clever; there are just enough unique details to allow the individual entries to stand on their own, but they also mesh easily into a larger whole that shows off
Dirty Projectors' range and grasp, as well as the full complement of talent in the group. Some listeners may prefer to only focus on one or two chapters in this series, but
5EPS confirms that all of them make the grade, individually and collectively. ~ Mark Deming
